Tag: social networking value

6 Reasons We Didn’t Hire a Social Media Consultant

I know you are expecting it to be snarky, so I will try to avoid letting you down. Yeah, you guessed it, I am writing yet another “Mr. Smarty Pants” article on social media. This time it is about some of the very good reasons for not hiring a social media consultant. Without further delay, I want to introduce Mr. John Lunchbucket of Clip Away Paper Clip Company to explain some reasons his company didn’t hire a social media consultant.

Number 1 – Obscure Market Audience

“We sell paper clips. It would be pretty boring to blog, tweet, and Facebook about that, don’t you think? I doubt anybody could make our business more fun or engaging.”

If that is the attitude you take, Mr Lunchbucket, you are right. You should probably carefully avoid social media. Come to think of it, you may do well to stop marketing your business completely. You wouldn’t want to bore people with paper clips such as explained in this video:

Number 2 – We Can Do It In-House

“Jerry in accounting set up our Twitter and Facebook accounts and he sends out some stuff every day. He says that by handling it in-house we can save a lot of money. “

I guess I really do understand this idea. After all, I was thinking about going to dentistry school so I can take care of my kids’ teeth one day.

It is good to spread the work around. It can show off the company’s best assets … the people. However, the sad part is that Jerry didn’t have anything more productive to be doing. Now I know why. While Jerry is busy handling bad marketing efforts, the accountant over at the competition is counting the money Jerry used to account for.

Number 3 – Localized Market

“We only provide products and services in a localized market. The Internet is better suited for companies doing business with a broader geography.”

This is fine if the people in your market area don’t use the Internet, like at the bottom of the ocean! I suppose that the enhanced search engine ranking from those links on other Websites talking about your company would be considered wasteful. Maybe you should save some of that recognition for the competition. When I ask the people at your competitor, can I quote you?

I am glad you have such a good grasp on my job, Mr. Lunchbucket. I hope you don’t go into my line of work like everybody else who “knows” the Internet as well as you.

Number 4 – The Expense

“It has been a tough year, and our budget is shot. We just can’t justify spending money on something that could take months to see a return on our investment.”

You are correct, Mr. Lunchbucket. It has been a really challenging year for a lot of companies. Thanks for pointing this out for me, because I really only like to do business with companies willing to plan for being around in a year or more.

Something to consider is whether it has been hard for your competitor, too. If so, but they get a leg up on you, how much harder will it be next year? If you only market during the best of times, you are doomed to fail. Allow me to share a wise quote with you:

“The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time.” –Thomas Jefferson

Number 5 – It Doesn’t Work!

“We already tried social media and it didn’t work. It was a big waste of time!”

Yep, it sure was a waste of time. It is a good thing you figured that out early. Maybe Jerry in accounting can get back to counting all of that money you are making through your newspaper and phone book advertisements. Good luck in the coming year!

Number 6 – We Ran Out of Reasons

“We ran out of reasons, but we are pretty sure there are others.”

Are You a Trust Agent? Chris Brogan is!

I know you appreciate a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is article. Most of us appreciate a straight message. If you have read my blog before, you probably came back because you know that I will tell it just how I see it.

I know another guy who does this. I do not know him very well, personally, but I know his work. I respect his work. His name is Chris Brogan (Twitter Chris Brogan), and he is a man with a powerful message of building your networks and building trust.

Chris Brogan’s message of building trusting networks of supporters is valuable, and I believe it can benefit you. I believe it enough that when he asked others to help him to spread the word, I did just that. I was not singled out and approached for it, I was not cohersed, I was not bribed, I was not paid, and we are not in cahoots. I believe in the message he delivers, and I know that it works because it is precisely why I am writing this to you right now. This is my testimony that his hard work deserves merit.

I want you to check out his new book. Even if you think you do not want to buy it, I would like you to look at the reviews. The outstanding reviews of this book, alone, should give you confidence to recommend it to others … even if you do not think it is for you.

