Is social media the end all, be all solution that will solve all of your advertising and marketing woes? No matter how much you love Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus or your blog, this question misses the mark on the real purpose behind social media. Check out this video developed by Scott Slososky to get a better feel for what the rage is all about:
- Will social media make you millions? The short answer is no. The fundamentals of marketing still apply. You need a killer product, service or cause long before you worry about using social media.
- Is social media an affordable way to market your business? Sure, bite please remember that although these tools are free to sign up for, you will often need to invest in someone to run your social media campaigns and create content for them.
- What is does your marketing plan look like for the year?
- Do you have a plan for how you will be approaching web, social media, email marketing and/or mobile?
- If you have these plans in place, what tools will you be using?
- What do your customers look like?
- Have you had success connecting with your customers/fans online? If so, what did it look like? If not, what have you tried and why did you fall short of your anticipated results?
You must understand this. Social Media is a tool that allows you to connect with your peers, fans and community. Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and the like are tools that foster creativity, connections, and collaboration. Social media is the domain of change, social evolution and revolutions.
The next time you get a call from a pushy salesperson that has the silver bullet social media plan or mobile app be sure to put him to the test. What is the test? If he is smart and actually understands social and mobile marketing then he should begin the conversation by asking you a few key questions:
If our fictitious sales person fails to address these types of questions at the top of your conversation and instead jumps right into trying to sell you his “incredible solutions,” my advice to you is beware. Here’s why.
A credible salesperson or business partner wants to work with you to help grow your business. If his solutions match up well to your goals and needs, you have a great starting point for further discussions. However, if he fails to take time to get to know you, your business and your actual needs, you must be cautious.
What it all comes down to is this – social media provides small businesses a wealth of tools to build fantastic and trusting relationships with their fans. But these tools do not trump basic marketing fundamentals. Start with your base and build.
