The CON(s) of social media

Social media, without a doubt, is the new media. It’s hot. It’s fresh. And, it’s what everyone, both individuals and business’ want. I don’t blame them – I’m an advocate for these new interactive initiatives. If you haven’t noticed.

However (yes, there’s always a ‘however’ in a blog), there are, sadly, some misinterpretations of the advantages that this new, super-hot and super-cool medium offers your business’ marketing plan. Or at least, there are some things that marketing professionals forget to think about while implementing social media into their plan:

1. It’s NOT free
2. It’s NOT ‘another’ sales person
3. Feedback IS a double-sided sword
4. There are NO experts

What? I thought social media was immortal. I know, I know. I’m sorry. Even the latest greatest marketing medium has holes. Big holes.

1. It’s NOT free
Yes, go ahead and tell your clients and managers to sign up for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. And go ahead and tell them the best part, ‘THEY ARE ALL FREE.’ But, who is going to monitor profiles, monitor pages, create networks, find people, add people, delete people, populate, track people, update, mention, re-tweet, re-post, reply, find articles, read articles, post articles, link articles, post photos, post videos, update photos, update videos, monitor photos, monitor videos, create events, post events, mention events, update events, delete events, invite network to events?

The answer is YOU. The one with the brilliant idea to implement this madness into your marketing plan. And, sadly, your time, effort and research to consistently and constantly maintain these pages and the elements included, are not free.

Solution: Hire a social media director. Make all things SM their job. No one else’s.

2. It’s NOT ‘another’ sales person
‘I thought you said that if I signed up for these social media pages and put their cool icons on my Web site, that my sales will increase?’ The question I would imagine that might be brought up by your boss and/or client.

These are not sales people. They aren’t going to make you a lot of money. They can’t be depended on to solicit new business. They are simply, resources. They are tools. They are a form of communication that allows your clients, customers and friend’s to learn more about you, your services and your products. You can sell stuff here, but open your eyes; people don’t like to be sold. They like to be told. Tell, don’t sell. However, if you do consistently and constantly update your pages, reply to threads, post relevant articles for your network, you will have a cult following and maybe someday, they will get off their ass and into your store.

Example: Best Buy Twelpforce – this is not a sales person for Best Buy. These are dedicated tech god’s that answer your embarrassing tech inquiries. Just tweet them your question, and they respond. They don’t sell because they don’t need you. When they give you the correct answer, they own you. BestBuyer4Life.

3. Feedback IS a double-sided sword
This is simple. I hope you have thought of this. But, people will say great things about you and people will say bad things about you. It’s the 21st century. It happens. So be prepared for it because these are living entities - 24/7/365. They don’t disappear if someone says something bad, they stay on your page for all the world to see. So make sure you play nice.

Example: Bank of America – they have live customer service reps helping customers. It’s a bank. Banking and money are frustrating. And their network isn’t shy about their feelings about overdrafts, loans, ATM issues, etc. I respect the try, but when there’s more bad than good posted, might be a good time to re-think social media land.

4. There are NO experts
It’s true. There are people that are really, really, really good at this stuff, but really, there are no experts. These mediums are too new, too advanced and updated too often for anyone to be an expert. What constitutes someone as an expert? Social media will continue to change and will continue to grow, in order for someone to be an expert, you must see the future. Don’t get smart fans confused with experts.

There are a lot of really smart people in our world that we can learn a lot from. And these people range from teenagers to 70 year-olds. I learn something new every day. I like to think we all do, even the experts.

Example/Solution: There are none. These people don’t exist.

There are no clear rules for social media. It’s too new to have any. It’s too undefined. But the steps for success for any business are not complex. It is simply about being honest, creative and human. At the end of the day, social networking was invented to share opinions and ideas online.

And like everything in our beautiful world, there are negative aspects.