I Am Not a Social Media 'Guru,' and Other Admissions
| by Sandi Villarreal | ||||
For all of the so-called social media “experts,” “gurus,” etc., there are really very few who actually know what they’re doing. And it’s for good reason: nobody has all of the answers yet. What works for some people will fail miserably for others. In my blog posts, I aim to offer advice that I’ve found helpful, but beware of anyone who claims extensive knowledge in the field before showing you actual results.
This blog post on Applicant.com goes into more depth about the latest Internet marketing trend of supposed “gurus,” but the point is that social marketing is more about you and your relationship with your customer/potential customer than it is about garnering big numbers that don’t convert into sales.
Look at the Skittles social media experiment for a minute. It was all about exposure. Exposure to your brand is great, but how much time and effort was put into that experiment? And did they sell more Skittles? We don’t know. All we know is the company website received a 1332% traffic increase in one day. The next day? Back to normal. (Graphic via marketingpilgrim.com)
It’s as gimmicky as tucking “Free iPod” into your website text to receive organic traffic. Yes, people come to your website, but are they the right people? Will they buy your product, or did they just want a free iPod? (P.S. – People aren’t stupid. Most see through lame marketing ploys.)
Other admissions: the most successful “social media” tool we’ve used so far is this right here—our blog, coupled with our articles and weekly e-newsletter. It provides information and doesn’t force our products down people’s throats. We truly are interested in the conversation. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., are all showing promise, but we don’t know just yet. No one really does.
The value is there, and more and more, it’s becoming a necessary skill for Internet marketers. But it doesn’t take a “Social Media Expert” to do it for you. Start with your own marketing staff or take it over yourself. Find what works for you. You may find it breaks all of the “rules” of social media.
Categories:
Sales and Marketing • Social Media
Tags:
internet marketing • Skittles • Social Media • social networking
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Originally published in 2009 by Bizmanualz, Inc. under the title I Am Not a Social Media 'Guru,' and Other Admissions. All rights reserved. Reproduction permitted with attribution only. www.bizmanualz.com
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