Well, not quite … but the “So and So for 2013” blog posts are starting to pop up like Christmas decorations in stores the day after Halloween. Here’s a 10 part strategic plan that’s positioned as a plan for 2013, but in fact it’s a good plan for any time of the year.

Social Media Explorer explains why.

I probably receive many of the same sorts of pitches that Mark Smiciklas writes about in his post. Here’s the thing, though: Engaging in pure one-one-one outreach is not always cost-effective, even for the most knowledgeable and experienced marketers. On the other hand, engaging in sweeping one-email-size-fits-all outreach to a large mailing list can, as Mark correctly notes, erode business value.

The question is this: How does any given company find a cost-effective happy medium?

I wish I had an easy answer. I do believe that the answer begins, as so many marketing answers do, with “it depends.”

It depends on the nature of the business, the nature of the outreach, the nature of the audience, the nature of the communication goal — in brief, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to avoiding a one-size-fits-all solution when customizing outreach for each of 1,000 (or even 100) recipients is damn near impossible.

Is that time-consuming one-on-one outreach “the only real effective way to nurture relationships that can add business value over time” as Mark writes? Probably. But that won’t stop companies of all sizes from trying to cut corners.

Takeaway for marketers: When you’re cutting those corners, and you will, do so with a scalpel, not a hatchet. That way, you at least have a shot at learning something and minimizing any damage you might inflict.

If I made a list of 100 small businesses from my local Sunday paper, I bet 75 or so of them could learn a lot from this Social Media Today post.

Because in my experience — and I bet in yours, too — most small business websites do a lousy job of being informative in ways that today’s customers demand from all businesses, big and small.

Ever wondered about whether Facebook Promote works? Sure you have. Ever wanted to read a case study about Facebook Promote with some actual metrics in it? Sure you have. Here’s one right here courtesy of Social Media Today.

Over on Social Media Today, Jon-Mikel Bailey makes a lot of sense. For all the smoke and mirrors and promises and dreams and statistics and analyses and … well, look: It boils down to knowing your customer and having a communications strategy.

Takeaway for marketers: Duh.