You can take this a step further: The traditional methods of communication that smartphones are built on carry no opportunity to track usage and study results accurately. At least no real way Marketing has access to. (Collecting business cards doesn't count either) Social Media is built on digital communications systems that are inherently trackable. ROI may remain elusive, but the amount of information that you can get out of the system to understand your market and your customers is invaluable. Certainly, creating a digital strategy now can start with the implementation of a dashboard for marketing that will allow folks like us to have a really good look at the before and after. This example is a great ice-breaker to get folks thinking in the right direction. Thanks!

How would you gauge the relevant importance or trends in the twitter-verse if you knew that a percentage of the RT's were the result of a request vs. the result of valuable information that should be shared? Personally, I think "Please RT" defeats the purpose of RT. Good content is naturally shared. Bad content isn't.

Great discussion within this thread. For a slightly different take, knowledge of the 4P's has actually proven problematic in trying to adopt a digital roadmap / web strategy. Too much effort is spent on trying to create a strategy out of a text book definition, and not enough on the real world. The reality as I see it: Through social media and online marketing, we have taken an leap forward in how we communicate and interact. Wouldn't it make sense that the model used to market to potential customers in that environment should also take a similar leap forward? At the very least, how can a web site only exist as part of the Promotion when it (or specifically the technology they're based on) is now the standard communication protocol? I focus on this: Solve problems, publish content, provide value.