Last week was a terrible week for the BoumanBlog. No blog post on Tuesday, no vlog on Sunday, and two shitty haikus on Thursday. Wheew. I’m surprised anyone is reading this today…anyone? If you’re reading, here is a little insight on my opinions of social media, one aspect of my job.
Social media is the new “it” word in marketing. Some people hate it, proclaiming it bullshit. Others are enthusiastic evangelists who spending every waking hour on social media. Between these two extremist views lies the true benefit of social media. Social media is not a marketing plan, it’s not magically going to triple your site’s traffic, or increase your sales by 50%. If that is why you are registering your company for social media sites, your expectation will be met with exceedingly low returns. Social media is a great tool for both large and small business, if used correctly.
Social media, at its very core, is a series of web conversations connecting people. I like to say that it’s greatest strength is that it humanizes companies, making it seem less like you are communicating with a structured, bureaucratic hierarchy of uninterested MBAs, but rather an individual speaking on behalf of the company. It’s not just a one-way tool to blast your marketing message, but rather send messages, listen, respond, and listen again. It’s these connections that will bring your company the greatest benefit from a social media campaign.
Social media will assist your company with its brand/reputation management. You can quickly help people with specific questions about products or services. If someone misspeaks on your company’s behalf on a social site, the problem can be quickly squelched. It’s categorized as a human mistake, not a company policy mishap.
Companies need to be mindful of internet marketing and advertising in today’s internet age. They must understand all components of internet marketing in order to make educated decisions. Social media is just ONE slice of the entire marketing pie. If you want to spread the word quickly about your product or service, incorporate some viral marketing in your plan. Want higher organic search engine rankings? Work on your search engine optimization. Talk to a professional about pay per click advertising if you want to be a featured ad on a search engine search. However, if you want to assist your company’s brand management on a more micro level, look into social media. Social media, like I mentioned earlier, is the hot term in marketing right now. However, please don’t think that social media in itself is a marketing plan and that you can increase your online sales and search engine rankings solely based on social media.
