Social Media Demystified

Believe it or not, many small business owners—particularly in the off line world—are still confused about social media.

Perhaps the confusion is due to trepidation: many mom and pop shops fear technology and change. Or maybe the confusion is due to a lack of knowledge: many folks are still out there asking “what the heck is Twitter?”

Regardless of the reason, the confusion should stop here. Small business owners, take note as the following should clear everything up for you regarding social media:

Social media is nothing more than another marketing channel.

Simple enough, right?

As long as a business owner understands that social media is just another marketing channel, the confusion around social media and the uncertainty of its practicality should be completely demystified.

Take out the tweets, fan pages, diggs, stumbles, reddits, you tubes and other vernacular about social media and boil it down to its essence: social media is just another form of communication. Basically it is no more than an additional avenue for business owners to communicate the value that their product or service can provide.

In this light, we can even take another step towards social media enlightenment by asking one simple question: does your target market use social media?

If yes, then get plugged in, get tweeting, get a fan page, post a video or otherwise get to work communicating your message via social platforms. They are quick, easy and extremely inexpensive to implement.

If no, then do nothing. Why waste resources on communication channels that your market does not use?

Admittedly, there are fewer and fewer businesses that cannot benefit from a strong social media presence. Many are using the power of social media to move their business to the next level. The interactivity, the immediacy and the ability to leverage your message are all reasons to consider the use of social media.

But social media is no different than any other marketing: if you cannot hit your target, don’t waste your ammunition.

Social Media Impact Predicted 47 Years Ago

As both consumers and advertisers continue to explore the waters of social media, one thing is clear: the impact of social media was already predicted 47 years ago.

Try this on for size:

"...[I]f a new technology extends one or more of our senses outside us into the social world, then new ratios among all of our senses will occur in that particular culture. It is comparable to what happens when a new note is added to a melody. And when the sense ratios alter in any culture then what had appeared lucid before may suddenly become opaque, and what had been vague or opaque will become translucent.”

This is an excerpt from The Gutenberg Galaxy written by Marshall McLuhan….in 1962.

That’s right. 1962. Even more interesting, McLuhan made this statement in reference to the printing press. Yet his comments remain applicable today.

McLuhan theorized that the technology of communication has a greater impact than the actual message, and thus the technology shapes how we communicate, interact and organize. McLuhan is credited with originating the concept “the medium is the message.” He cited numerous development--from the creation of the alphabet to the invention of electronic media--as historic milestones that have shaped our civilization.

As the social media craze reaches more and more corners of the earth, he seems to be more prescient than ever. Social media is shaping the next generation of the communication landscape.

Social media has altered our sense ratios.

What's becoming clearer is our sense of time and value. The immediacy of social media has allowed consumers and respond and react to marketing messages in real time. And since word-of-mouth is so powerful within the social media channels, the content and the message must provide value for anyone to truly respond.

However, what's becoming less clear is our sense of reach and scale. Social media is not for everyone. Despite crazy growth rates for Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, some consumers have yet to plug in. Globally speaking, there are millions that don't even have access to the technology.

Given this clarity and opaqueness, it stands to reason why the social media movers and shakers are professing that the most successful social media messages are genuine, loving, positive and collaborative.

Andy Sernovitz, Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan among others all agree that the best way to utilize social media is to share valuable content. They claim that sharing good content--whether it be your own or attributed to another--is the best way to create a following.

Call it the karmic circle of social media: put out good stuff and get that in return.

In light of McLuhan's statement, there is still much to learn about social media particularly from a small business marketing standpoint. We see that companies like Gap are replacing big budget TV ads with Facebook campaigns. It's a risk, but one that Gap is willing to take. We've also seen instances like Johnson and Johnson who leveraged YouTube. Their risk, unfortunately, turned out poorly.

So yes, we are reaching clarity on some levels for social media, but other levels are still opaque.

For that reason, I recommend we all subscribe to the karmic cirle of social media. Let's put out good things and share useful and interesting information. This is truly the way to create and add value, which is a key component to your Marketing DNA.

In fact, it may be the only way to move your business the the next level.

What Twitter Teaches That You Already Know

The Twitter buzz is still building. Clearly an excellent channel for affiliate and web marketing, Twitter is now a major marketing channel for more traditional companies and brands.

In fact, some of the most well-known brands are slated to present their strategies and success stories with social media at the upcoming BlogWell event. McDonald's, Ford, General Mills and other major corporations will share what has worked with Twitter, Facebook, del.icio.us, blogs and other on-line social platforms.

My prediction is that the ultimate conclusion of all of the presentations will be quite obvious. In fact, they will conclude what we already know. All of these major brands with their huge marketing budgets will state that they only way to succeed in these marketing channels is to provide value.

Sure there will be some cool presentations about good campaigns and how to drive traffic. But behind successful campaigns will be the underlying foundation of providing value. Value, love and buzz is the way to create brand awareness, regardless of the medium.

Andy Sernovitz is a marketing expert who focuses on word-of-mouth marketing. He touts that companies and brands must send out love into the social media atmosphere. Love, he says, will create brand advocates. Brand advocates, in turn, spread the word. Spread the word, build a fan base and the money follows.

This is the same "give to get" concept from Dale Carnegie in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People (which was first published in...wait for it...1936).

So don't get lost in the buzz behind the social media wave. And don't get overwhelmed. Just apply the value add principle that should be the basis of your Marketing DNA.

Lastly, don't be afraid. There is a lot to leverage with social media. But if you choose early on that your strategy is to give value and send out love, you are sure to gain followers and drive business.

After all, the media may be new but the message shouldn't change: it's all about value. But you already knew that.