Maybe you are saying, “Oh, so you are peddling another book, huh Mark?” Yes, I am, and just as I have said about my own book, “Twitter for Business: Twitter for Friends”, I would never do so unless I strongly believed that it was done with value to the readers. In fact, I believe the two of these books are great companions, and should be a part of your reading plan. Click here to order “Trust Agents” and Click here to order “Twitter for Business: Twitter for Friends”. If you order them together on Amazon, you can save on shipping and have some excellent professional help at a cost far less than having either of us come directly to you, and much less than the cost of lost opportunities.

Trust Agents

Social Media: How the Big Dogs Get Paid

This is such a fun blog post to write, because I am going to tell you how the “big dogs” in social media marketing get paid. I hear it all of the time, and many of my peers say they hear it, too … “so how do you make money with social media?”

Please note that this relates to social media marketing consultants who earn their living by helping clients with marketing their products or services better with social media. There are many branches to the field of social media, such as bloggers who earn money as writers and blog owners. There are providers, such as Twitter, Digg, Sphinn Linked In, Reddit, Facebook, etcetera. There are social media marketers who saw some success in the industry and decided to write a book about it and sell it to make money, and similarly those who speak about their success in public forums. These are various methods, and this article is not about them (maybe later).

What I am writing about here are the social media marketing people you encounter and wonder how they earn a living. The “big dogs” are the ones who seem to have a lot of connections, including many thousands of followers on Twitter and elsewhere, and who seem to always be active with socializing in social media.

Social Media Big Dogs Love People!

The big dogs of social media marketing really love people. The most successful social media marketers are the ones who would give you the shirt off their back and ask if you need their shoes, too. I can name many of these big dogs, and I will get to that. The truth about the biggest dogs with the best pedigree in social media marketing, and with the biggest social media respect, are the same people who can laugh with you when you tell them a funny story of how your son got even with his brother by writing all over him with a marker, and counsel you when you have a bad day. They may not reach each and every person, but they sure try, and they are sincere. They care about you, and you are not a part of some underbellied marketing plan.

Social Media Big Dogs Get Paid to Have Fun

It is really an amazing thing, but yes, social media marketing big dogs get paid to know people, make friends, and have fun. So, you may think that is crazy, right? Let’s examine this. The big dog of social media marketing consulting does not look at you as a meal ticket or a box lunch. They want to know about you. They want to hear from you and have a feel for who people are. The big dog of social media has a genuine enjoyment of being your friend.

Social Media Big Dogs’ Agenda

So the business side of the big dog comes out, and I will tell you their agenda. The agenda of the social media marketing big dog is to know people. The big dog uses an understanding of people (yes, including you) to know what people want. Once the big dog knows anything and everything about what people want, they use this information to help their client (the people paying them) to be a better company and to best express themselves to the appropriate audience, and to do so more abundantly, providing a greater return on their investment. By the time the social media marketing big dog is ready to bring something to market, he or she has polished that offering to be positioned at the top of the given industry.

Social Media Big Dogs Run in Packs

A pack hound mentality is not really as ugly as it may sound. Here is how it happens: Once the big dog has done their homework and knows the perfect way to reach the people who will best benefit from their cients’ product or service, they search their brain and their contacts to seek assistance. The big dog will likely make telephone calls to other big dogs to ask for advice, and for references of who they know that can help. This may be to find an editor at a popular industry-related news agency, blogging site, or other periodical. It may also be a series of email and social media messages such as Twitter, Digg, Sphinn, Linked In, Reddit, Facebook, etcetera. If the big dog has done their job well, and has improved their clients’ message to one that is appealing to a massive audience, they will put their reputation on the line and ask other big dog friends to pass along the clients’ revised and shiny new image directly to their networks.

Social Media is Easy

So here you have it. Social media big dogs get paid for a lot of fun, doing what they truly love to do. It is really pretty easy in some ways. You may wonder why they get paid for it at all, since it is so easy. The truth is that although it is a lot of fun, the social media big dog also uses a lot of social equity, analytical marketing experience, media insight, and much of their time in making their clients massively successful. The social media big dog makes many efforts to help their clients understand where their offering should be positioned in the marketplace. They often train and coach key client personnel in proper public relations, keep watch over the client’s reputation, open doors the client never realized existed, and much more.

