Using social media marketing for the wrong reasons always fails. Unfortunately, businesses that try to channel it to “shout” at prospective customers are becoming more and more common.
People get fixated on shiny objects (”ooooo another place to advertise!”). That mindset need not apply. And yet they do, over and over again.
Here are three reasons why that will fail…
Misunderstanding the Purpose
Yes, Dell is selling their product, primarily through Twitter, to the tune of more than $3million since 2007. A lot of money right?
Did you know that Dell realized 12.3 billion U.S. dollars in revenue for the first quarter of 2009? Dell Outlet, Woot!, and others are “successful” in using social media, particularly Twitter, to sell – examine their business models and it starts to make sense.
They make money through social media – albeit a fraction of their total gross.
Scott Monty, head of social media for Ford Motor Company, stated recently at Blog Potomac, “I am not online to sell”.
Take a lesson from this: Educate, build trust, and the sales will come. But you can’t be there just to sell. It doesn’t work that way.
Unwillingness to Participate
So you would like to incorporate social media, but you don’t want to participate? Seriously?
Implementing a social media component is not a “set it up and let it work” strategy. It takes time. It takes effort (this is an operative word). It requires participation.
Are you actively monitoring the social landscape? How does it relate to your company, products, services and competitors? Are you inviting input, asking open-ended questions, engaging (yes, cliche. I know) those that are discussing relevant topics? That’s participating.
Unrealistic Expected Outcome
If you’re expecting social media to create a tidal wave of business, you are mistaken. It should be a part of your marketing plan, not a replacement.
- Social media is not a panacea.
- Social media is not going to fix the economy.
- Social media is not going to make up for poor unique value proposition, poor customer service, or sub-par products.
Business owners that complain when social “isn’t working” likely don’t care about how it works to begin with. What they’re trying to accomplish is something different from social engagement. Unfortunately, they’re probably not willing to figure it out.
Social media is a powerful tool, yet clearly is not for everyone. If it’s not for you, the sooner you realize it, the better.
Tags: social media mistakes
Great post. I come at social media, in particular, twitter from a slightly different corporate perspective. I use it at work (@guyatcarphone) as part of our customer service offering. Carphone Warehouse is the biggest independent mobile pone retailer in Europe and we have recognised the importance of taking part in the whole social media ecosystem. We’re taking small steps, starting off with twitter and then moving out from there. But even from a customer service perspective, the three main points you put forward still hold.
It is vital to be clear and specific about how you intend to use whichever social media platform is relevant to your customers’ needs. As it is with participating. If you’re not prepared to get involved and actively use twitter or facebook or blogs then don’t. It will just become a burden for you. And as for outcomes, social media isn’t for everyone and it certainly wont meet all your customers’ needs or expectations. You’ve still got to get the basics right and build on those. Social media is simply one part of your overall offering. But you’ve got to understand what you’re offering to begin with.