Tag Archives: social media is not a fad

NOTE: I am republishing this article for the benefit of the students in my online course: Social Media for Journalists AND my new entrepreneurial friends from BNI and Linked Local Marin.

Want to get started with social media but don’t know what questions to ask first. Check out this article for a great video intro and some brief answers.

Every new enterprise — whether it’s a new project, new class, new relationship, or a new business — begins with some degree of Confusion. The key to getting past the initial uncertainties is to (a) silence your “fear” [False Expectations Appearing Real], (b) focus on one objective, and (c) put in effort.

6 Basic Social Media questions . . . and their answers:

1. Where can and will social media take me?

Social media is a set of technologies, strategies, and tactics that will help build your business by increasing both your understanding of your customers/clients/community and their knowledge of how your products and services can help them.

2. What makes social media so important?

The world has changed. There is a New Normal and the old techniques of marketing and communication will no longer work in the same ways as they have in the past — because everyone can become a publisher and everyone can gather information on their own [without depending traditional media].

3. How much time do people need to spend online?

Among peoples’ greatest online fears is that they must be continually updating their statuses on dozens of social media platforms. Most social media consultants suggest that short periods of time, e.g. 15-30 minutes two or three times a day can accomplish a number of objectives for entrepreneurs as well as managers and executives in firms of all sizes — if you have a strategy set in place.

4. What is a blog?

The word “blog,” which is a silly-sounding word to many, is just a shortened term for a Web Log. Very simply, a blog is a website with recurring content. Bloggers can write whatever they want whenever they want. This is an example of everyone having the opportunity to become a publisher. Are all blogs “equal”? Of course not. Of the hundreds of thousands of blogs and bloggers, most might be termed “frivolous,” i.e. trivial, inconsistent, unresearched, etc. But the fact of the matter is that many bloggers who write about important and interesting topics in unique styles are fast becoming highly influential throughout the world.

5. How safe are social media sites for private, confidential information?

Not “safe” at all. The Best Practice is not to write anything on a social media platform that you wouldn’t want the world to read. There is a difference between publishing “personal” and “private” information. Personal information about yourself can be wonderful for building trusting relationships. Private information does not belong on the Global Whiteboard.

6. How many social media platforms do you really need to know and use?

Answers to this question vary depending on WHY an individual or a business communicates online. To effectively build an online presence as the Go-To source for information on a certain subject, these five venues offer great rewards: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blogging, and YouTube.

For more basic information on these platforms, check out the sharisax.com articles in these categories

FURTHER READING:

Definitions of Web 2.0, Blogging, Microblogging, Reverse-Engineering, Future of Marketing

No Guarantees, but here’s how to go viral on video

Enhance your LinkedIn profile to increase find-ability

10 Social Media Newbie Mistakes

What to Tweet to stand out from the Masses

Please add more questions about social media and how it works in the comment section. You’ll get answers from me and other readers.

Guest Post, Sharisax Is Out There

Social Media Marketing is not an Automatic WIN

November 3, 2010 Shari Weiss 10 Comments

Why isn’t your Marketing 2.0 working?

That was the title of a great blog article I just read by Mark Gibson, a certified inbound marketing professional with 29 years of international sales, marketing and business success.

Mark’s post addressed common concerns expressed by many Baby Boomer entrepreneurs and managers, some of whom believe Social Media is a fad. It’s not: Social Media Revolution 2.

The article listed eight typical complaints from company officials whose social media strategies have not “worked” for them:

No one’s reading our email newsletters.
Cold calling is a simply not effective and we’re not getting any voice mail call-backs.
We have a WordPress Blog, but no one is reading it.
Our referrals and word of mouth leads have dried up.
We have a Twitter and Facebook account; what a waste of time!
We have inquiry and registration forms on our Website, but we’re not getting any leads.
I fired all the sales guys and now it’s me calling, and I suck at it.
No one has ever heard of us, despite the fact that we advertise, spend a healthy sum on PPC and have been in business for 10 years.

“The above list may be familiar in many companies who have embraced the tools of Inbound Marketing without a cohesive strategy and a realistic view of the road ahead.” — Mark Gibson

Mark operates a consulting firm specializing in helping companies transform from the Old World to the Inbound Marketing model, and his organization advises clients that all of the tools in the marketing 2.0 mix need be integrated and made to work together. . . “or productivity will be an issue. “

Mark suggests that the answers to the following questions should serve to focus inbound marketing efforts:

1. What is a lead worth and how many leads do you need to produce a year, based on your conversion ratios to hit your revenue goals?

2. Who is your target audience, who are the buyer personas you wish to engage?

3. How will you reach your target audience; where do they hang out online?

4. In what areas can the agency claim thought leadership; how does the agency create unique value for clients; how does this connect to your brand?

5. What are the major messaging themes that will resonate with buyers and what keywords do you want to rank for on Page 1 of Google?

6. What is the goal of the email newsletter; how will you track conversions and improve performance?

7. What is the goal of the Website and in particular; what is the goal of the home page?

8. Have you created compelling content that can be easily shared, downloaded or viewed in exchange for contact details?

9. Have you created calls to action that lead to high quality landing pages with compelling offers? (“A Contact Us” page tends to collect more SPAM than leads)

10. Is there a blogging platform to amplify thought leadership, that integrates with the main Website, with hyperlinks to and from main Website pages, where content is easily shared….or is the blog stranded, lost Robinson Crusoe style in the vast ocean of the Internet?

11. How will you nurture prospective customers that do register as leads, but are not yet ready to buy?

Finally, here are Mark’s suggested “TAKE-AWAYS”

To make this marketing 2.0 stuff (i.e., Inbound Marketing) work, you need the following:

Clear messaging to engage your target audience,
Proven inbound marketing methodology,
A toolset that’s integrated and productive, that enables small agencies to compete with the big boys,
Inbound marketing training for Marketing Agencies ,(which can be found for free),
Consistent input, ongoing analysis and optimization, a strategy to drive it and top down commitment to making it happen,
Easy access to a trusted, skilled talent-pool and services marketplace, to leverage in-house skills.

* * *

So here are my questions for you:

1 – Which of the “complaints” mentioned above have you experienced and voiced?

2 – What are your answers to any OR all of the 11 questions Mark poses?

3 – Finally, what steps have you taken to make your Marketing 2.0 lead to the results you have envisioned?

Sharisax Is Out There

“Simple” Answers to 6 Basic Social Media Questions

September 22, 2010 Shari Weiss 5 Comments

NOTE: This article is being republished for my online students in the course Social Media for Journalists:
Every new enterprise — whether it’s a new project, new class, new relationship, or a new business — begins with some degree of Confusion. The key to getting past the initial uncertainties is to (a) silence your “fear” [False Expectations Appearing Real], (b) focus on one objective, and (c) put in effort

My social media students have so many questions that most don’t even know where to start. Below is a list of the FAQ’s . . . and some answers; they are in no way complete, but they may provide a foundation of knowledge to build on.