Historically, TV ads have been a very effective way to reach a very large audience in a short period of time, albeit at a wildy expensive price tag.  For many brands this has been very successful, with the right type of ad and insight.  One of the biggest problems in the digital age has been that brands spend a monumental amount of money on these ads, but there is no real opportunity for two-way, live interaction with this content or any ongoing conversation.

Updated May 15, 2013

Like all new technology, social media changes fast. Very fast.  Just trying to keep your head around all of the different platforms, how to approach them and, of course, how to design for them can be a full time job.  It would be nice if all of the platforms used the exact same dimensions and you could just swap photos between them all so that your brand has a nice consistent look across the board.

From a content point of view, we've covered what content will be used (Step 6), how it will be created, curated or commented on (Step 7) and now need to define 'where' it will be used.  Most people take this step as Step 1 of creating a social media plan.  Ever heard anyone say, "Let's get a Facebook page!", without ever considering what the implications are for the business, what type of content will be featured and why it will actually be useful? 

Luxury brands have been amongst the last of the big brands to really dive into social media. The reason often being that brands like Christian D'Or, Chanel, and Hennessy don't want to relinquish control of their brands.  They don't want to provide an opportunity for the public to bad mouth these mega high-end properties.  Luckily, several luxury brands have jumped into social media and, of course, what they are learning is that the brand advocates speak very loudly and will defend the brand against those that try and tarnish it - ultimately creating a tighter bond to the brands themselves.