I get a chance to talk to many people about all the different social media tools at their disposal. One of the things I constantly hear is, “How do you keep up with it all?” I’m never sure how to answer that question with other than , “I do this for a living” or the other often used phrase, “I get paid to do it.” I belong to nearly every network or community site or application that comes out that involves the ability to build networks or follow communities because I need to know what is being developed and what works with the best recipes. I know many are out there saying you have to do it all to be successful in the use of social media for business but that is simply not true.
What Social Media Tool Do You Use?
The question I tend to ask when a company asks me that question is simple, “What do you want the tool to do?” Many companies have heard they need to get a blog and Facebook Fan Page, or they need to be on Twitter, or they do not do “social media” right. They have been sold the idea that social media is the be all and end all answer. It’s not. Social media is a tool and the way you implement a plan or strategy. I have been in a meeting when a company executive says, “Facebook is all the rage and we need to be on it.” I’ll admit Facebook is a pretty cool network and is growing exponentially, but my next question is, “Why?” That is usually followed by the blank stare of a deer in the headlights. If you don;t know why your company needs to be on Facebook or what your intended use is perhaps it is time to take a step back and find out the reasons you want to be there.
What Are You Trying To Accomplish?
This is a question I normally ask. I was counseling a client on this issue. They wanted their products to be sold to their target market and they wanted to use social media to help them. I heard their ideas, I knew what their message and mission was and now the basic question above came from me and their response was simple, “We want our customer to see it work, and then they will be sold.” My response was to implement a way for the customer to see it work, and that was not explaining the inner workings on their blog or to send out a tweet about the product but allowing the customer to watch it. Video was the answer and the application they need was YouTube.
Companies need to use social media, but they need to understand that social media needs to work for them, they need not work at the idea of social media.
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Tags: Business, Facebook, marketing, social media, Twitter, YouTube
