Last night I attended the Hill Holiday panel discussion “Integrating Social Media Across the Big Brand: The Harmony of Cross-Channel Marketing.” The panel was pulled together by the director of integrated marketing Mike Proulx and featured panel members Terry Lozoff, Sean Corcoran, Mike Spataro, Ken Peters, and Vicki Rellas. Each member of the panel discussed cross-channel marketing case studies from Best Buy and GM to Feld Entertainment and Chili’s.

Integrating social media into cross-channel marketing is not something new. Companies started doing limited campaigns to augment their larger marketing plans on Facebook and MySpace since before 2007. However, big brands are becoming more strategic in their approach to community building and using social media as a larger part of their marketing strategies.

As the panel discussed, when integrating social media strategies into your wider marketing plan, it is not just about splashing your brand across the networks, but really thinking about your consumers and the conversations you want to create. Here are a few points to keep in mind:

1. What are my goals with integrating social media into this campaign: Although there have been many arguments that social media can’t be measured, it can. When developing a plan, develop it as any other marketing strategy with benchmarks in order to gauge its success. These measurements may not be as quantitative as traditional marketing campaigns. It is important to understand that much of social media is dependent on the conversation, so qualitative measures become essential to gauging success.

2. How is traditional media supporting online efforts: New media (aka social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Blogs) cannot live without old media (aka TV, radio, and print), at least not yet. Understanding how the two mediums can compliment each other leads to greater success. Consistent branding throughout the channels gives customers a way to connect their engagement online and the advertising they see offline.

3. <!–[endif]–>New media can extend traditional media plans: Suggestion, don’t get on twitter only for a campaign. The content that goes online lives online forever. This means that your customers can access it long after the commercials or billboards come down. Think about integrated social media components as a long-term community instead of a “limited life” campaign.

4. Don’t just talk, listen: Unlike traditional media buys, social media cannot simply be used as a broadcast channel. Platforms are set up to suggest engagement and conversation. Utilize this as an opportunity to not only send out messages, but also to understand how your consumers think and understand your brand.

Most of all, give people a reason to come back. If you are not finding success with social media, don’t give up. Think about your approach, tweak it, and try again. People want to talk about what they think about your product, so finding a way to allow them a space to do that can be hugely rewarding for both your marketing team and your customers.