Social media is not black, white or any other supernatural magic. It only works if you invest the proper time and energy networking socially like the rest of us muggles.
Keyword…social. Meaning, build relationships to establish credibility and trust. That means actually engaging in conversation over on Twitter and Facebook and any other platform of your choosing. Build friendships and they will come, along with their friends. And their friends. And their friends. Throwing self promotions and links up all over your twitter and facebook pages hardly lead to a brand that any of us take seriously, let alone converse with.
Brands, you need to answer questions. You need to hold conversations, even if they are just about the weather or diaper rash. You need to socialize. Showing that you are a real person behind a product goes a very long way and ends up in your pocket book. Trust me, I’m not a Social Media guru but I’ve been around long enough to know what I’m talking about.
Recently, I was in a meeting with a potential client. We spoke for a long time about what it was that I thought I could offer his company. He was insistent that the success of Dooce was replicable. I assured him that many of us bloggers have tried yet haven’t seen the same results. She’s an anomaly. Not because she has a better blog than many of us, because she really doesn’t. It’s because she was in the right place at the right time with the right circumstance. Her moons aligned, that lucky chick.
He wasn’t impressed that I couldn’t promise her success with his companies blog.
Then we discussed building a following. I mentioned the whole Crock Pot Girls phenomenon, introducing the idea that there may have been a bot involved. He was impressed with the idea that a bot can build a huge following and said he wouldn’t mind paying for one. What he doesn’t understand is that all it translates to is useless numbers and not dollar signs. These “followers” are not ever going to actively engage which means they will never buy his product. He’s better off having 100 real followers that will buy his product, post about it on their facebook bringing in more customers than having 1 million “followers” that will never, ever visit his facebook wall, blog or twitter. *Crickets*
Then came the time to discuss numbers. I quoted my price. I heard the brakes squeal in his mind, I’m sure tire tracks were left on his brain. He said that he couldn’t justify my price without my guarantee of $500,000 in revenue derived from social media.
I almost snorted. Because anyone that promises him that…ever…is lying. It would be like me taking a sales position of, say, cars, and guaranteeing X amount of sales a month. There are absolutely no guarantees. Unless, of course, you dabble in the black arts and are a spell caster. Although, that would be super cool but just like guaranteeing an exact number, it’s impossible.
I wish I could make promises. Well, I could but I’d have to keep my fingers crossed as the words escaped my lips. Sadly, I’m not a liar. So, I left him very unimpressed with my social media prowess. I’m no self proclaimed sage but I understand the magic and know how to use it.
He is one of many who have very unrealistic expectations when it comes to social media.
So many “Brands” who choose to go the social media route are doing a horrendous job with the social part, which is probably the most important element to the whole thing. They expect their SM person to send out a tweet that entices hundreds of phone calls demanding their service or product immediately. They expect everything immediately. But, much like building a house, my friend Christina compares it to, you have to lay out a strong foundation and then build it brick by brick, taking care that each layer of brick is secure before building another row.
Most of my blogging, social media friends that I consulted,Amy, Jessica, Josh, Shannon and Theresa(just to name a few) all had the same complaints about their potential or existing brand clients:
unrealistic expectations, expecting free to very inexpensive payment for loads of work-because yes, a lot of work goes into building a brands credentials on the social media platforms, expecting bad products to be made miraculously fabulous somehow, and brands not listening to the advice we are imparting upon them.
Social media is constantly changing and shifting, it’s not an exact science with a magical formula.
But it’s not rocket science either.
It’s really very simple, actually. Grow your social media presence by growing your relationships. Growing your relationships grows your business. Growing your business fattens your wallet, idealistically.
And brands, this one is for you…it does NOT happen overnight, contrary to what you have stuck in your heads. It’s kind of like a pregnancy. It takes around 9 months to really have something you can begin giving hugs and kisses to.
After you build your brands presence, that…is when the magic happens.
Perfectly written! I have only been around these parts for about 15 months and can say that it takes time and effort and true socializing to build relationships. And not even brand to people relationships, but regular ol’ people to people kind.
