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Companies often treat social media as the conversation that represents what consumers are saying about any given brand. But research shows that online and offline conversations are different beasts. Even though they both drive sales, they need to be measured and managed separately.

Nike's selection of politically polarizing Colin Kaepernick as the spokesperson for the 30th anniversary of its iconic "Just Do It" campaign catapulted the brand into the media spotlight and made it a political flashpoint for consumers across America. Would the choice of Kaepernick positively or negatively affect Nike's business results or just generate a lot of social media chatter? As Nike's management team watched some people burn their sneakers in protest on YouTube and others applaud the company's behavior on Facebook, they wondered whether inserting Nike into the middle of a heated political debate was the right thing to do or the most reckless action Nike's brand stewards had ever taken, putting Nike's $30 billion brand asset at risk? After all, on social media, it was easy to say that one would boycott or buycott a brand due to one's political beliefs, but in the marketplace, other purchase criteria often reigned supreme.

A temporary discount can generate a lot of customer excitement, but the revenue effects can be short lived. Price promotions commonly increase manufacturer revenue and depress retailer revenue in the short term but have no persistent effect. Promotions are tactical, not strategic, and they need to be managed that way.