Thank you to all or it is thanks all but the point is that I'd like to thank you :D

-- and adding to Philip's and Kate's comments; "gimmicks" can hold a negative connotation as devious trickery. With this in mind, it seems that this text was written by marketing insiders, and is saying that social media is a serious component of advertising campaigns, yet, as mentioned above, will not replace a traditional marketing plan, or "boilerplate" marketing. --thanks

Just adding to what Philip said, a gimmick is a trick or device intended to attract attention, publicity, or trade. In other words, a gimmick in this sentence, means that it can not be used as an easy way to achieve marketing goals. It can not be used instead of a full marketing strategy. Hope that helps - happy to explain more if it's not clear.

A gimmick is a clever way to market or advertise something to attract the most attention. The focus of the sentence is "marketing" and not "social media". So, it is saying that social media was not created to be a way to cleverly market products, nor should anyone rely completely on social media as their only way to market. It goes on to say that social platforms are a basic approach to marketing, if one decides to use social media for marketing, which implies that it is only a tool and not an entire strategy. Hope I didn't confuse you.