Milkman Mike is a true old school businessman. Every morning, five days a week, he delivers bottles of the white stuff to little tin boxes on the doorsteps of suburban homes. He's been doing it for 25 year; his family has been doing it for close to 70. If that's not old school I don't know what is.
Now, if Mike trades-in his rusting truck for a brand new-this-year model, does he lose that old school tag? Is his business now fundamentally different? Of course not: despite the new wheels, he's still delivering milk the old fashioned way. The basic business model remains unchanged.
Let's turn that same exercise and direct it to the modern crop of self professed marketeers: Does your heavy use of Tweeter (or facebook for that matter) automatically signal that you have fundamentally changed your marketing model?In examining most cases, that answer is NO. Here's why:
Despite its value as social platforms, most marketing types still employ the old school broadcast methodology when they are handed the keys to these net's. You know: Priority 1 is to accumulate as many contacts/friends as possible; and Priority 2 is to constantly barrage them with tweets & feeds. Such an approach truly defeats the purpose. They are still in the milk delivery business, despite the new delivery vehicle.
For many in the marketing profession, this is a bitter pill to swallow. But a look in the mirror would be a healthy procedure --- especially for your clients' sake.
