Recently saw an interview with Jack Welch on Morning Joe. He commented that we need a new word for these economic times…….a descriptor that lands us somewhere between “recession” and “depression”. I guess we’re too sick to be a recession but still have too strong of a pulse for a depression. So: decession it is.

Whatever we call it, lots of conversation and content focuses on “the use of social media to save marketing dollars” during this decession.

Let’s press pause and think about this. Regardless of economic conditions, business needs drive marketing approach. Social media only makes sense IF it has a legitimate role in delivering on objectives. Too often we see companies adopting social media or building an online community because a) it needs to be crossed off a list, b) it’s ‘cheap” or c) there’s a new cool tool that is just too irresistible

The result is a mish mash instead of a strategic mash-up. Said another way, there’s lots of disconnected social media experiments that do not roll-up into a strategy. and offer few meaningful metrics against business drivers.

Isn’t this current “decession” a good time for us to not only find ways to drive marketing efficiencies but also to thoughtfully integrate social media into an overall strategy that will drive growth?