The line of experts on social media is endless these days. While many assert that there is no such thing as a “social media expert” one thing is clear — they all are giving out advice on the ways that it works, the ways it doesn’t and the correct protocol for using it.
A great deal of these statements are regarded as being absolutely true and effective for any business that sets out to use social media. Such experts give this type of advice based on experience which is mostly their own and doesn’t account for the circumstances of the non-expert. There is a good chance that their instructions will not be helpful to you. Even if someone is only doing their best to point you in the right direction, they may end up leading you way off the track for YOUR business.
It’s important to have respect for experience and seniority, but when suggestions become set in stone, it becomes necessary to question them.
The following list includes some buzz phrases that are being passed off as “rules”. Each one should be evaluated on an individual basis when starting to work towards your social media marketing goals.
Claim 1: The Social Media Revolution Effects EVERYTHING
This is quite frankly nonsense. It has given us some exciting and innovative resources and given customers a louder voice to express their opinions on products and services. This is all true. But potential clients must still be sought after, sales still have to be closed and billing departments still need to prepare and send out invoices. All of these things are still as essential to a business’ longevity as they ever were.
Another fact to keep in mind is that networking has been around far longer than LinkedIn. Before these kinds of sites existed, networking took place in person. Was it so bad back then when it meant social events complete with refreshments and good company? I don’t think so.
“How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie, could be considered among the best publications on the topic of social media marketing, despite the fact it was written before such a concept had been formed. I urge you to read it or revisit it if you already have, because all that is covered within it remains valid to this day. The only difference now is that it is taking place on sites like Twitter.
Claim 2: Social Media is Useless for Boosting Sales
The above claim is often a sentiment held onto by those who were pioneers and who reflect on “better times” for social media, before ads invaded Facebook and spammers exploited it.
It’s indisputable that Dell has generated millions of dollars in sales of PC’s and accessories through Twitter deals. Smaller and more local businesses like cafes and coffee shops have used Twitter to take customer orders that are ready for pick-up upon their arrival. They’ve also found opportunities to use location-specific applications like FourSquare and Gowalla.
None of this should be taken as encouragement for sending out spam to all the people you possibly can through social media. That will only work against you, and may even result in account termination on more widely-used sites. The idea behind this and the goal is to deliver a meaningful message to someone it will have meaning to, because this will make sales happen.
Claim 3: Straying from Your Message is Prohibited
Some of the most successful social media gurus of today will oftentimes swear by this. When you think of the type of people who constantly keep to one message, who comes to mind? Politicians and inhuman corporations. Unless you fall into one of those categories, it isn’t your best option.
Don’t be afraid to express yourself or make comments on your personal life. No single subject has to totally dominate all your discussions, but you shouldn’t stray too far from whatever you are trying to represent. You can’t expect to attract many leads if ALL you talk about is your favorite TV show or what you had for lunch, after all.
Your mundane daily tasks and thoughts may not be the most effective way to capture anyones interest, but including a balanced mixture of topics that add personality can and will. Maybe you enjoy jogging, flea market shopping, working on cars, but what matters is that by sharing these things you will appeal more to others with common interests and this will fortify your network.
To quote Chris Garrett’s blogpost titled “How to Boost Your Personal Brand with Social Media”:
“Using light humor, being kind, sharing about more than just your work — including your interests — allow people to connect with you on a human level as well as a business and technical level.”
Claim 4: Social Media is Useless Without a Massive Following
Among my own network, we’ve exchanged and discussed the types of expert advice that we disagree with. The emphasis placed on establishing a huge following is the most commonly mentioned.
If a so-called expert is relating social media using numbers, they likely fall into one of two different groups. Either they claim to be a “guru” of social media and have offers in their bio which promise to teach you special knowledge that is guaranteed to gain followers by the hundreds on a daily basis, yet oddly he can’t boast more than 19 followers himself.
The other is the more legitimate social media marketer who lives and breaths the ideas behind it and takes it seriously because their type of business needs a large list of clients in order to thrive. For this type of person, it makes sense to think in terms of numbers.
There is something to be said for this suggestion, however. It is true that you reach a greater number of people if you accumulate a target network. Naturally, your response rate will depend mostly on how many followers your questions go out to.
Oftentimes we see that a user has thousands of followers and we figure anything they recommend has to be trustworthy. If we see someone getting tons of comments on their blog, it becomes validation in our minds and we make a big assumption that they’re madly successful.
Quite honestly, the number is not what really matters. The value of having even 100 followers who actively read your posts and contribute to the conversation is far greater than having thousands of readers who are never attentive.
It’s a common practice for people to devote a day to finding as many new people as they can find, then removing them a day later if they aren’t followed back in return. Realistically, you can only expect so much attention from your followers if they are reading posts from 20,000 other users. How well do you think you will stand out?
On the other side of that, if you follow thousands of people you can’t expect to have time for individually responding to them either.
Claim 5: You Need Oodles of Comments
Undoubtedly, inspiring others to leave comments makes the writer feel proud of what they’ve written. Recognition is great when you’ve put considerable work into something.
However, the fact of the matter is that comments are not customers. Aside from boosting your confidence, they get you no closer to your actual goal. Putting too much importance on comments can actually hurt your business instead of help it. I know of some businesses who gave up on blogging altogether simply due to a lack of comments. That equals no new posts, which in turn equals less exposure that would have led to more online leads.
If your business plan is all about a high volume of comments, blog about popular topics that spark controversy. Politics, religion, or reality TV shows are some good choices if you’re seeking a high comment count. But if expanding your business is more your concern, you should really pay more attention to your blog’s search engine ranking and how many warm leads it sends to your site.
Claim 6: You Can’t Account for How Much Profit Social Media Generates
The truth is you can. It’s easy to find statistics that do NOT relate to profit. Some popular examples are the number of views for a YouTube video, the subscriber count for your podcast, or even the popularity of your blog according to Del.icio.us. Other types of social media sites also make certain numbers very accessible, like how many followers you have on Twitter or friends you have on Facebook, even how many times your blog post has been “dugg”. (Just do well to remember that not all followers and friends will be equally important and it’s not a race for numbers alone).
Apart from statistics like these, there are also numbers related to sales. Traffic sent to your site by social media and blogs, and how many visitors end up doing business with you are some of the most important. If you ask your visitors to list a referrer in your contact form somewhere, you could begin to see more responses from Twitter followers or search engine results.
Claim 7: Facebook and Twitter are Your Only Choices
There is a single valid explanation for where you choose to engage in social media: your target audience uses the site.
The best social media avenue will not be the same for all businesses. If you’re unsure which platform is right for your company, go with the one most used by your target audience.
I still urge you to register your username on every social media site you can find, for two crucial reasons:
1. No one else can register that name, which will give security to your brand.
2. Even for brand new startups that haven’t been noticed yet, you never know when it may become more widely-used by an audience your business is relevant to.
Never forget to individually evaluate what is right for your business. You may be given advice that has been tested and proven, but bear in mind that it was someone else it worked for.
The only exception is…
One Rule That Works For Everyone
Offer content worth something. It’s that simple. Social Media makes it as easy to lose subscribers and followers as it does gain them. People will lose interest quickly unless your content has value. Every message, tweet, update, post, video or other communication to your audience should matter to them.
If you ask more than one or two people what makes something valuable, you’re bound to get several different answers. Maybe your value comes from blogging about thought-provoking topics, or collecting and publishing links to other useful resources online. Or even your witty and entertaining opinion on a city where your target audience resides. It doesn’t matter what topic you cover, just make sure you are covering it well and your contribution is worth people’s time.
