6 Myths of Social Media Marketing

Social Media Myth #1 - Social Sites Are Just For Teenagers

Nothing could be further from the truth. While there are some sites like MySpace and others that were originally created to cater exclusively to teenagers, many of them are now attracting older participants.

And although there are literally thousands of social sites out there today, once you determine the goals and objectives of your social media efforts, you'll be able to narrow down the list to a select few that will concentrate on your target market.

Social Media Myth #2 - Social Media is Just a Fad

When the Internet first arrived on the scene, it was all about providing information and selling "stuff". And while that is still a large part, Web 2.0 is all about users interacting with each other and consumer generated content.

When 6 out the top 10 websites in the world are social sites and they are getting 1 billion visitors a month and growing, I guarantee this is not a fad. This is Web 2.0, the future! And the best part is, that you have the opportunity to learn about it and get involved in it while it is still relatively new.

Social Media Myth #3 - Social Strategies Are Just for Big Companies

The Internet is the great equalizer. You are what your customers and prospects see, hear and read on line. If you make great products or provide great services and you can reach the right audience through a compelling social media strategy, then your company will benefit with more exposure, higher brand awareness and of course increased sales.

My advice is not to worry about what the big boys are doing, do what you need to do to grow your business and believe me you need to be doing social media marketing. Social media is a great "guerrilla marketing" tool that you can take advantage of and start reaping the benefits from very quickly.

Social Media Myth #4 - Social Media Marketing Will Cost a Lot of Money to Implement

The good news is that creating and implementing a social media-marketing plan does not have to cost a lot of money. As a matter of fact most social media websites cost nothing to join.

Now don't get me wrong, as with anything, you'll certainly have to devote an adequate amount of time and resources to be effective, but in actual hard dollars and cents, your investment can be quite minimal.

Social Media Myth #5 - Social Media Marketing is Primarily Used for Finding Friends and Sharing Video and Photos

While YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and other similar sites are indeed used to find friends and share experiences, photos and videos, many savvy marketers are finding that they can connect with groups, users, fans and enthusiasts.

How? By providing free information that members might find useful or enhance their experiences. These types of sites should not be overlooked as a way to open 2-way dialogs with your target market

Social Media Myth #6 - You Have to be a Marketing Whiz or Computer Geek to Effectively Use Social Media

Once again, not true. If you can surf the Internet, buy a book on Amazon and read blogs, you have the skills needed to benefit from social media. Frankly, the most important thing you need to help your company get involved in social media marketing is the desire to learn and the time to implement some very basic ideas and strategies.

Now, are there more advanced features on some of these sites? Sure, but even those can be applied by just asking current users or reading instructions that many of the sites themselves provide. I'm telling you, this is not rocket science!

To learn more about social media marketing go to http://www.IncreaseSalesWithSocialMedia.com

As President of Street Smart Sales and Marketing, David Carleton has developed sales, marketing and training programs that have helped hundreds of businesses in 30 countries around the world generate leads, increase sales and enhance their overall marketing effectiveness. He specializes in lead generation and social media marketing strategies using unique low cost guerrilla marketing techniques. To download your Free Report "Why Your Marketing Doesn't Work and What to Do About it" visit http://www.StreetSmartSalesAndMarketing.com

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12 Social Media Marketing Myths

For brands, resistance to social media is futile. Millions of people create content for the social Web on a daily basis. Your customers have been using it for a long time. Your competitors have embraced it. If your business isn't putting itself out there, it should be.

But there are some recurring fallacies and misconceptions out there. Many companies are finding that these tools don't live up to the hype, especially small businesses. There are a lot of challenges that aren't immediately apparent. Are you considering Twitter, Facebook, et al as part of your marketing plan? Before you jump in, keep these myths in mind:

Social media is cheap or free. Yes, many social media tools are free to use, including Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, the social network building tool Ning, and content aggregators like StumbleUpon and Digg. There are many free blogging tools, too, like WordPress, Blogger, FriendFeed, and Twitter. But incorporating them into a corporate marketing program requires time, skill, and money.

