YAYAs® plug into social media as if it were life support. Many marketers turn to social media to target YAYAs, creating a Facebook page and Twitter profile just to fit in with the crowd. To help mold their online presences, countless agencies and companies are creating a unique position: a digital strategist who develops tactics for social media and Web communication.

I don’t believe digital strategy should be separate from the overarching integrated marketing plan. Successful campaigns should center on insight – insight that strikes a chord through traditional mediums and online alike. A connection between brand and consumer should resonate across platforms, from a big-budget television commercial and glossy magazine ad to a Facebook fan page and a Twitter conversation. Ultimately, an online presence without a well-crafted strategy just becomes clutter.

Sarah Larcker, the director of strategy and analysis at a Philadelphia health care company, explored the topic on the MediaPost marketing blog .

“There should not be such a thing as a standalone ‘social media strategy,’” Larcker wrote. “What your brand should have is an overarching strategy that may or may not include social media tactics depending on whether they make sense for your customers or not. Similarly, there shouldn't be laser-focused ‘social media strategists.’ Instead, brand marketers need to rely on strategists and planners who deeply understand their audiences, including – but not limited to – demographics, attitudes and beliefs, cultural realities affecting their lives, and technology adoption, of which the role of the Internet (and subsequently online social media) is a subset.”

By identifying insight to drive the campaign, an account planner by any name (including a digital strategist!) must help connect the brand message with the target audience. Regardless of the target market, don’t just log onto Facebook, check into Foursquare and call it a day!

Honda is taking social gaming for a test drive to promote the U.S. launch of its latest sport hybrid coupe, the Honda CR-Z.

For the next two months, Facebook users will be able to play Car Town, a Facebook game that allows players to use virtual currency to purchase, customize, and store their very own virtual vehicles in specialized garages. Players then use their creations to compete in challenges and take road trips to earn points in order to create more automobiles and to purchase car-related products and services.

Advertising for the CR-Z will appear in the form of clickable ads that are found on all in-game billboards. Honda will be one of the “Featured Garages” in the game, where players will be able to watch the CR-Z video commercial and buy a CR-Z for their own virtual garages. The CR-Z will continue to remain in the Facebook game even after the two-month promotion period ends.

Though not only targeted at YAYAs®, Car Town is set up to be successful at capturing the attention of the Youth and Young Adult market for several reasons. First, Facebook is an extremely popular social site among YAYAs. Second, promotions must be engaging for YAYAs to notice them. Third, YAYAs are the age group most annoyed with online adverting. Because Car Town is a game, the promotion will be perceived as less overt and obnoxious than other forms of online ads.

Car Town is Honda’s first attempt at advertising in a social media game. Do you think the company’s effort will be successful?