I've got to get this out...

I love what social media and website/enewsletter templates have done for the marketing industry. They've made marketing accessible, and they've allowed businesses to take a DIY approach to their marketing efforts. I have always been a staunch advocate for doing what you can in-house.

However, the accessibility has also given rise to marketing experts with no real background in marketing. While social media platforms are advantageous for a number of reasons, the ability to create a Facebook page or enewsletter does not mean you can ignore basic marketing principles.

Questions like: "Who is your target market?" "What do they want from your product/service?" and "Through which medium do they prefer to be communicated with?" still ring true. Just because you can build it, doesn't always mean you should; at least not without a well-grounded strategy and some solid research.

Only once you solidly answer these questions should a worthwhile marketing campaign be launched. Because when armed with these answers, and an acute ability to develop a Facebook page, Twitter feed, or enewsletter campaign, can you expect real results.