What Can They Do That a Client Cannot?

The social media big dog often encourages individuals and companies to do everything they can to engage in social media. They try to give their best advice, and hold very few secrets. However, even with all of their coaching and training, and even their list of contacts, a well polished message will often still fall on deaf ears. The relationships and the experience of any big dog will vary, but you can be assured that a real big dog has put in the time and effort to build an invaluable network. If it is truly a big dog, you have one that you are not wise to let walk away. That network sits silently behind them when they are at your bargaining table, and they can prove it to you.

A company can do this all on their own, but it is often the equivalent of a father going to school for dentistry in order to take care of his own family’s teeth. When it calls for a professional, it is best to hire a big dog.

Hiring a Social Media Big Dog

It seems that most social media marketing big dogs are pretty busy. They usually have a lot of work to do, even when it does not relate to a specific client. This is because their job has a lot to do with building and maintaining relationships, and a constant study of the world around them. It also seems that many are not really into selling their service, but rather educating. After all, their job is far more about making a product or service so attractive that selling is not necessary. This can be misleading to both the big dog and the potential client. When the social media big dog sniffs you, they want a feel for the culture of your product or service. If it smells bad, they will likely walk away without any further interest. The real truth of the matter is that if they really have what you need and take the time to prove it, the job is then up to you to recognize it quickly, and be ready to strike a deal. This is because a real social media big dog is truly your best friend, and you will be lucky to have him or her in your family.

When you read this blog post, it is not at all unlikely that it reached you because a dog broke his chain and delivered it to you. The author runs with a lot of really amazing hounds.

So there you have it. This is my job as a social media marketing consultant and search engine optimizer. I enjoy it very much, and I love to help others. If you know somebody seeking to make the most of their business, I am a phone call away at *REDACTED DUE TO AGING WEBSITE* (*REDACTED DUE TO AGING WEBSITE*).

The Social Media Marketing Dilemma

There is a lot of buzz about social media marketing these days. We have all heard it, and no industry is immune. All of the facts and figures point to the inevitability that your business will be affected by this turn in the marketing tide. This all got me to thinking about the dilemma that social media poses to each and every business entity.

The dilemma is in weighing the cost of participating versus the risk associated with not embracing social media marketing. So how can you mitigate your risk? Spend a moment with me to understand why you should not overlook social media for another minute.

Social Media Marketing: Now or Later?

The part that may be the hardest for many companies is that this shift in the marketing tide has occurred during an already frightening time for business people. Companies who used to advertise in newspapers have found that they are largely ineffective. This has further added to the already obvious demise of print media. Similarly, television is losing the marketing battle at an astonishing rate. Your local affiliate stations used to receive a piece of the national advertisers spending, and that was cut by the major networks. This is all happening because the Internet has fully eclipsed all other media in both total adspend and consumer reach. 

I can give you a long list of the things which have added to the social media boom, but I do not think I will need to explain this. You know it is here, and you are quite possibly feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all. It is a huge transition. It is kind of a big shuffle where everybody is just trying to find their way and hope when it all settles that they will have made the right choices and that they adapted to the new rules of marketing soon enough to be effective. This really is a dilemma of when to make a quantifiable effort: will it be now, or will it be later? When should you adopt the new rules of engagement? Are you too late? It is too soon? The questions are so plentiful and pressing that I have watched it paralyze many would-be good business decision makers.

Social Media Dilemma: Risk vs. Risk

Perhaps you are just warming up to the idea that this “new” media is where things are going. The fear of jumping in is really pretty normal. After all, it is hard to believe in something after you have watched all the things you always knew about business and economy suddenly change. Most of us were always told that our home would always be a great investment. That seems to be a bit shaky now, although it will certainly return. We thought companies like General Motors, AIG, and others were unshakeable and that the whole world economy could not all just collapse. Things have changed, and amidst all of that change around you, the thought of spending what seems like a fortune in order to effectively participate in a marketing method with a whole new set of measurement metrics probably feels a bit uncomfortable at best.

