Social media is a huge opportunity for marketers, but its newness makes it scary for some. Companies have to contend with the wide variety of networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and also figure out the best ways to measure efficiency. Still, they present new, exciting ways for marketers to engage with their customers.
“The $1 million question, of course, is how? Countless blogs, articles, speeches, and panels have been devoted to ‘the secret laws of success’ for social media marketing,” writes Rob Carpenter. “The reality is, however, there are no magic recipes. Repeat: There is not a single tried-and-true formulaic model to guarantee success in Web 2.0/3.0. There are not even a handful of case studies that can be used as best practice roadmaps. And the reason for this is because, by definition, social media is a living, breathing, constantly evolving organism and has to be treated as such. What works for one company with one set of customers one week is unlikely to work for another company the next week, even if that company is in the same industry and has similar customers.”
“Social media itself is as diverse as its customers, so marketers must adapt to different sites. Customers expect companies to be on these sites and miss out if they are not.”
“Of course, as mentioned earlier, all of this is enough to cause deep-seated fear in legacy companies or organizations that feel they don’t have the time, talent, strategy, or budget to be successful in social media marketing,” adds Carpenter. “But this fear is irrational. While social media marketing is by no means easy — many wrongly believe that if you just build it, ‘they’ will come — it certainly shouldn’t be perceived as a threatening, anxiety-building experience.”
“One general key is to engage your customers with information that they want. Another important key is being inventive, with something sure to catch customers attention, rather than the same marketing rigamarole.”
“If you follow these three principles — and incorporate common sense, imagination, and an attitude for risk taking — your company’s ability to navigate social media will be limitless. After all, the only way you will ever be successful at this (or anything else in our increasingly interconnected and competitive economic ecosystem) is if you are unafraid of getting your hands dirty. So move forward courageously, be fearless, and don’t let anything get in your way — not even the opinions of this article,” concludes Carpenter.
Source: iMediaConnection
