Marketing Through Social Media
How often do you try to plug your job/company/service/product on networking sites? What techniques do you use to plug your company? Spam? Annoyance? Subtleness?
How often do you see other people plugging sales and products on sites like MySpace, Facebook and even Twitter? 
How often do you get frustrated by these tactics that other people are using?
I see it all the time and yes I myself even Tweet for the company I work with, but in all honesty where or what does all of this get us? How long does it take to build up a perfect balance of meaningful friendships and business relationships online? For me it has taken about 6 months to get nearly 2,000 followers on Twitter, a radio interview, a radio shout out and blogged about in a local Tampa Bay blog. Not too bad, huh? I admit that it could and should be better. I mean we have a solid service/product to offer everyone. Everyday we are moving forward so what's the holdup online?
Then I ask myself, "Why haven't I gotten my interview with Ellen or Oprah yet"? I'll tell you why. Because NO ONE knows who Kim Randall is. I am not a famous model, I have never been in a band, I am not a famous singer.
Who am I then? Well I am a 28 year old Marketing and Sales Exec that is trying to move a company forward in a dog eat dog digital world. I have sent emails to many well know sources with no response. I have tried to call agents to pitch what this company is doing. Not many answer. It isn't because I don't have a compelling story. It is more likely to be that in the signature there isn't McHammer's name and phone number.
So why are all of these famous people Twittering, blogging and Vlogging that marketing through social media is so easy? I'll tell you why. It's because THEY ARE ALREADY FAMOUS!. They already have a name for themselves. They could claim to reinvent gum and people would interview them all day and night. What about all of the quality people out there that have amazing products? Do they get their 5 minutes of fame on CNN.com? Not normally, but sometimes it does happen.
Why am I posting this? Am I really that bitter towards celebrities trying to talk and preach about social media marketing? Not at all, in fact I applaud them for their success. Most of them came into their fame well before MySpace was invented or Twitter was even thought of. Most of them were not born into the status that they have now. They did work hard to get where they are. The reason I am posting this is to talk about how challenging it really can be to market and pitch your company in todays digital world without the celeb status. I would love to say that if you Tweet, everyone will follow. It isn't all true. You should however stay true to yourself and your company.
Remember to:
☞Provide everyone with rich content.
☞Let us see and know YOU and your product. It is ok to plug your company, but be yourself too.
☞People want to connect with real people and not just a sales advertisement.
☞Also stop the spamming about where you are going to be this Saturday like many of the friends I have on MySpace too. Eventually people stop paying attention. In this case LESS IS MORE! If you post something once a week or hell even once a day people are more apt to pay attention. Quit the 20 times in 5 minutes of posting the same thing. I WILL NOT PAY ANY ATTENTION!
☞Make sure you acknowledge your online peeps. What do I mean by this?? Well FOLLOW PEOPLE BACK on Twitter, reply to emails and messages on other platforms. Maybe someone wants to tell you that they enjoyed a blog post you wrote. It takes less than a minute to say a simple THANK YOU.
☞If you want people to pay attention to you, pay attention to them. The only way to truly build a meaningful business relationship is to pay attention to what and who is interested in you and your company.
☞Be sneaky, creative and smart. Don't do everything that your competitors are doing. Do something different. Offer a better service. Market in a different way. Be unique!!!
☞Are you targeting the right people? Let's say you are marketing a website that allows children in the age range of 3 to 10 to connect, play games and learn about computers. Would you market this to college students? Probably not. Your key demographic would be parents. Stick to and with the people that need your product the most.
✩BRAND YOURSELF and YOUR COMPANY! Your name is your own personal brand. People are not looking for commercials and magazine advertisements anymore. It's your time to shine as a person which will in return bring awareness to your company✩
*In no way do I claim to be an expert in Social Media Marketing, Networking and Marketing. I am just like the rest of you trying to make a name for myself and my employers company.*
Never doubt your company or yourself. Stick with it and be consistent in everything you do. If you have passion for what you are trying to achieve, it will be noticed.