Barb´s last blog post ..Conversation with a Middle Schooler
Sigh, those are the type of people who will NEVER get it and who will always think quantity is better than quality when it comes to social media. You don’t want to work with someone like that anyway, so you’re better off that he balked at your responses to his questions and your price! Let him pay someone who quotes lower and promises a zillion followers and meeting a $500,000 revenue mark. He’ll be sorely disappointed.
Nikki Little (Stephan)´s last blog post ..TEDxDetroit Returns to the Motor City on September 28
Well said, Melissa. I also think it’s important to understand that if they don’t “do” social media right, there’s a good chance it will backfire on them.
Companies need to realize that they are no longer in control of their own brand; the consumers are. Word-of-mouth isn’t new, but it’s been taken to an entirely new level in the past 5 years. Prior to the explosion of social media, brands did not have the privilege of participating in the conversation. Now they do, but they need to approach it with the respect it deserves.
Christina S.´s last blog post ..Mrs. Strickland’s Wild Ride
AMEN! It is all so true. I’ve come to realize that you’ve got to socialize/network your ass off to get anywhere in social media. It doesn’t just happen. It;s work.This client surely has no idea of the work that actually goes into building these relationships.Great post
Well said, my friend.
How hard of a concept is this to grasp? Apparently, it’s extremely difficult to someone who has no IDEA what social media is all about!
This “client” will never get it.
Gigi´s last blog post ..An update on Man-Child (and a PSA; seriously)
Alrigjty then, well said, !!
I think you’re on the mark. For me, consistency is the hardest part of SM. Like everyone else, my life is busy. So I’ll go in spurts where I’ll post several new blog posts in a week and twitter away, but I can’t sustain. Shit happens. The other part of the equation for me, is that I want to write – novels, short stories, etc. So, do I spend what little free time doing that, or do I try to grow my “brand” with time spent in SM?
I think I need to spend more time here in your blog. Obviously, there are TONS of things I don’t know about when it comes to social media, especially since I mainly do creative writing on my blog. Anyhoo… I’m learning here!!! And who in their right mind would refuse a chance to make some bucks, right? So here I am! 🙂
And, of course, there’s no better place to learn than here at RocknDrool! (and Found the Marbles, of course 😉
Gosh, I can be such a suck-ass sometimes.
Sweaty´s last blog post ..A Thing of Beauty
Very well said. Essentially the service being offered by social media pros is grass-roots PR. LOTS of companies/people/professionals don’t completely understand what PR is, let alone the benefits if its done well.
Colleen – Mommy Always Wins´s last blog post ..Thoughts on goals. And having them. Or not.
I’m sort of in the middle on all this (hence the new name on my site) because while I’ve been at it a while, I am one of those who is hesitant to make the full leap. I watch how younger people transmit and receive information and it’s second nature to them to be social media experts. Social media when done correctly is very powerful. It will take some doing to turn around older folks/business people who cut their teeth on the old models. Most of my daily information on where to shop, what to do in my hometown, etc. comes from Twitter and Facebook pages.
MomZombie´s last blog post ..Phallus impudicus
— or skip this if you’re eating
Amen!
I have run into so many companies that want a million twitter followers by x date when they are small mom and pop type companies. Some goals are simply unreal, and these same companies automatically assume that followers = customers which is NOT the case at all!
Danielle´s last blog post ..10 Icky Places Toddlers LOVE to Play
I think you are right- but I do get where MomZombie is coming from also. I have been at this for almost 4 years and though I feel I’ve moved past the old school mentality, many others, at least in my circles, have not. It’s a process and for many of us in this age of instant gratification, a hard thing to grasp.
I wish I could go through and “like” the responses in the comments, because everyone made some very good points!
This is so true – social media is an investment and it takes time to see the ROI. LOVED this post!
Annie @ Mama Dweeb´s last blog post ..Literature + Fashion = Dweeb Love
Holy shit, the funniest take on this situation I’ve seen in forever. When will they get the hang of this?
veggie mama´s last blog post ..Sweetcorn risotto with haloumi
Very well said! Social media isn’t about socializing or having this huge fans and updates it is about connection in which you can advertise or somehow connect to people with same interest.
kate Zanders´s last blog post ..Forex Easy