By Brigette Flood
Social media generates so much buzz, it almost seems like noise. So let’s start at the beginning where all conversations about social media usually start – Facebook. You’ve heard of it? The social network service has more than 600 million active users, and it’s quickly becoming the online platform for both personal and business engagement.
Someone recently commented, “What if Facebook becomes the web?” I’ll give that a minute to settle in. It blew my mind, scared me to death and fascinated me all at once. The simple insight is that Facebook is all about infinite possibilities. It’s exciting stuff, and it’s constantly changing and evolving.
Business likes exciting, buzz-worthy trends; especially ones that have as low barrier to entry as Facebook does. You noticed it’s free, right? So naturally, Facebook is where every business, big and small, wants to have a presence. For some, it’s an arguable use of resources. If you are a consumer-facing organization (business, non-profit, agency, municipality), it’s a great way to engage customers in meaningful and entertaining ways.
However, if you are a B2B company, there are some compelling reasons to get in on the action and some equally compelling reasons why you shouldn’t. It all depends on your objectives, goals and on your … wait for it … do not go further if you don’t have one … please I’m not kidding … it makes all the difference in the world … your strategy. Because when social media is good, it’s very, very good. But when it’s bad, it’s very, very bad. Just ask any of the voters or nominees for The Suxorz Awards, which call out the worst in social-media marketing.
One main differentiator between good and bad is a well-planned strategy, and here’s why. Social media marketing is a relatively new and emerging area, but it’s still marketing.
And the fundamentals of marketing still apply. Don’t put yourself out there without a consistent message and a goal in mind. What do you want to say, what do you want your customers to do? Why, how, how often and how does it align with your overall business goals? Need help getting started? There are affordable local experts to help you out. I will be chatting with some of them on my blog, makingsenseofsocial.com. Also feel free to tweet me any questions @brigflood or @ATLIntownPaper with hashtag #socialsense
