May

Social Media Marketing: Get it While It’s Ignored

By Sid

Not many people are doing any social media marketing (yet). As long and hard as I search online for folks actively engaged in social media marketing, I’m just not seeing it.

I can guess what you’re thinking. “This guy is either blind, insane, or both.”

Before you pass judgment, allow me to explain. I am seeing boat loads of social media networking. OMG… the sheer VOLUME of networking that’s going on today with social media is staggering. People are accumulating Twitter followers faster than my fleece jacket picks up cat hair… and you see growth of Twitter daily (85% in the past couple of months alone).

Facebook is getting its share of attention as well. It’s not unusual for someone to send a tweet to their 10,000 followers, have that tweet posted on their Facebook page, and then receive hundreds of re-tweets and replies to the Facebook page.

That, my friend, is called “Networking.”

Social networking is great. You get to interact with a wide variety of people, get some feedback on what you’re doing, and let people know about you, your business, and your life. Sometimes this can lead to new business. That’s the function of networking: you build relationships, get some referrals, and through natural “network trickle” you’ll get some new business.

And as a CRM (customer relationship management) tool, social media is a godsend. You’ve got INSTANT access to both customers and prospects to squelch rumors, answer questions, post surveys, and learn about what’s working and what’s not working. But it’s still networking. It’s not marketing.

Marketing is all about getting leads for your products and services. You direct your marketing efforts toward qualified prospects. They read what you have to say, feel that you can help solve their problem, and they check you out. If you then do a good job of selling, you increase your bottom line.

After all… do you want more friends or more customers for your business? Yeah… probably both, but what good are thousands of Twitter followers if few of them buy from you?

Let’s Get Things Straight About Social Media

“Media” refers to a means of communication. TV, radio and newspapers are all forms of media. The internet is another form of media where ideas, thoughts and advertisements are communicated.

“Social” media implies a means of inter-communication between many parties. While TV, radio and newspapers are one-way communication, the internet offers the means for instantaneous communication between multiple groups of people.

That’s all it is — a form of communication. We’re talking about tools that enable people to communicate with each other. In its simplest form, that’s all social media is.

You then have to ask the question, “Why do people feel the need to communicate with others?” There are two main reasons people use the internet form of media:

They have a “social” need for interaction with other like-minded humans; or…
They have a “personal” need to solve a problem, stop a pain, or reach a goal.

So, when you’re using social media to communicate, you should know whether you’re helping to satisfy a social need or personal need. Think about it…

Do people willing spend money to solve a social need (interaction with others)? Usually not. However, they WILL spend money (and quickly) to solve a pressing problem, stop a pain, or sometimes to help them reach a goal.

<b>Social Media Networking</b> is when you interact with people at the social level, and <b>Social Media Marketing</b> is when you interact with people at the personal level. That is, networking is mostly about having conversations, while marketing is mostly about solving problems.

Now… with this distinction in mind: Are you networking, or are you marketing when you use social media to communicate with others?