Don’t take the ‘Social’ out of Social Media

Ok, so you want to make money. You have something to offer the world – I know. I even believe you!

But the economy is bad – I get it. Times are tough. People are looking for deals.

Well as a small business owner, you are just trying to pay your staff and keep your business running, much less fund an advertising campaign. I understand it’s tough…

But then it hits you like Joe Jackson – social media! It’s the holy grail of marketing. Unlimited free advertising to your target market.

I mean – facebook has more active users than constituents of the United States of America. No other media platform has as much of a reach as does social networking services.

Let me show you how.

Here are a few things that annoys everyone who uses social media. (If you can connect the dots before the end of the list I’ll buy you some ice cream)

• You mention your back hurting while golfing on twitter, later that night you have 23 different chiropractors and golf instructors following you on twitter.
• You are posting something on your pastors wall on Facebook, and on the sidebar you see an ad that says “Meet Sexy Christian Singles in Your Area”
• You get a friend request from somebody you have never seen before. Looking at their page you come to the conclusion that either they happen to be a frighteningly big fan of ‘match.com’ or it’s a sorry excuse for an advertisement
• Remember why you started using MySpace? Ok – now do you remember why you stopped using MySpace? Enough said.

What is the moral of these stories? If you keep treating social networking services like it’s free advertising you are going to be sorely disappointed in your marketing efforts. You will more likely be doing your business or organization more harm than good.

Let’s be honest here – when you get those friend requests or followers on twitter, what do you do? You probably block that user. So what makes you think doing the same thing is going to be any different? People will probably block you too if you take the same approach.

But not all is lost, folks! You simply have to change your mindset. Get another perspective. Don’t throw the tweet out with the bathwater. Social media is actually just as powerful as you think it is with the right approach.

Why do people join social networks in the first place? Simple – people need to feel a sense of connection or relationship.

And there lies your key to marketing success using social media. You need to connect with your audience. You don’t want a ‘pop-up ad’ feel to your marketing, and you sure don’t want to be thought of as spam. What you are going for is a coffee shop vibe. You want conversational. And the second people sense you are trying to sell them something, they are turned off before you even begin. Here’s an example of what that looks like:

If a friend posted a video review on facebook of a new messenger bag they got and how it is making their lives even a little bit better, chances are I would buy that bag. At the very least I would look at it online – 99.9% of the time. Why? Was my friend trying to sell me this product? No. Are they getting paid royalties? Not likely – and if they were you would be able to tell it in their voice (everyone can spot a faker instantly). Then what was the point? To share something with me. To connect with me.

That’s why Apple is being so successful right now. They are connecting with their audience.

Microsoft print ads focus on product specs – how fast it is, how many computations can be done per millisecond, how if you put 1.21 gigawatts of power through the Microsoft flux capacitor you will travel back in time. Blah blah blah…

Now an Apple ad only talks about how magical and revolutionary the product is. I mean – the iPad doesn’t even do as much as your iPhone does, but you still want one. Why? They made a connection with you.

So try this sometime this week. Think about what your customers want to buy (and why), not just what you want to sell. Think about other peoples needs before they know them. Think about others more than you and your company. I mean, it worked for Jesus and his staff of 12 people. That organization is still making a huge impact.

-Jesse Mutzebaugh

PS: After posting this, I saw this advertisement on Facebook. They need to read this blog post.

I would, however, like to know if you have used Facebook ads and what the result is. I’m curious to know – so leave me a comment!