The rise and rise of social media is becoming increasingly recognised as the most influential catalyst for change in the world of marketing, but the stigma, or rather misconception, that surrounds social media is staggering.

Take this following statistic from technology marketing research firm The Radicati Group, Inc. and it should immediately start ringing alarm bells for any company, brand, rights holder or individual who is not already embracing social media as a genuine and viable communications marketing tool.

Social networking currently represents the fastest growing communication technology among both consumers and business users, with over 2.1 billion accounts in 2010 which are projected to grow to over 3.6 billion accounts by 2014.

Not only does that put social networking on par with the number of email users, which is projected to increase at a slightly more marginal rate from 2.9 billion to 3.8 billion by 2014, it also highlights the size of the social media market TODAY. To most companies those 2.1 billion social networking accounts represent untapped revenue. 

The world of sport is slowly awaking to the potential of social networking, whether through Twitter, Facebook or bespoke fan-facing websites, blogs or forums, but those that are hitting the mark are still few and far between. There are still far too many brands, teams, sports personalities and sponsors who are happy enough to simply open a Twitter or Facebook account and think job done.

There are also a lot of sports brands that are too scared to immerse themselves fully into the social media pool, whether through fear of getting it wrong and damaging the brand, or just not understanding the fundamentals to begin with. You wouldn’t buy a house without a thorough survey and then leave it unoccupied after purchase. You have to find the right area for you, make sure that the foundations of the property are secure, ensure the potential for long-term investment and then make the most of the property. 

There is a tendency for some to put social media on a pedestal and to treat it in isolation, but social networking should form one part, albeit an important part, of the greater marketing and communications mix. I have spent the last twelve months or so getting deeply involved in social media so that when it comes to client meetings and proposals, we can confidently and seamlessly incorporate social media into a wider marketing programme, ensuring consistency and clarity in key messaging across all disciplines, from traditional press releases right up to fan and public interaction.

Social media cannot be treated with kid gloves; it has to become fully integrated into the marketing mix. Social media is not just another tier in the already long line of business > product > brand > advertising, forcing the audience upstream the engagement ladder in a linear fashion. If there is one thing that social media is not it is ‘linear’. Digital tech means we all have the flexibility of being able to dip in and out of media at any point and share it in a manner that can spread at a much quicker rate. Social media has taken the dawn of web 2.0 and given it a whole new dimension, two-way communication. It is more than simply another layer to the marketing cake, it can and should be a shared tasting experience of all layers of the cake that are already there. Social media does not need a strategy of its own; it is an effective and increasingly valuable tool which companies can use to aid the over-arching marketing strategy.

Let’s remind ourselves of that projected figure – 3.6 billion social networking accounts by 2014 – but that’s just a number. If you are a sports property make sure your social networking account is more than just a statistic – more than just one out of 3.6 billion; make your social networking account work for your marketing strategy and make it a success story for your brand.