When I first started at our family’s agency, it was July, which is about the time that we start revving up for something called planning season. I took a pretty steep crash course in what that meant. It meant contacting publications, looking back over what had happened in the last year, and creating a cohesive campaign that would carry the client through to the next year. It’s a lot of work, and it can be very intimidating when you are new to a client or new to the marketing world. After all, this isn’t just a task you are doing. This is your client’s welfare in your hands.
All of this might sound kind of crazy if you have been learning about marketing via the Social Media prism. For some reason, in the online world, the idea of planning has joined the ranks of Santa Claus and the unicorn. You hear about it on occasion but you don’t really see it much, and in fact quite a few people suggest that it doesn’t really exist. Planning is time-consuming. By the time you create a plan, someone else might have already beat you to the punch. You’ve probably heard all of this before.
The main argument against planning that you see in the online world, of course, is that social media is free. Experimenting with something like Quora or Google Plus or Pinterest or whatever the next big thing will be is a no-lose proposition because you aren’t at risk for losing anything big. As we have already discussed, this is a dangerous thought process to carry with you into the online world.
Why planning matters
Let’s use Pinterest as an example. Let’s say your boss (or you if you run your own company) want to start “doing things” on Pinterest. It’s hot, it’s driving traffic, and it just seems like it would be silly to NOT try it out. So, you decide, without a plan, to dump a few product pictures onto a board with your company name as the title. Fine. Easy enough to do.
Then you start noticing that some of your images are getting repinned all over the place and there seems to be a lot of interest in them. You think, “Wow, this is great!” But then another thought crosses your mind.
“Now what?”
Without a plan in hand, how can you make sure that those repins and comments are going to translate into something really good for your company? It’s pretty hard to catch all of the fish if your net is up on the boat for half the trip, right?
Now let’s take a different example. Let’s say you decide to take the initiative and throw up a Facebook page for your company. You have learned all about the shiny new Timeline features, everything looks great, and you’re even getting some conversation on the page.
Then one day, a person starts trolling the page because they had a bad experience with your product. How are you going to react? Not only do you need to react to this online scenario, but you probably also need to wonder if your product is really having issues. Since you acted of your own volition with no plan, you’re going to have to inform other folks of what all is going on. That’s not gonna be too comfortable.
Finally, consider this example. One part of your marketing team has put together an ad campaign saying that your new product is ideal for ant collecting. No real plan was put together surrounding these ad placements, and no other kind of plan was put together either. Later in the year, you start some social media marketing, and you note on your various platforms that your new product is great for collecting ladybugs but not so much ants. That’s something silly the other companies do.
Well, you’ve got yourself a bit of a problem, don’t you? If your left hand isn’t talking to your right hand, they might both be signing completely different things. Without a plan, there is no way to even double check that everyone is on the same page.
While the idea that social media is free can seem like a compelling argument against planning, these sorts of problems are definitely not free of charge.
Finding a middle ground
The thing about planning is that it doesn’t have to be written in stone. Plans can be flexible. Plans can even change. But working out a general idea, even, of what you want to accomplish and how you are going to get there is essential for businesses today. Perhaps it is even more important now because there are so many different tactics that can be used.
Planning can seem like it is too time-consuming, too this, too that. It’s definitely not something that seems romantic, right? But it is a preventative measure. Planning can stave off true marketing and PR problems. That seems worth the time, does it not? That seems worth the energy.
So what do you think? Is planning lame, or is it worthwhile? What are your thoughts on this whole issue?
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/judybaxter/266826979/ via Creative Commons
Margie,
I totally agree that businesses tend to undervalue a marketing plan as a start point and something to revisit and revise. In fact I wrote about this last fall, do you agree with the idea of it? http://www.vimm.com/create-your-marketing-plan-like-a-time-travel-manual/
@smmanley I made it through the first book of The Outlander Series. Kind of a weird one that, but it was hard to put down. I liked your post – Anyone who works in Bill & Ted is going to earn my deep respect, however!
@smmanley Yes, I agree ! If you get young dogs then the plan changed because it could be 3 or 12, that It is exactly the same but the parameters have changed, ie The plan must be adapted to these parameters. But I’ve seen a lot, especially in state-owned enterprises, which they then had such blinders and did not notice when the parameters have changed!
i totally agree, but it’s also important to adjust the plan if something unexpected happens, or when changingthe parameters. This course must be defined. I think it often happens that one of the fault is on the plan remains, instead of checking if the parameters match the conditions andyet still the same.
—stooni
@MartinSteiner You raise a good point. You don’t want to be so loyal to the plan that you actually stop doing things that were not a part of the plan. That is also a path to danger. There has to be a happy balance, something we keep coming back to in this series. Things are very very seldom all one way or all t’other.
My answer is that it totally depends. I get the whole idea of making a plan, but I also understand the importance of just going for it. Like budget planning, I always leave some room for a cushion. So when I consider the marketing plan for the year or even for 3 months, I always think leave some room for last minute adjustments and fun projects. It may be a little different from an agency POV vs. client side (not sure) but I value cultures that allow me to think on my feet and react immediately rather than defining a plan and just going by that. Doesnt it add some flavor to not have a plan sometimes? Sounds like a lot of fun to me and one of the reasons I love marketing.
@C_Pappas Absolutely! It’s very important that you understand that you can’t plan for everything. New opportunities are going to come up. New products may be developed. But here’s the thing. If you start with a plan, you might be able to jump ahead in how you wrap your arms around those new things. If you don’t have a plan, you might find yourself short on budget just at the worst time. Ya know?
I think the mark of a true marketing genius is knowing how much to plan. There’s a fine balance between over and under planning and if you can give yourself the right guidelines efficiently and rely on your quick wit and adaptability to get you through the rough area’s than you’re golden. What do you think, Margie?
@ArthurAnswers I think you’re a genius! Very well said. Much of life is art more than science. It’s about a fine balance and maintaining a centered perspective on things. No need to rock the boat till it tips over, right?
I don’t mean to take this conversation in a different direction, but having recently read “The Startup of You,” I think that this blog post is also highly relevant to the way in which people (should) approach their careers — you need to constantly “aim, fire, aim, fire, aim fire” – basically keep focusing on a goal, go for it, and then iterate as appropriate. Thoughts?
@AllynHorne Makes sense. A plan when looking for a job can really be helpful, but if you bank on everything in your plan working just so, you’re going to be miserably disappointed. You need to let a plan guide you but not blind you. How’s that? 🙂
I’m often guilty of being lame for NOT planning… Unless you count the 5 minute thought-process I have prior to doing something. You and I will make a good team one day. When I become rich and famous, I’m going to hire Claycom2000 to help me with planning the details and keep my feet on the ground 🙂
@SociallyGenius Sounds great to me, sir 🙂
Thanks for popping by!
If you fail to plan you plan to fail. It is not just a silly little aphorism that people pass around.
@TheJackB Word!
Strategy is everything! Planning may sound dumb at first but in most cases it will answer the question ‘What’s Next?’ just as you pointed out. Sure, situations may change but helping yourself to see one step ahead never is a bad thing. I think many give up planning because they spend too much time in planning that they lose sight of what needs to be done now. Great post as always 😉