Are you Social?

In some of the conferences I've hosted, I've asked a simple question: "Are you on Facebook? Then you are using Social Media."

However, Social Media Marketing is more involved than that. This is from the BasicMarketingIdeas.com site:

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing

A marketer’s guide to social media

What it is, what it’s not

Social media is a tool; it’s not a plan or a strategy. A hammer cannot build a house; it doesn’t know what you want to do; it’s dumb, you’re the smart one. Social media will not develop a marketing campaign for you, and it is definitely not a marketing initiative all by itself.

Social media is a communications channel, it’s not a message. Another communications channel, radio, has been around for almost 100 years, but it has never sold a single product - not one.

However, effective radio copy has sold billions of products.

Social media marketing is free, but it comes with a high price tag; it’s expensive in terms of time and resources. You will need to plan messages, develop key words, target your audience and learn from your mistakes – social media gobbles up time.

Social media messages are good for today, not next week. The channel has an ephemeral nature. A “tweet” is like direct response advertising, if you haven’t heard from the customer within three days of your tweet, it is unlikely you ever will. Social media constantly requires new, interesting content – out of sight, out of mind. To be successful in social media, you must begin to think of yourself as a publisher, as well as a marketer or business owner.

Social media marketing is different from traditional advertising and promotion, but it’s not better. It’s not worse, either. The two media choices provide different benefits. It’s a tool, remember? Hammer or saw?

But still, sometimes the best social media is a billboard.

There are two sides to every story

The ancient Greeks believed that the opposite of every great idea was equally true, so it is with Social Media - the great, new idea.

On one hand, it gives businesses new ways to succeed in the marketplace. On the other, it also provides new ways to trip and fall flat on your face. Your mistakes can now go “viral”.

Social media lets you gather your customers together and engage them in conversation, to build strong relationships. But it also provides that same opportunity to your competitors. They can become anonymous “fans” and join all your nice, friendly conversations. Additionally, your followers now have a method (thanks to you and social media) to talk to each other, to praise your company or to grouse and complain in a very public forum - your forum.

If you don’t like social media and feel some affinity for it; it probably won’t like you either. Find someone who likes social media to build your online relationships. If you don’t want to be at the party, people will soon see it and drift away. After all, there’s a reason the word “social” is in the title.

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