20/03/2023
What is Social IMC?
The Social IMC strategy is the third social marketing strategy and the most powerful one we will study. Social IMC is one of the two emBRACE Social strategies. Unlike nurture marketing which is used to develop a sales and marketing relationship with a specific target market, Social IMC does not limit its engagement to observable changes in website interaction or interaction with your sales team. Social IMC is designed to embrace a high value market you want to develop and take them to a private virtual community you develop specifically for them. Done correctly, Social IMC allows you to build a 1-to-1 long-term relationship with high value community members to position you as an expert and the place to go when they are ready to buy.
When you are developing a social IMC strategy, keep in mind that you are making a major investment to engage one of your markets. You will need to invest in an IT infrastructure to be able to build the community. Create an database registration and profile data as well as install tracking systems to monitor the site and engage with community visitors. This is a major investment. As a result, you should limit the social IMC strategy to communities that represent a high value or high opportunity potential to you and your organization. Because you want payback in a short amount of time, we shoot for a year or less, you will want to focus on the markets with the potential to quickly recoup your investment.
Another consideration Is to remember that this is a long term commitment. You are developing a strategy to become an integral part of a high value community. Once you are there, they will rely on you to play your role to help them achieve their community mission. You will need to invest in developing new content regularly, with information to support the community, monitor discussion boards, develop new webinars, or do whatever is necessary to remain a viable part of the community.