Think Before You Engage: 100 Questions to Ask Before Starting a Social Media Marketing Campaign

77. Why Does What I Do in the Real World Matter?

A brand should always be represented online as it is offline. What the web does is open up the audience to a broader level. A person in Australia can buy a skateboard from a shop in California. Friends across the world from each other can hop onto a computer and visit with each other face to face via services such as Skype. Companies can close multibillion dollar deals with the exchange of an email.

When an online brand develops a reputation online, people expect to see that reputation carried out in real life. Conversely, an offline presence should be properly represented online. Social media should be viewed as another tool to carry out the overall marketing objectives of a brand and not as a primary avenue for business development. Because of this, it's essential to remember that offline activities, including both business and personal activities, reflect the brand and how current and potential consumers perceive it.

During a social media campaign, brands should make sure that all actions have the campaign's best interest as the main focus. If the campaign is to position the brand as a leader in geo-location, the brand and its team should focus on events circling this particular world. Actions, both offline and online, need to support each other and be unified in its efforts to reach a goal for that effort to be successful.

During ...