So what will make all of this feel better and help it all make sense? The answer is this: If your competition does it sooner and better than you, the cost of lost opportunity will be greater than any other potential risk. 

Social media marketing is truly not as new as you may see it on the surface. In many ways, it is the way it used to be done in every company, for as long as business has been done. The tools have changed a lot, but the communication basics are that if you develop a warm market, your business will always perform far better. Your sales process will be much smoother. Your brand image will be enhanced by the added customer satisfaction. The list of benefits to the added communication of social media marketing over advertising as usual should not be so hard to understand. All the same, as a social media and Internet marketing professional since the mid-1990s, I still often feel like I am trying to explain the color blue to a person devoid of sight.

A Picture of Social Media Marketing

I want to provide you with a mental picture of social media marketing. Work with me, please. Let’s say that you are about to walk out the door to drive to your local Wal Mart for a couple items. You are going to pick up a garden hose, some razor blades, a new alarm clock, and a few other items. As you head for the door with your car keys in hand, the doorbell rings. You get to the door and there is a salesperson standing there to greet you. They are with a company you have heard of, but you have never met this person. He says that he has all of those things you planned to pick up at Wal Mart. He has the garden hose, the razor blades, and even the alarm clock, and he happens to have them right there. He even has the brands you would buy. How does this feel to you? Are you a bit uneasy about it? Many people have answered this question for me, and it seems that the vast majority would still get in the car, drive to Wal Mart, sort through the aisles, wait in line, and return home. The trust factor compels them, and the guy at the door just did not have the trust yet, regardless how hard he tried.

I have a new picture for you. The person standing at the door is somebody you have had some brief communication with, and you realize you have some mutual friends. It warms up with a bit of friendly conversation, and what do you know. You belong to the same social group. It all starts to look different now, does it not?

The differences in these scenarios are very similar psychologically to an advertisement compared to a social media approach. In addition, with a social media approach, it is altogether likely that the phone rang before you even grabbed your car keys and a friend was on the other end to let you know they were sending the hose, razor, and alarm clock guy over. It has a completely different feel, and it is the reason that advertising has always been an uphill battle compared to proper relationship marketing.

Social Media Fears: The Biggest Dilemma of All

Now that I have walked you through an analogy of digital social media compared to yesterday media, let us look at the worst social media dilemma of all. This time, you are in the selling position, and you are the guy at the door. Answer yourself this question: do you want to be that guy at the door trying to peddle your goods, or would you rather be the hose, razor, and alarm clock guy who took the care to build relationships and will be walking up to the door already announced.

If you fear what happens if you embrace social media marketing today and that it may not work for you, the greater question should be in which hose, razor, and alarm clock salesperson you want to be. If you leave it up to your competition, your cost will be much greater indeed, because the deepest cost is that of missed opportunities.

The Value of Social Media Marketing

What is the value of social media marketing and social networking to a business? This seems to be a very misunderstood subject, and one which too many companies tend to relate to other marketing efforts or advertising. If you really do not see the enormous value of social media marketing today, then it is likely because you are either going about it wrong or you are not embracing it at all. It is time that we change that for you and help you to see what this social media thing is all about.

Business Social Networking ROI

I hesitate to use the term “business social networking”, because it is an awkward term. So many businesses want to know the value of networking using social media, so this is a term I use for the company hoping to implement a social media plan. This could also apply to the growing number of individuals seeking new employment opportunities using social networking.

First, I want you to understand that much of what you learned about marketing and advertising goes out the window right now. This is not likely what you think it is … it is much more! If you try to measure a return on investment of social networking, it is a lot like putting a ROI on each handshake or each “hello” as you walk through your grocery store. It is not about advertising, and the same metrics cannot be applied. The value of social networking flows down many streams, and it harnesses the value of good public relations, communications, marketing, friendships, and so much more. There is much that simply cannot be measured in a spreadsheet, and thus it will often take a degree of faith, especially if you hire a social media consultant.

