Social Media Marketing is the new
buzz word because its easy to convince your clients, and get them in to signing
the deal. Social Media Marketing is a fad because just like you many out there
have no clue to get the real value out of it and get burned out easily.
The Client Perspective
If you’re a potential client
who’s trying to hire someone for social media marketing, then its hugely likely
that you’re yet another guy who’s just about to jump into the bandwagon, not
really understanding it. You hear a lot of people talking about Twitter,
Facebook social media metrics and all that BS you actually feel like you’ve
been living under a stone all these years. Lets not worry about whether you’ve
been living under a stone or not, rather lets see how and why you’re hearing
all these things now.
Social Media Marketing is of
course a nice term, with a nice ring to it. But how meaningful is it ? First
and foremost, if someone told you that they have social media marketing
experience for last five years, they’re most probably lying. The reason is that
the guys who coined the term Social Media Marketing is still trying to figure
out the meaning, and its not easy for one to keep pace with it, and keep
updated with its complexities in evolution. Social Media itself is an ever
evolving field and with the brilliance of its users, its constantly evolving
into new things each second, its not even possible for one to clearly define
the brackets where social media will contain. For instance Twitter, where
millions of conversations and live opinions happen simultaneously, nobody can possibly
predict what the next trend is, for its all non-dictated and impromptu. Only
one who’s amidst all this could possibly at least keep up with it.
So essentially, do not give into
the belief that Social Media is magic, or is easy. Its huge, its active, and
the results have been humungous for people who have successfully implemented
it. But that doesn’t mean that one can actually repeat it with a proven
formula.
So if you’re looking to get into Social Media Marketing,
- make sure that your business is
flexibile enough to fit into a Social Media strategy.
- make sure that you’re not doing
it just because some one said it works.
- make sure you don’t expect
quick results, rather look for a business model that can incorporate SMM into
it smoothly.
- make sure your
users/clients/customers are on social media.
The Social Media Marketing Agency perspective
And now the agency perspective.
I’ve seen many agencies do this the wrong way – unfortunately. A few get it
right though, but again only half of it is really well planned.
The problems Social Media agencies face.
Many a times, agencies are forced
to take up social media marketing, because one fine day a client throws up the
question “Do you guys do the social media thing as well ?”.
Some agencies jump in because
they attended that seminar the other day paying $ XXXXX, after all that dude in
black suit with all that metrics and graphs can’t be so wrong, can he ?
1. Zero experience
Since social media marketing is
new, you got to get your hands burned before you offer the services. There’s no
university that will teach you social media marketing effectively like a pro
who’s been there done that.
2. Treating Social Media Marketing like Search Engine Marketing
Many agencies still like to treat
social media marketing like SEM. You know with daily spend, monthly ROIs and
traffic metrics. Little do they know that borrowing the measuring metrics from
elsewhere will fit social media campaigns.
3. Staying out of social media
Do you think someone who doesn’t
even know what social media is, heck at at least uses social media can offer
the services. I don’t think so.
So essentially, the problem is
that while its easy to convince potential clients of Social Media Marketing
showing them graphs and numbers that promises too much, agencies are not taking
time out to understand what exactly social media is, or social media marketing
is and how different it is from traditional forms of marketing. Like we all
agree, the worse situation is to have an ignorant client and a half educated
agency.
But luckily enough, things are
moving ahead from there, clients know how to differentiate between someone who
BS with numbers while failing to deliver what he promises to. And agencies are
becoming more pro-active by getting to understand the real stuff behind social
media.
We have a bright future. Don’t we
?
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