I was reminded yesterday of some good advice.  You can put lipstick on a pig and it will look better, but it will still be a pig.  In the transition to digital from traditional marketing, the same thing can happen.

Case in point is the great Skittles debate.  I am not going to rehash it here two days late.  I also hate to nail a company to the wall for trying digital marketing.  They definitely stirred a lot of debate with their recent move to add a Twitter feed to their home page.  Problem is they are not using Twitter themselves.  That is why it is just lipstick.

I know there is a lot of pressure on marketers to show they are digital.  However, don’t be digital for digital sake.  Take the time to test each tool, not just adopt what the flavor of the day is.  Make sure that when you deploy that tool that it fits with the overall strategies you set.

If you initiate social media without a firm plan, you can and most likely will get more than you bargained for – you probably will get a pig with lipstick.