Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics: Social Media and Small Biz

These are just a few examples of how business has social media wrong:

1) “It’s free”.  An effective social media initiative is definitely NOT free. Building an audience and keeping that audience engaged is time consuming.  Time is money.  Acquiring the knowledge to choose, much less run, multiple social media channels is also time consuming. See above.  Branding, research, and content generation….you get the point. Not free.

2)“Posting is like putting up a classified ad”.  Social media is not a static medium. It should be dynamic and interactive.   If it is done right you should actually be engaging in conversations and helping OTHERS to get their message out.  There is a reason why we have TIVO, caller ID, spam filters, and a remote control for the TV:  we don’t want to be marketed to anymore. Period.  Be useful, entertaining, or informative or get out o’ the road.

3)Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.  The number of “followers” or “friends” you have in your social media channels is NOT an indicator of how effective your business is in this space.  You can buy followers and friends or acquire them without establishing any value for your brand or your company.  The best indicator of an effective social media presence is how much people trust and value your presence.  This is measured by whether they share your content, engage you in conversations, or otherwise become brand advocates.  Again, this is a matter of trust.  You can be fun, funny, quirky, serious, but you better be relevant.

4)“OK, I’ll hire a PR firm to do my Social Media Management”.  While a PR Firm can be helpful in setting up your social media platforms, running special promotions, or generating content, they do not have the granular knowledge of your company’s values and your customers’ sensibilities.  If you ARE going to hire an outside social media manager it is essential that they are in constant contact with key people in your company to help shape the messaging and to speak in a voice that captures the personality and values of your firm.  In fact it is a good idea to have key employees participate in social media efforts; but ONLY if you have a social media policy completely thought out.  Be relevant, entertaining, informative and disciplined or don’t be in social media.

5)“There is no Return on Investment in Social Media Marketing”.  The 2011 Social Media Marketing Report by Social Media Examiner indicates that 93% of marketers are employing social media.  88% of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses.  Nearly two-thirds of marketers indicated a rise in search engine rankings was a benefit of social media marketing.  More than half of marketers found that social media generated qualified leads.  72% of marketers who have been using social media FOR MORE THAN 3 years report that it has helped them close business.  If used correctly, consistently, and within a well thought out plan, social media is an opportunity to build trust and relevancy with your customers, suppliers, potential partners, and even potential employees.  Trust equals conversion. Conversion equals ROI!

Remember without a plan, “social media” is just a buzzword. Plan your work and work your plan. 

The author, Philip Stephano, is a social media marketing strategist in Bucks County,  PA and founder of PrimalTweet.  He is passionate about helping local and regional business around the country to use social media as an effective tool to find local prospects and customers. To learn more about Stephano go to http://about.me/philipstephano