Every week it seems there is another channel we can use to market our companies. Social Media for one appears to be leaping on to the stage at every opportunity. My inbox is constantly pushing out new sites to sign up to in the promise of delivering to us a new and exciting piece of business. I’m sure, like me, you wonder is it worth all the hype and will they get me any more notice than what I am experiencing with my current nest of sites.
All I can advise is that it is extremely important that you do your research and see what “appears” to be a good fit for you. By that I mean, how much effort you have to put forth to get the results you hope to achieve. You can’t do them all and be effective. As long as you realize that social media marketing is unlike any other traditional channel, you will appreciate what it takes to build audience. That difference of course is that social marketing is not about selling but is about the conversation. Branding loves social marketing because that conversation leads to relationships.
Social media also can be powerful in the right hands. Would you enjoy knowing when a key person in a business you have been aching to do business with leaves, opening the door for a new relationship, quite possibly with you? Trolling social sites can harvest this type of information. Developing a social media guide for your employees, can establish points of reference and alert them as to how the company wants them to identify themselves when ever they comment on the company online.
How ever you use the medium, finding that great fit, reduces unrealistic expectations and allows you to connect with your audience in more meaningful ways.
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Just be careful to instruct all employees to keep it PG, and to keep work secrets out of their blogs.
I know of one incident with a local company in my city where some code got leaked that shouldn’t have. It was a big heap of drama for everyone involved.
Hello Ed,
I started my business not long time ago but i found obstacles that would give me a headache for trying to solve them. I started with my family and talked about it and found out that business is successful when people start to talk about it , NOT advertising. So there’s my tip, try out public relation without advertising.
As you said there are so many social media sites and only so much time. Especially in this business of making a living online you have to focus cause there are so many distractions that would only waste your time. Currently I am cutting down on Twitter. Although it is bringing me alot of traffic it also costs tons of time and the traffic isn’t really converting. It’s a test so we will see what it brings.
It is all about which social media sites bring you traffic that converts and doesn’t waste your time.
You’re right Alex. If your goal is simply traffic, that’s one thing. But if sales rule, then re-thinking your social strategy would be a better use of your time.
Ed, you couldn’t be more spot on in your statement that “Branding loves social marketing because that conversation leads to relationships.” I agree that SM is a very powerful business tool if the right person can harness it. Something related (and that I am sure the blogosphere will adore) is a new WordPress Plugin that sends an email alert once a page in your site has been submitted. I believe this as well is a great tool since the initial promotion of such pages is very important. Thanks. Jim
Good point: Not all social media channels are right for your brand.
True enough Mike. Just because Facebook is all the rage in the press doesn’t mean that if you want to take advantage of social media, it has to be part of your mix. Strategic thinking is your best ally.
Very informative post about Social media. I will have to thank the author. Lot’s of blogs out there but only some are useful and helpful, this is one of them. Keep posting!
Instantly diving in to social media without proper research will eventually come out as a waste of time and effort. If social media is done wrong, it could actually lead to your blog’s death. However, if done right, well… it will feel like you’re on top of the world.
That’s for that great compliment Paul. Sorry I’m taking so long to reply. My property was hit by a Tornado last Sunday. I just got the internet back today. Nobody hurt but lots of damage.
Thank you for adding your opinion Jaime.
Social media is very important in every business. It’s one of the most effective way to reach clients/customers as many as possible. However, you need to choose the right social media that can really fit your business. Not everything works as expected.
Social media has spread its tentacles all over the marketing economy.Facebook has become the king of social media.Social media is already displaying signs of peak of inflated expectations.Thanks for addressing issue of social media in your article.
Regards
Great article, Ed.
You make a great point about social marketing. It is more about creating a relationship with people(gaining permission) rather than trying to sell(interruption). In this online world, trust must be gained because everybody these days is trying to sell something. I work for an SEO company and we did a social marketing campaign on a new product we are about to release. Because we gained the trust of people, they provided us with very insightful and helpful tips to make our product better, which you will never get that by just “selling”. As a result, our product is more user friendly than ever now!
I invite you and your readers to sign up for our beta release of our re-engineered pearanalytics.com/ free SEO analysis tool and look forward to any feedback.
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You can find the link on the home page at the top titled Small Business.
Thanks for commenting JackM and Social Networking Services. You both hit on ‘expectations’ and we all know how important that is before we even think of embarking on the social media tour.
Robert, it never ceases to amaze me how trusting people are on the web given the amount of scams out there. I guess it speaks to our desire to meet people who can help us. Social media is a super channel in this respect. I know that people who eventually hire me, have consistently read me for 6 months. It is then when they feel comfortable to reach out their hand.
Thanks for your article it have lots of valuable information thanks once again for your opinion
Thanks for sharing .
I have to say that you have a good idea
You’re welcome, Vibram
I think social media can definitely be a powerful tool for a business, but I think sometimes a small business can become somewhat “scatter brain” and discouraged from all the different types of social media. I think I read somewhere that only 5% of facebook business pages are updated frequently. I think it is because a lot of times a business will go all out with their fb page, go at it full bore for a month or two, and then when they don’t see the type of results they were looking for move on to the next one. It can really be a vicious cycle if you do not have a plan.
Choosing the right social media channels can really be a bit tricky. I tested alot myself and depending on your business, some stuff works extremely well whole other doesn’t at all. Kinda trial and error, but worth it for sure.
Exactly Preisvergletch. It’s what fits you. Some of my peers swear by Facebook where as blogging is it for me. Key is you don’t have to do everything no matter what the media hypes.