In conversations with other social media enthusiasts I often hear it predicted that the term “social media” will eventually become just “media.” While I believe this to be true, I, for one, want to hang on to this more descriptive term, at least for the time being. Here’s the reason why:

I work with small businesses that are ready to embrace social media as a business tool. Most of them, however, are doing it because they feel they have to. That’s it. Their objective for using social media goes no deeper than that. I’m then faced with the challenge of getting them to think through their rationale. That process usually reveals the fact that they don’t really understand social media . . . in fact, most aren’t even using social media as a consumer. They simply want to jump in and start using it as a business.

Traditional methods fail in new media

The first thing most businesses want to do is use new media – emerging media – social media – as a channel to deliver traditional marketing messages that are formed using traditional marketing methods. That’s when I enter the scene and begin chanting the mantra, “It’s SOCIAL media, not SALES media.”

I can’t take full credit for that snappy little chant. Unfortunately, though, I can’t give credit to the rightful person, either. My own understanding of social media has developed over the years with the help of brilliant minds like Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li, Brian Solis, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Jay Baer. I can’t remember where I read, “It’s SOCIAL media, not SALES media” [my emphasis]; but when I did, it resonated so clearly with me that I found myself saying it in my sleep. I’m still having difficulty getting it to resonate with owners of small businesses, though; especially if they don’t have even a fundamental understanding of what social media is.

First, use social media as a consumer

Since adding social media strategy services to my consulting practice two years ago, I have revised my requirements for taking on new clients interested in using social media as a business tool. Now, before I discuss helping a business enter the social media environment, the business owner must already be using social media as a consumer. For example, they must have a personal Facebook profile, be tweeting from a personal account, and regularly view or upload YouTube videos. If they don’t have this experience, I’m happy to guide them and get them familiar with how us consumers use social media.

Social rules apply to social networks

My rationale for this approach is that social media platforms are designed for social interaction. Social rules apply. Social networks are a lot like social events, and those who arrived early have set the pace, theme and mood within their communities. Jumping in and disrupting the atmosphere with inappropriate behavior (i.e., spam, marketing messages, selfish blabber) will get you ousted.

Business owners need to see how this works. They need to respect the social network for what it is – a social setting. If they don’t, they’ll know how it feels to be a social outcast.

Photo by bonkedproducer on flickr

According to a blog I read in mid December about 2010’s top brands on Facebook, the businesses listed  below are the ones we should be looking at to see how to use social media as a business tool. Each of the following links takes you to their respective Facebook page – check ‘em out.

I observed three common denominators among these 10 pages that I believe contribute to the overall success of the Facebook pages. (more…)

Working with small businesses that are trying to figure out how to use social media to their advantage, I am repeatedly asked about ROI.  Everyone wants to know how using social media is going to help them do business and generate sales.  To this I say, “It’s not about making money, but about creating value.”

Of course, I’m not so naïve that I don’t understand that we’re all in business to make money.  However, there seems to be a misconception that social media was created and designed to give marketers an easy answer to generating sales.  This is when I want to scream, “Hey, it’s called SOCIAL media, not MARKETING media.”

But businesses and marketers still want to criticize social media channels, saying that there seems to be an awful lot of talking but not very many people listening.

(more…)

Yesterday I gave a presentation entitled, “Marketing in a New World.” Here is a recap.

The topic: social media. The main point: defining “un-marketing,” a term often used to describe the acceptable use of social media for the purpose of promoting a business. (more…)

Street Chess Originally uploaded by ocadotony

Inspired by a blog posted today by @ShelHoltz (Six questions to ask before launching a Facebook Page) and a question that was posed in a webinar presented by Marketo today – The Definitive Guide to B2B Social Media – I’m pondering two points I most frequently hear from non-users of Social Media. They relate to ROI and “Why?”.  These reactions to the suggestion that social media be used as a business tool seem somewhere between clueless and incredulous. I’m wondering if people think that because social media is free, it shouldn’t be taken seriously.  Maybe that’s why it’s not respected like any other business tactic – and should be viewed as a calculated risk.

Let’s break that down and make it simple. We’ll start with calculated. Definitions for “calculate” provided by dictionary.com:  1. to determine by reasoning, common sense, or practical experience; estimate; evaluate; gauge.   2. to make suitable or fit for a purpose; adapt.

