Is Social Media Marketing the right thing for you?

It is interesting to see all the mixed reactions you get when you start talking about Social Media Marketing, and introduce yourself as someone who works with it.

You get the “yeah right, you are just someone who gets paid to goof around the Internet” look, the humiliating  “oh, not another one of those geeks” eye roll, and, on a rare occasion, even an enthusiastic “that is totally awesome!” glance. (Yeah I got one of those teaching a Junior Achievement class and it felt pretty good).

The Social Media “in-crowd” however, tends to frown upon us marketers. They say Social Media Marketing is ruining it for them just as email marketing ruined email for everyone.

You can’t really blame them for thinking like that. Just like happens with email, there is a lot of Social Media marketing abuse out there. The obnoxious self-promoters, spammers and the like ruin it for us all. But I would hardly qualify spam as marketing.

I have a 25 years marketing background  (oh my… I just gave everyone a hint on how old I am) and back in the day we were taught to seek, understand, target and please our audiences, not annoy the heck out of everyone in the hopes of hooking an unsuspecting vict… I mean, customer.

So here’s my take on this. Social Media marketing did not ruin Social Media. Spammers did.

I would even dare to say that if Social Media is any fun at all is exactly because there are people out there “marketing” effectively: be it a cause, a job or themselves.

We love Social Media because we love the people we meet out there, who are consistently creating, filtering and sharing  content that we enjoy.  That is marketing 101 for you.

Bottom line: in the past 25 years a lot changed in terms of advertising media. Yet the main ingredient of any marketing campaign didn’t change at all: people. They still want to be respected, helped , pleased,  and, if possible, “wowed”.

So if you want to market in Social Media, put people first. Be a people person. Be gracious, polite, helpful, humble. Make them love you.

Here’s a checklist of traits you should have or cultivate in order  to effectively market in Social Media:

  1. Time, and  lots of it, to spend building networks, socializing, making friends.
  2. Ability to communicate effectively in writing. Social Media can be very forgiving of typos and even common grammar mishaps, but you are trying to look knowledgeable and professional. Using Internet lingo and too many shorts might be ok when you are texting your daughter but not so much when you are trying to get a customer.
  3. Willingness  to learn new technologies and navigate different platforms
  4. Professional demeanor at all times. What you write in Social Media, is indexed for posterity and for the world to see. One wrong post can come back and haunt you, many years from now.
  5. Common sense and grace under fire.  Know how to pick your battles because there will be always someone who will argue anything you say, no matter how effectively you prove them wrong. They are called trolls. They get a kick out of creating conflict over nothing. Withdraw from conflict, put business ahead of personal pride. Do not accept provocation or respond to aggression. Graciously withdraw from conflict even when you know you are  right.
  6. Willingness to read and obey websites TOS and rules for posting and interacting. That goes with putting people first (and keep you from getting banned from the nest websites, as well.) Look forward to a post on this matter.
  7. Ability to look real, not spammy The easiest way to do this is to look like a human being, not a machine. Ask, react, interact, answer, discuss, participate. Even though you are trying to market a business you are not a business. Except in the case of huge companies that spent already a lot of time and huge fortunes branding their products and services, people buy from people. Be the knowledgeable, courteous person they would want to do business with.
  8. Patience and forward thinking. Social Media is not cheap advertising, is not a “get rich quick” scheme. If you are trying t get ROI figures before starting your campaigns, forget about it,  and if there is someone trying to sell you a plan that will give you immediate ROI, run. Social Media is an ever changing environment. What is hot now, is history three months later. It needs time, dedication and a different mindset. Social Media can generate leads, but it is not a lead generation tool. It is a branding and reputation management tool. It is kind of like any local group and congregation you are a part of. You find a purpose to be there,  network with people of all walks of life, and eventually reaps the benefits of such interactions. You sow now to reap somewhere down the road
  9. Ability to be sociable, on and off-line. You can’t just hope that they will come to you just by posting a blog, some twits and a Facebook page. You will need to get out there, get involved in your community both on and off line.

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