By Gail Z. Martin
When you’re starting your own business, you need every edge to make the most of a slippery recovery. Yet many new business owners fail to integrate social media in their marketing arsenal due to common, yet mistaken, ideas about what social media is (or isn’t) and how social media works. By incorporating social media in your marketing strategy from the beginning, you give your company the best head start possible.
Social media is a concept that embraces thousands of different types of sites, online communities and helper applications. At the heart of social media is the old fashioned concept of networking within a community. Once you realize that social media is really networking by another name, it can be a lot easier to allocate time to invest in creating a presence for your business. And where most real-life networking events or trade shows have a limited geographic range and schedule, social media is a global opportunity that never sleeps.
Myth #1: Social Media is just for kids. It’s true that Facebook started out as a platform just for college students at select schools. But that’s ancient history by Internet standards. Take a look on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, and you’ll see marketing giants like the Mayo Clinic, AARP, 3M and others who understand the value of being where their customers are already congregating.
Browse profiles, and you’ll see that social media isn’t just for teens. A large and growing percentage of users are over 30 years old. There are no shortage of sites for midlife women, retirees, mid-career job changers, and others in their 40s, 50s and older.
Myth #2: It’s just a fad. That’s what some music critics said about the four lads from Liverpool when they first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show, too. But like The Beatles, social media is here to stay, and it’s becoming a powerful cultural force. Pundits acknowledge the role of social media in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, and major news organizations are actively soliciting reader-submitted news stories, videos and live blogging from newsworthy events. Social media is now an established part of global communication, and you ignore it at your peril.
Myth #3: Social media is all you need. Rarely is it a good idea to use social media as your only marketing tool. Some of the first pioneering business users on social media have legendary success stories that will be very difficult for anyone to duplicate now that social media has become much more populated with competition. There is a distinct benefit to being the first in any new medium. The question isn’t whether or not you can find a story about someone who used social media alone to build a marketing empire; it’s whether you can achieve your prioritized business goals by adding social media to your marketing mix.
Myth #4: Quantity is more important than quality. You wouldn’t get up in front of a national audience and ramble for hours without notes. You’d be squandering an opportunity. In the same way, slapping together as many social media sites as you can and then abandoning them is no substitute for a real social media strategy. Nor is cluttering up the site with unfocused content, personal musings or political ranting. If you wouldn’t say it in a business meeting or on TV, don’t say it on social media. Use your marketing strategy to provide valuable content in support of your business goals to solve the Problem/Pain/Fear in your target audience and limit the number of social media sites to those where you can actively participate on a regular basis.
Myth #5: I’m too busy to add social media. Like most things that are worth having, social media requires an investment of time and effort. Everyone is busy, but people make time for what they prioritize. That’s the secret behind my 30 day approach. By allotting 30 minutes a day to social media for 30 days, you can get your social media strategy up and running. By continuing to invest 30 minutes a day (or by training an assistant to help you), you can expand that presence and reap the rewards.
Based on the book, 30 Days to Social Media Success, by Gail Martin, new from Career Press in September, 2010.
About Gail Z. Martin
Gail owns DreamSpinner Communications and helps companies and solo professionals in the U.S. and Canada improve their marketing results in 30 days. Gail has an MBA in marketing and over 20 years of corporate and non-profit experience at senior executive levels. Gail hosts the Shared Dreams Marketing Podcast. She’s the author of The Thrifty Author’s Guide to Launching Your Book and 30 Days to Social Media Success. Find her online at www.GailMartinMarketing.com, on Twitter @GailMartinPR and check out her Facebook page at 30 Day Results Guide.
Excellent article. Yesterday we were presenting to job seekers the importance and power of social media in the job search. I’ll forward your blog to the group. Again thanks and we’ll include your insights in our next Social Media & Job Search workshop. Cheers, Thomas