Many people in the business community are still skeptical of the value of social media. Some feel that it’s a fad and others approach it with trepidation as a result of marketers continually ramming it down their throats that they need to ‘get with the picture’.

I find it presumptuous to think that if you’re not engaged with social media that it’s hurting your business.

Social media is just that, it’s ‘media’. It’s not a phenomena or a beast that must be tip toed around for fear of it biting. I’m neither in awe of or cynical about social media, it’s a communications tool and another avenue to publish content.

How is Social Media Changing Marketing?

It’s simply giving an honest picture of a company’s overall Volgers kopen Instagram strategy and perception of value. By this I mean it’s revealing low value as much as it’s showcasing firms that can offer high value.

It’s exposing weaknesses in marketing direction and how companies think about and understand their customers. If people have nothing interesting to say it shows, likewise if people are switched-on they’re contributions are engaging.

All this means is that social media is not a bandwagon you simply jump on, like all successful communication it requires thought, planning and execution with clear outcomes stipulated first.

Beware of Experts & Employ Common Sense

There are countless people in the marketing world who refer to themselves as experts in social media. Many proclaim to have tactics that if you ignore, you’ll be hung out to dry as the dinosaur of your industry. Social media is simply another avenue to communicate value with your audience.

The key difference with social media as opposed more traditional marketing such as direct mail aside from the cost benefit, is that you can communicate in real time, and it provides a way for your audiences to respond and interact with your content, effectively opening a dialogue with your market.

Setting up social a social media account is the easy bit, knowing how to apply it to your advantage is the problem. The key is not to focus on technology, focus on content and value. This means;

Putting yourself in your customers shoes
Thinking about the value you can provide
Mapping out your content
Including social media in your broader marketing strategy rather than a stand alone activity

Who’s Listening?

Millions of people worldwide have at least one social media account. This suggests there’s a huge potential revenue stream waiting to be tapped. The effectiveness of it however boils down to whether your message is being received by the people that matter. Are you talking to buyers or at least people who can influence buyers?

It’s not such a big hurdle in the business-to-consumer world, but in the business-to-business space there are a number of potential barriers including time, corporate policy regarding access to social media and whether your economic buyer even uses social media.

Being aware of these constraints will help you develop your strategy rather than relying on blind faith.

How to Approach Social Media

Social media is not revolutionary in itself. It is simply another way to communicate and connect with your audience. What is revolutionary is the fact that social media is free to use and gives you the potential to get in front of hundreds of thousands of people.

The goal is not how many followers you have or how many updates you can post in a day. Your focus simply needs to be directed at how you can exploit these systems to build value with the people you want to transact with.

Be Selective, There Are No Rules

There are still some people touting that the best social media strategy is to get as many people in your networks as possible and that it’s ‘etiquette’ to reciprocate with every follower or friend request. If your goal is information overload then this strategy will exceed your expectations.

There are no rules, so if you’re not getting any value from a connection, lose it. The real value in social media is the quality of your connections and interactions. Connections will only develop into relationships when value is reciprocal.