Activation is the Last Mile of Social Media Marketing
In the world of telecommunications, the “last mile” refers to that last bit of connectivity – be it fibre, wire, wireless – that connects customers to the network.
The concept has acquired its own moniker because it represents a major and ongoing challenge for service providers: you can build the fastest, largest, and most robust network in the world, but if you can’t lay wire down the street to your individual businesses and customers it doesn’t do anyone much good.
The last mile concept also applies to business, and is a great way to evaluate how practical and effective social media marketing plans may become. In this case, activation – that final step that actually kicks off a campaign or concept within the intended community – is the last mile for social media marketing.
You can brainstorm out the most creative, engaging, and exciting social tactics and campaigns, but if nobody knows about them you’re not going to get very far. Sure, your campaign may rely on the social aspect of the idea – that those who discover it will kick off their own word of mouth storm. That’s great, but how are they going to discover it in the first place?
Activation, in this context, can be a blog outreach strategy to influential members of the community you’re seeking to engage. It can be a set of content and links that get distributed through updates to your brand’s popular Twitter accounts or Facebook pages. It can be some strategically tagged videos on popular video networks. It can even be more traditional media activities, such as an online media buy, Facebook engagement ads, or very often radio, print, and TV spots.
The point of calling activation the “last mile” is so you don’t forget about it in your quest to build out amazing social media programs. Social media and word of mouth marketing campaigns may rely on users sharing with others to gain steam and spread, but they still need to get noticed in the first place. Make sure all your campaigns and tactics include a concrete activation plan in order to make that happen.
*photo via Flickr and CC, by zachbass
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