You can make a big splash really quickly. Sure, sometimes this happens. Social media is great if you're already a star, but there really isn't any such thing as an overnight sensation. For example, tweets can drive traffic to articles, Web sites, Facebook pages, contests, apps, videos, etc. -- this is easier if your audience already cares about your brand or if you have a truly original product or idea that excites people to the extent that they want to share with their friends. But it takes a lot of time and dedication to keep your content fresh.

You need to be on all the big sites. Most brands that have succeeded with social media sites generally focus on just a few of them. Just because the media says it's cool to tweet doesn't mean it has anything to do with your business. If you plan to frequent social networks, don't spread yourself too thin. The companies that choose their weapons wisely and give it their all are the ones that succeed in the social space.

If you create something that's great, people will find it. How's that supposed to happen? Unless you can drive traffic to your social media effort, it's akin to a tree falling in the woods with no one around to hear it. Many tools can drive traffic, including Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, blogs, and SEO, but word of mouth trumps them all -- one friend telling another, "Hey, check this out!" is very powerful.

It's for kids. Contrary to the perception that social media is for tweens, teens, and 20-somethings, older demographics are rapidly evolving into this space. According to analysis by iStrategyLabs, Facebook experienced 276% growth in users aged 35-54 in 2009 and is its fastest growing segment.

You can't build quality relationships online. The thinking on this goes that it's a waste of time connect with people online that you don't know in real life -- that it's a pointless exercise that doesn't lead to lasting relationships with your brand. It's actually quite the opposite: Social media enables you to be face to face with your target audience. Even if they don't turn into paying customers, you still gain valuable insight into what they think and what they react to.

It gives away content and ideas you should be charging for. Simply put: The more you give, the more you receive in social media. You need to let go of the idea that all the content you produce is is proprietary, engage with your audience, and encourage them to share what you've created.

It's a fad. The drumbeat about social media has become deafening. Yet many marketers remain skeptical, hesitating to expand budgets and expend resources on a craze. But social media is a fundamental shift in communication -- it isn't just a new set of tools, but a new sphere of networking, communicating, living, and organizing. It has become intertwined in our lifestyles, so it's here to stay.

Anyone can do it. It sure sounds that way, doesn't it? There are a lot of people, from whiz kids to more experienced marketers, who claim to be social media experts. Some even portray themselves as gurus. But how many of them have created successful social media initiatives for clients? To be effective, a campaign must integrate social elements into all aspects of marketing, including advertising, digital, and PR. Theory is no match for experience, and the best social media marketers now have years of experience incorporating interactivity, forums, viral video, apps, social networks, blogs, user-generated content, and contests into the marketing mix.

It's a cure-all. While social media is a great tool for online reputation management, it's not a panacea. Don't get so wrapped up in the concept of of the social Web that you ignore the other problems with your marketing strategy. Social media is another in a long list of tools you should leverage for brand messaging.

You can do it all in-house. You need strategy, tools, contacts, and experience -- a mixture not usually found in in-house teams, who are often tempted to use the wrong tools or to reinvent the wheel... which leads to (you guessed it) lousy results. How many in-house teams have the expertise to conceive and implement a social media campaign AND drive traffic to it via blog advertising, SEO, Twitter, etc?

Social marketing results can't be measured. There are a variety of methods and tools you can use for this, and more become available every day. You can monitor blog comments, mentions in the media, traffic stats, Facebook fans, Twitter followers, comments on your content, real-time blog advertising results, click-throughs to your Web site. The tools are out there, and the number of people who know how to aggregate and interpret the data is growing.

What other myths are out there about social media? What lessons have you learned as you've tried to get your arms around social engagement as a marketing tool?

Pam Dyer is a Seattle-area marketing professional who is very interested in social marketing. The advent of social networks and the ability to engage customers in all sorts of new ways for branding, advertising, PR, and CRM can be a boon to companies that are willing to embrace it. Her blog, Pamorama (http://www.pamorama.net) covers all of these topics and more.

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