Social Media is “Networking” and it is “Social”

The term, social networking really says what it is, but I often find people who continually get it all wrong. Companies seeking to use social media for business purposes often get it wrong by trying to advertise their goods or services. This sets them up for an utter failure, and can often do more harm than good. Business people participating in social networks often find it hard to come out of their shell and actually be social. How do we fix this? Well here are just a few tips about social networking that you should not overlook:

  • Always put your first name in your profile! People want to know YOU, and not a username or company name. Some people will still communicate with you, but is it really you?
  • These people you meet on social networks don’t bite! Well, maybe a few do, but most will hug you rather than bite you.
  • Get to know people. Spend time with them, just as you would with a friend anywhere else.
  • Be yourself! I have said it a million times, but I mean it. We will not all get along, but most people will respect the individuality you show.
  • Do not tell me about your business and then not remember my name! If you do this at your local Chamber of Commerce function or worse, at a cocktail party, you will look like a buffoon. You are not a buffoon are you?
  • Remember that 100 people saying something nice about you to 100 other people is far more valuable than a few business prospects. When you have friends, you will have people who want to be helpful to you. The value of a friendly referral can go a long way!
  • Be respectful of others.

Social Networking Takes Dedication

If you cannot make a solid commitment to a social media plan, it is best to not start one at all. The people you will meet are real and you simply cannot make friends only to leave them behind. Just how seriously do I mean this? Let’s examine just a couple of my friends whom I met online and through these social networks I write about.

  • Peggy (my wife)
  • Mike, who is one of my closest friends, Web developer, and Kansas State Legislator.
  • Reg, who has children 6 years and 10 months old and a stepdaughter who is 21. Reg is also a social media giant.
  • Bianca, whom I met online in 1998 and communicate all the time. She lives in Austria and used to be an au pair in the USA.
  • Eric, who ate a 6 pound burrito, lives in Las Vegas, and sells bulletproof vests and armored cars.
  • Toni, who blogs and chats with friends even while her husband Royal sleeps beside her in bed. Oh, yes … and she is lovely!
  • Melissa, who nearly wets herself laughing at things I send her via Twitter.
  • Sail, who lives in Honolulu, Hawaii and has not been to a beach in the last month.
  • Cody, who lives in Calgary, Canada, likes to party, is a bodyguard to celebrities, and met a new love interest on my live Webcast (#Shabam, Cody!)
  • Misty, who lives in Manila, Philippines and loves chatting and great design.
  • This list can go on for thousands of people.

The people mentioned above and many more are among the very important relations I have met using social networking. I communicate with these people regularly online, on the telephone, and in person. They are all parts of a very important network of people whom I can count on to be friends, and to have something nice to say about me, with or without prompting.

The Social Media Commitment

Just how important is a commitment to social networking? Like any wise investment of your time or money, you will benefit from social media commensurate with your efforts. If you have seen the news, it should be clear by now that other forms of communication such as television, radio, and newspapers are failing. If you have not heard this, it should be even more clear just how much their reach has degraded. Social media is picking up where all of those others left off, and at the horizon is Twitter. With all of the huge changes in today’s communication methods in mind, you must ask yourself just how important it could be to your company to make a significant effort toward building a social network and social media plan before your competition does.

Can a Social Media Consultant Really Help?

This may seem like an alien question to many people. After all, if you are to be yourself, how can somebody be a better “you” than you, right? That is not what a social media consultant does.

When you venture into the unknown world of social networking, there are many pitfalls to avoid, and many useful tools that can help you. Having a professional on your side to guide you and to promote you can be a huge factor to your success in reaching the right audience with the right message and with the right approach.

The answer is YES! A social media consultant can be an immeasurable benefit to your social networking efforts, and should be chosen wisely.

Which Social Network Do I Prefer? Twitter of Course!

I offer you the links below to understand how important I consider Twitter. Also, see my other recent articles on Twitter.

My personal commitment to social networking and Internet marketing is greater than I would ever expect for one of my clients. However, I expect my clients to make a substantial commitment to their efforts in social networking. In order to explain how committed I am, I will simply say that I spend far more time cultivating relationships with my social networks than most people will ever spend in an office. This is not a 9:00am to 5:00pm process. 

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