Despite the reported exodus from Facebook, not to mention the eye-rolling and general fatigue at the mention of this online phenom, it seems Facebook still stands as a viable networking – and more importantly – marketing tool.

A contact of mine, who works with Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism, touched base recently to share a business success story which revived my faith in Facebook as an effective eMarketing vehicle.  The province of Newfoundland and Labrador boasts some of the most spectacular Canadian tourist destinations you can find.  My contact had posted a Facebook page back in March of this year.  The page drew close to 1400 “fans” and 400 fan photos in just two months.  Not bad for an online tool that some have been increasingly prone to describing as “so yesterday”.

 Capitalizing on the inherent social associations that make Facebook work, my contact and her tourism colleagues struck marketing paydirt.   In the case of this Facebook page, the emotional pull to “go home” was one key to its success.  Facebook users from that region simply could not resist the call of the beautiful landscape of their youth.  Beyond these fans, non-Newfoundlanders were visible contributors who were clearly satisfied tourism customers judging by their many descriptions of previous journeys to “The Rock”.  Hey, if it works, go with it!

Just this morning, we received a brochure for a seminar about Digital Marketing.  This afternoon, I was eMailed a question about best practices in eMarketing.  Yesterday, a client talked to me about the success he has had with internet marketing.

It’s enough to make your head spin.

I see several metaphors in this tendency toward finding new ways to describe the same concept:

a.  Unlike other business disciplines, (human resources, project management, accounting) that have long held guidelines and practices, we have yet to establish well-recognized eMarketing standards.  Hence a lack of standard nomenclature.

b.  There is no agreed-upon method…to date…for evaluating the ROI to be had from a good eMarketing program (although I believe we are getting closer).

c.  Despite the global nature of the internet, there is no singular approach to eMarketing that will meet all client/customer needs.  What works in one region may be a complete flop in another.

A discussion of a client’s basic definition of eMarketing may be a good starting point for identifying expectations.  Any time you spend with a client to jointly pinpoint the means to make a project successful, you are better able to understand - and reflect- their vision of business excellence.

I think that’s one thing we can all agree on.