When I was thinking of this post and what I wanted to title it, I kept coming up with phrases like “Hints You Don’t Understand the Power of Social Media Marketing” or “Clues You Don’t Get Social Media Marketing” but that sounded arrogantly sarcastic to me and that’s really not my intent. My intent is to inject a little humor and maybe help you figure out how to improve your online interactions.
I love the internet and everything about it. I read everything I can on social media marketing and watch tons of videos and attend webinars. Some things just strike me when I see small business owners and entrepreneurs struggling with the idea of presenting their businesses online. I do know that not everyone has the time or the desire to invest in learning how to market their business using social media marketing (that’s where I come in) so understanding a few basics is vital.
1. When I mention social media marketing, I get the all too familiar glassy-eyed stare and comments like “I have a facebook.”
Social Media Marketing is so much more than a facebook page. Yes, most businesses have a facebook page, but that is only one little baby step. Facebook may be a good way for you to start learning about social media or a good step in the right direction, but it’s really only one step.
2. You have a private listing on LinkedIn where only the first initial of your last name is given or someone must have your email to connect with you.
LinkedIn is about finding business connections. Those valuable NEW CONNECTIONS that can lead to a new job, more sales or promotion of your company. How can you accomplish these things if no one can find you or connect with you? I don’t know about you, but I joined LinkedIn to network and get my name out there.
3. You tweet the same thing over and over and follow no one.
This tells me that you really aren’t interested in new connections and that you really just want to spam the world and hope something sticks. This also tells me that your twitter is on autopilot and finding that one person who will rocket your business really doesn’t matter to you.
4. You only talk about you.
You post about you and you and you and you. You don’t really care what I have to say, and love talking about yourself. Sorry, but with my connections I hope to hear about other things. Yes, I do want to know about you, but I also want to know what goes in the world around you. A good rule of thumb is 9 posts about other things and one promotion about yourself. That’s an excellent rule to follow. Remember the Toby Keith song “I Want to Talk About Me.”
5. Your profiles are incomplete and you use only an avatar.
Maybe you are in the witness relocation program and really don’t want anyone to find you or to try and reach out and connect with you. This totally defeats the concept of social media marketing.
Social media is about being social. About making those valuable connections that can take our business out of our own little box and move it to something bigger and better. I hope you’ll join me on the big highway.
Kim Tranter is the owner of ULearnSocialMedia.com , teaching small businesses and entrepreneurs how to grow their businesses using social media marketing. She is the author of The Ultimate Social Media Success Guide available on amazon.com and teaches social media marketing at Herkimer County Community College.