In other words, a certain amount of thought and reasoning needs to be part of any business tactic – whether you’re planning a tradeshow exhibit, customer focus groups, a training program, a sales presentation, or a Facebook Page (as highlighted in the above-mentioned blog).  Any one of those maneuvers requires a plan that is aligned with an overall strategy.

And then there’s risk. Dictionary.com gives us: exposure to the chance of . . . loss; a hazard or dangerous chance.

It’s no secret that dumping tens of thousands of dollars into a marketing blitz is no guarantee that you will get hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales . . . or any sales at all.  Whether your marketing blitz involves television ads or radio spots, glossy flyers mailed to the ends of the Earth, flying monkeys branded with your logo, or a Twitter stream posting coupons for free stuff, your campaign is still subject to risk.  Of course, the more you put into the “calculated” part of the equation (no pun intended), the more likely you are to reduce your risk.

That’s not to say that I don’t give credit to the prudent business person who must ask about ROI and question the reason why. But appearing incredulous or clueless on the subject of social media is not going to be tolerated much longer.  If one wants to protect his or her own professional image, one should at least be aware of how the consumer is using social media – and that can best be done by spending less than 30 minutes setting up an account on a few social sites and looking at them for 10 minutes each week. Even in that little amount of time it will be easy to see that businesses ARE using social media successfully and that it IS being taken seriously as a business tool, and as such, is a calculated risk.

I predict that in the very near future, when the topic of social media comes up, resisters will be expected to defend their position for not modifying their use of traditional communication methods. The tables will be turned, and they will be the ones having to respond to questions related to ROI and “Why?”

I have been keeping a journal and a blog to document my progress since the day I set up my Facebook profile (May 2009). Although I had been on LinkedIn for several years, I didn’t get serious about using social media until last year.

Now I’m asking other business owners about their experience with and interest in using social media to enhance their various operating strategies:  communications, marketing, customer relations, etc.  There seems to be general recognition of seven irrefutable characteristics that invoke across-the-board reaction to social media, and mark the stages of acceptance.

1. Curiosity – and the need to do what everyone else is doing.
2. Abundance – like an all-you-can-eat buffet that’s not only free, but you can come back as often as you want and stay for as long as you like.
3. Novelty – With new features, functions and platforms being introduced daily, the novelty never wears out.
4. Frustration – With the overwhelming amount of information and options, with the challenges of learning how to use the tools, and with the amount of time it’s sucking from your life.
5. Fear – You can’t afford to devote this kind of time and energy to something that’s seemingly providing no real return.  But, you can’t afford NOT to because traditional methods of mass communication are becoming even more expensive, and less effective (aka the groundswell approach-avoidance syndrome).
6. Rationale – Social media offers powerful business tools that can save you time and money, and maybe even help you make money.  But a haphazard approach to social media won’t work any better than a haphazard approach to any business strategy. You get serious about putting together a strategy and committing to it.
7. Realization – With the strategy in place (and once it is, you wonder why you didn’t do this sooner), you feel the weight of the earlier stages of this learning curve begin to ease.

Your curiosity is satisfied.  You’ve come to understand that there’s always going to be something new around the next bend.  You’re comfortable within the social media space, and you have a system for staying current with whatever is relevant to your needs.

The abundance will also be there.  But now, that’s a good thing.  It doesn’t have to be distracting or confusing.  It simply means you will have as many options as you could possibly want.

The novelty is refreshing.  It means that social media tools are being advanced and (hopefully) improved.  But you know now that ironically, novelty is nothing new.  It’ll be there for you whenever you need a dose of it.

Frustration levels are diminished by the sheer fact that your level of competency is increased as a function of your experience with the learning curve.  This doesn’t mean that you won’t still get frustrated along the way, but you’ll know where to go to get help you need, and you probably won’t need help as often as you used to.

The fear has turned to love.

The rationale that led you to developing a strategy will be the most important lesson learned.  As your experience with social media as a business tool evolves, you will always come back to the realization that every new step should be strategically aligned with your business objectives.

Related Reading
7 Questions to Help Businesses Get Ready for Social Media

Architecting a Social Web Marketing and PR Strategy

I’ve devoted the last ten months to learning about social media. I’m mostly interested in knowing how it can be used efficiently and effectively in business. What I’ve figured out so far is that it takes a healthy dose of self-discipline . . . and a strategy. With a desire to find a way to make social media practical enough to use as a business tool, I set out to identify five actions — not too many, not too few — that would drive and support that strategy.

