DISQUS

Zac · 3 months ago

Love this post Blonde2.0, so accurate and spot on. Especially Misconception #2, Twitter marketers should be reading this one .. 5/5 WooHoos

olivier_amar · 2 months ago

Good Post. However, I think you should give a little legitimacy to some of the misconceptions too. Here's what I mean. With the fad misconception, everything you said is right, but what I would have liked to have seen is why that fad exists. That companies are trying to jump into Social Media because "It's the in thing to do and everyone is doing it" because the Internet specialist on CNN said so, and that as a result there are a multitude of people claiming to be "social media experts" that are failing at social media and hence pushing the misconception that it's a fad that will die out because things that don't work usually do.

You know what I think is the biggest misconception? That Social Media can't be tracked. It can, but it isn't ;-) If you prove that one, then all 5 misconceptions above become redundant. Really. How's that for follow-up statement to our Twitter conversation?

ramonbnuezjr · 2 months ago

Very nice post. It's great too read posts from other Social Media advocates - that understand the landscape. It's our responsibility to intimately understand these misconceptions and try to dispel them through education and conversation.

blonde20 · 2 months ago

Thanks very much Ramon

Olivier, social media campaigns are tracked. We track every single action from the increase in Facebook page fans to the number of interactions we have on each platform to the # of blog posts we receive to the # of RSS subscribers we have to the company's blog, to the # of times the company's name is tweeted each day, and the list goes on and on....

Morgan Polotan · 2 months ago

Great post. I like your emphasis on "conversational marketing." Companies are still using traditional interruption style outbound marketing techniques on social media platforms which were designed for permission style inbound marketing techniques. I follow the 80/20 rule when it comes to marketing online: 80% of your interactions should be conversations with your current/potential customers, and 20% of the time you are allowed to talk about the products/services you offer.

Also, re: Misconception #5 - "I don't need a professional." When social media was in its infancy, companies could get away with hiring college students whose total professional experience with social media was growing up on Facebook. However, now that social media is at the toddler stage, the rules have become much more complex. Each platform (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg) and technique (e.g. social media, blogging, SEO, lead nurturing) has it's own set of rules that need to be followed. And, not all platforms and techniques are appropriate for every business, so a professional is needed to select the 20% of tactics that will contribute to 80% of a business's results (you can tell I'm big on the 80/20 rule :P).

facebook-1494499178 · 2 months ago

From Ed Strnad's FB page: I'm afraid some people don't understand what FaceBook is really for. It is for finding your old flames without your spouse finding out. It's for posting 10-20 year old pictures of yourself to impress said old flames. It's the internet equivalent of a high-school reunion. It is for people to leave the lamest or snarkiest comments about your posts or pictures. It's not eBay for friends. Hope this clears things up!

Walter Sabo · 2 days ago

This is a great article and I agree with every single thing you've written---especially about the sad brands who think they can control, well, anything.

But there is one sentence, not about social marketing that is not true:
"Just like a company wouldn’t take on its PR on its own without consulting with a PR expert first, a company should not delve into social media without consulting with a social media expert."

MANY companies do PR with great great success without consulting a PR expert or having one on staff. I agree with your point about social networks and working with an expert. But there are companies that do fine in PR without a PR firm or expert. (I wouldn't, but they do exist, many of them.)

Great article with thanks MERRY CHRISTMAS

blonde20 · 2 days ago

Hi Walter:

Thanks for the nice words.

Regarding the social media expert point, I must say that from my experience, many companies that try to use social media tools on their own for branding purposes without consulting with a professional first, often time fail because they don't know how to engage with users correctly within the social networks and they are ignorant to the rules of each network and cause their brand more damage than good in the end. There are of course exceptions to every rule, but most companies I've encountered have needed some assistance, at least in the beginning stages.

Thanks again and happy holidays to you as well!