http://www.flickr.com/photos/marc0047/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
With social media consultants popping up faster than Realtors in 2006, we need to set the record straight: knowing how to use the tools doesn’t make you a social media expert. Like the proverbial three-legged stool, using social media effectively means paying attention to three basic elements:
- Strategy
- Tools
- People
Strategy:
Before you set up profiles in every social network, think about your customers: who are they, what problems do they face, where do they hang out: are they on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace? If your customers are there, you need to be there. Before putting out content, though, think about what you want to communicate, and how you want to communicate. Your message and style must be consistent with your brand, and with the way you communicate offline.
Tools:
Learn the nuances, idiosyncrasies and etiquette of each social media platform. Social networks are not sales tools as much as they are relationship building tools. Using social media to aggressively sell products is not effective. Instead, focus on building your brand, being helpful and showing that you know your stuff .
Also, you don’t need to jump into every new social media platform. There are only so many hours in a day, and it is better to be an active participant in one or two networks than to just dabble in five or six. As Laura Roeder says, social media is not an area where you necessarily want to be cutting edge: sometimes the tried and true, older social networks are better because they gather a larger audience and more of your potential customers.
People:
The real experts never lose sight of the big picture: social media are just a means to a bigger end. It is not a coincidence that Chris Brogan, one of the top names in the field, has chosen these words for the title of his homepage: Beyond Social Media: Learn How Human Business Works.
The end goal should be to help people and build community (which is also a great way to build a business). Focusing on people and solving their problems is a more sustainable business strategy than just showing them the mechanical aspects of how to use the tools.
As Adam Singer explains in his popular blog The Future Buzz, social media is not new. Just as it would be ridiculous to build a business around showing people how to dial a phone, social media is soon going to become second nature (it already is for Millenials). The challenge we face now is not how to set up a Twitter or Facebook profile, but how do we use the leverage that social media gives us to build value and help people.
Great post, entirely true.
Being on Twitter (or Facebook, MySpace, Flickr) isn’t your goal. Your goal is to motivate / engage / inform people. These goals are based on your long term strategy. And to achieve those goals you have a box of tools that you can use.
Keep up the good work! KG,
Simon
Simple and precise – Thanks!
Like your picture — Simplicity (if you had the 4th leg it would be a rock solid
So much social media as professed by so called ‘experts’ is tactical in nature and whilst it may engage with a lot of people on a lot of occasions it achieves absolutely nothing.
That’s why I think you should maybe extend your strategy statement. Absolutely you should look at your customers, but think about what the business goals are. Is it higher retention of customers, more customers, higher spend, more regular purchase? These are the kind of goals that give focus to a social media campaign and enable it to increase satisfaction amongst customers but also produce ROI for the business.
Social media needs to live inside an overall digital marketing strategy if the reality is to meet the hype. I also think it gives power to the rest of your article which was excellent.
Aaron Savage
Interactive Mix Limited
@Aaron:
You’re right about the importance of setting specific goals that can be measured. I was reading an alarming statistic yesterday that said that 75% of small businesses in the US don’t engage in social media because they don’t see the value. Without clear and realistic goals and specific KPIs, small business owners will continue to be disappointed. This is a big opportunity for social media consultants who “get it”.
Hi Mario,
Adam Singer is my favorite blogger, so anyone who quotes him is definitely speaking to the Choir.
I like the simplicity of your post and agree that Social Media is a means to an end, especially for marketers.
One comment on the importance of Profiles, especially for LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook; It is my understanding that the way people find you “out there” is by the details you add to those profiles.
Of course, you are correct that goals — especially for those who want to use the internet for business purposes — are the cornerstone for your social media participation.
@Shari:
Adam is one of my favorite bloggers too. Very valid point about the importance of filling up your profiles with the right information. Thanks.
Hi Mario,
Really enjoy your site and your insights. Just launching a new product so your information is timely for me.
Thanks, Ross
Great post!! I totally agree not to join EVERY network and to have a strategy when going into online marketing.
Just wrote a 3-part blog series Social Media For Small Business – Part I: What Is Social Media and Why Your Small Business Needs It; Part II: Tools and resources for your small business; Part III: Seven Deadly Sins of Social Media
http://myhosting.com/blog/2009/12/social-media-small-business-part-ii-tools-resources-small-business/
Hope its also helpful
Great post Mario.
Straight to the point.
thanks,
James
adam copeland,
social media marketing should always begin offline rather than on , approaching small business in your area is great way to get your foot indoor so to speak .
i agree with the comment above , offline is definately the way to go to start social media marketing