The first challenge was to overcome the novelty of social media that had the effect of pulling most of us in before we were ready. Being ready means having a plan: a singular, well-defined objective accompanied with a checklist and timeline for achieving it. I just finished reading (and outlining and notating) Marketo’s Definitive Guide to B2B Social Media. It reinforced much of what I had already been reading, and validated the content of my most recent presentation:  Social Media – Closing the Gap Between “How” and “Why.” What it got me to do though, was break my own strategy into manageable steps with short-term measurable goals.

Using the worksheets in the Marketo document, along with my own conversation index and communication plan (two elements of my business strategy), I was able to identify distinct action items and metrics to guide my approach to social media. This structure is helping to remove some of the guesswork and give me a sense of purpose when it comes to using social media.

I would recommend that the following five actions be taken in this order.

1. Articulate a singular, well-defined objective. Without it, you’ll be like a bag blowing in the breeze; a ball bearing bouncing in a boxcar.  My objective:   To establish my reputation as a resource and as an advocate for using social media in business.
2. Choose the right tools – I’m limiting myself to two primary social media tools to reach my intended audience. (I told you this takes self-discipline.) Twitter and my blog will serve as hubs. The other six tools in my arsenal – Facebook profile, Facebook page, LinkedIn, SlideShare, YouTube and Flickr – will be used as outposts to carry content that, for the most part, reflects the conversations on Twitter and in my blog.



I chose my hub tools based on the type of audience I want to reach ( “Social Media – Now? or Never!”, slide 9). My social media, in addition to my e-newsletter and website, will allow me to reach the various strata of the relationship cycle defined in my business strategy. Each of these tools has measurable qualities I can use to assess my progress.

3. Manage your network – Over the past 10 months I intentionally grew my network of friends, fans, followers and connections organically and slowly. Again, my initial purpose for using social media was to learn. I was more intent on following and listening than being heard. That strategy is now paying off as I’m about to embark on the process of segmenting and sorting. Although I’m shifting from my initial objective of learning to a new objective of talking (establishing my reputation) and will strive to increase the size of my networks, I still want to maintain a standard of high-quality connections.



If I use discretion based on a set of pre-determined criteria when engaging with people through social media, I will get more value out of the conversations, can be more confident that my contributions will be appropriate and perceived as valuable (as opposed to out-of-context, and God forbid, boring). I won’t struggle to come up with helpful and interesting content. By handpicking my connections (to the degree they can be handpicked) I can be more natural and spontaneous with my comments and responses.

4. Cull and collect content – To say that the amount of information available on any given subject is overwhelming is an understatement. Managing the information – much like managing the networks through which the information flows – requires a system. With a singular, well-defined objective as the basis for that system, I am able to quickly identify the information I need to drive my strategy. Because I have identified blogs as one of my primary tools, for the short-term anyway, I will focus my information gathering efforts on blogs. Limiting my information-mining efforts to this one distinct area will benefit my overall strategy in several ways:
   1. It will enhance my learning experience (my original objective for using social media) by eliminating the distracting task of having to decide where to go to get my information.
   2. The vastness of the blogosphere can hardly be seen as “limited,” so I don’t have to be too concerned about isolating myself from useful or interesting input.
   3. It will give me the opportunity to engage by commenting on others’ blogs. I will not only be getting information, I’ll be contributing. This directly supports my objective.
5. Create valuable content – To borrow a phrase from Stephen Covey, by choosing to blog as one of my main social media initiatives, I will be “sharpening the saw.” Writing things down has always made ideas more concrete and actionable for me. Writing, in general, is therapeutic and relaxing. Blogging, on the other hand, presents a challenge – mainly because I have been without focus. However, I imagine that with this new plan, blogging will be less of a challenge and more of an investment resulting in growth and renewal. With a clear objective for blogging, I expect it will soon feel more like second nature.



Through blogging I’ll be able to process and develop all the information about social media that I’m absorbing. I’ll aim to organize my thoughts and express them in ways that make sense to my targeted audience. I’ll be documenting my own path with intent to clear the way for others who want to explore the same direction. At the same time, I’ll be creating a collection of cohesive, relevant thoughts that can Tweeted, packaged as bites in a newsletter article, highlighted on my Fan Page, and used in LinkedIn status updates.

The picture at the top of this blog represents part of the process that brought me to this plan. It’s all about turning ideas into action. For me, that means one step at a time. Over the past ten months I have taken many measured and mostly-steady steps. I encourage you to do the same, and would love to hear your ideas and know what has worked for you along the way.