As a social media consultant, I usually work with CEO’s or top executives on a daily basis.   My observation is this:  MOST companies are running scared with this new addition of social media.  ”And I use this how?”

Most don’t understand it, don’t know how it fits into their strategic objectives – they just know they need to be there and quick before they miss the boat.

Now as a consultant, I work for the client, so I make every effort to do what the client wants.  But I always lead with this question, “Why do you want to be there?”  And the answer I get, “Well, everyone else is there – we need to be there too.”

I don’t necessarily disagree with these statements, however, what several forget is that you need to have a reason for a marketing vehicle, a strategy and techniques that make sense.  Social media is another tool in a marketer’s toolbox.  Like this and all the others, they need to be integrated with the rest of your marketing initiatives to work.  A Twitter account with tweets about the company (ie, tweets of Press Releases) is not a way to get a following.  What you need to do is Tweet about what your customer cares about.  They don’t care that you are expanding, they don’t care that your financials were on target for the quarter, or that your top sales person was promoted to VP of Sales and Marketing.

What they do care about is how they can use your product or service.  Not the features, but the benefits.   A great example of a company that gets it is www.hubspot.com.  As for Twitter, they tweet about useful information to do with social media, its uses and how to use it to your advantage.  They offer a software application which they want you to buy eventually but they don’t talk about their product directly, just how important social media is and how to use it.

My point is this:  Don’t jump on the social media bandwagon without a good solid strategy.  Yes, it “may” be important for you to use these tools – but use them correctly.  And don’t forget that there is still a place for traditional marketing (more on that later).

Or even better, hire me.

About the Author

Has Written 30 Articles For Us!

Getting The Latest Tweet...

Did you know has a website? Go see what you're missing...