Answers to some of the most frequently asked questions I receive.

What is social media?
Social media is content generated by individuals (such as consumers), and published via highly accessible technology, including blogs and applications such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Unlike traditional media (newspapers, television), where you need significant resources in order to get published, social media is open to anyone, and can be just as powerful.

Why should I get excited about social media?
Social media provides companies with an opportunity that didn’t exist before to build strong, two-way relationships with customers. Traditionally, interaction between a brand and its customers was one-way interaction, with the brand marketing to customers and customers consuming the brand’s messages. Today, social media enables customers to directly respond to the brand’s messages and to create content of their own, in the form of blog comments, tweets and Facebook wall posts.

User generated content? Sounds dangerous!
Yes and no. Brands are not in full control anymore because customers can create content and post it on the brand’s own marketing channels. Most of this user-generated content is very supportive actually, but a small – and sometimes vocal – percentage can be critical. However, a brand that embraces social media can respond to customer complaints in a way that serves to further strengthen the brand and show that it cares about customers and strives to make things right.

While this post on the Nestle social media fiasco demonstrates that companies can *temporarily* lose control of their messaging by creating social media channels but not monitoring them carefully, and not responding to complaints appropriately, this post presents a case where prompt, appropriate response to a customer complaint posted on social media actually worked to show that the brand is responsive and cares about its customers.

Does social media work for B2B companies?
Yes, but differently than for B2C companies. If you have a good consumer product, your main goal is to generate buzz and leads and promote brand loyalty. In the B2B space, social media is used mostly to provide easily accessible information to decision makers and to connect with important decision makers and influencers.

How do you measure results?
For B2C clients, I combine information from Google Analytics, from SocialMention.com and from SproutSocial.com to create my quarterly reports. I generally expect to see social media sites among the top external referrers to a client’s website. I also expect to see high levels of engagement and influence.

For B2B clients, focus is less on achieving a wide social reach and more on connecting with specific, hand-picked influencers in the relevant space. Depending on your budget, you can also use pricier tools, such as Argyle Social, to measure conversions.

It’s important to remember that a well-managed social media campaign offers benefits beyond dollars and cents.

So you’re just another “social media guru.” Sorry, but I can’t take you seriously.
Not all of us are in this to make a quick buck riding a hot trend, then move on to the next. Some of us truly believe in the power of social media and believe that it’s here to stay, even if the specific applications used will evolve and change overtime. Social media is very new, but once it settles and becomes mainstream, social media “gurus”, “ninjas” and “samurais” will be replaced by social media consultants, managers, and directors. Social media is not a game to me. It’s my business, and I take it very seriously.

Can social media replace other forms of marketing?
No. You should consider social media as an important part of your marketing mix, but it can’t be your sole marketing activity. You still need traditional marketing, including trade shows, webinars and seminars, white papers, newsletters, email blasts, and of course offers and promotions. You also need to keep using PR and advertising. These do not go away once you start using social media.

But social media can greatly enhance your marketing efforts, by improving your search engine rankings (through your blog), by establishing you as a thought leader in your space, by giving you channels where you can reach out to new customers and increase loyalty among existing customers, and by improving your customer service.

Are you expensive?
I’m not cheap. But you’ll probably find that I’m quite affordable, since I work as an independent contractor, charging you per project. Being the super-efficient person that I am, I can often accomplish what a full-time employee would accomplish, but in much less time. Most small businesses don’t need a full time social media manager anyway, and even larger companies can often do fine with a part-time social media consultant.

Why no comments on this blog?
For these reasons.

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