Where Is Social Marketing Going? Hope You’re Sitting Down

To not realize that social marketing is a force to be incorporated into your business is to bury your head in the sand.

From YouTube to Pinterest (the fastest-growing website so far) to Twitter to, of course, Facebook and all of the other social sharing sites, you need to have boots on the ground (where it makes sense for your business) when it comes to social media.

But there is something that you must do before you do that.

You must start! As simple as that sounds, it is not simple for many (if not most) companies to get the ball rolling.

Start with content you know best…the stuff that rolls out of you at cocktail parties and school functions about what you do and how you do it. Get that down in written, video, and audio formats.

Guess what? It’s not hard to do. It’s hard to start doing…and therein lies the opportunity.

The most powerful online marketing companies will tell you that saying content is king is like saying money is valuable. But not all content is created equal and to get to the point where you are producing great content, you must begin the process so you can learn as you go and only get stronger.

The biggest mistake we see businesses making in social media is the creation of blah content. A few videos that don’t get the heartbeat up. Some photos on Pinterest that are just okay. Tweets that are relatively tame. And Facebook updates that are surprisingly self-serving.

Social marketing is being led by companies willing to take the time to create strong content that really adds value for others and starts a conversation. It has to inform and excite and create a stir. But none of that happens until you push away from the dock.

Do not create content about your business that doesn’t get people excited about the information that you are willing to give them! Please spend an extra week to map out blog posts, video content, and photos that are powerful and compelling.

Create video blogs where you let people into how car sticker prices really work. Tell us how to shave dollars off when we buy concert tickets online. Be willing to reveal to us how caterers cut corners and how to make sure you don’t fall for it.

Interview your customers and have them talk about the issues they face…not about how great you are. (Use the video capability in your smartphone.) Have them tell their stories and let them reveal why you were such a great choice when you showed up…no matter how you showed up.

Start the flow of gripping content that gets the conversations going. That is when you can very slowly and carefully start introducing yourself as a solutions provider.

The number of useless YouTube videos out there is staggering. Many business owners wonder why their view counts are so low. They are low because the value of the video is so low! Push yourself to make sure your videos get attention.

Social marketing is the new frontier. It is a beautiful stage upon which all inbound marketing sits. It is extremely cost-effective, but only if you commit to producing truly powerful content.

Over and over and over again.

Are you committed?

photo credit: Express Monorail via photopin cc