I was reading Duct Tape Marketing this morning and I ran across a great article on how business can use Facebook as a professional tool. The article is of great interest to me because it only mentions marketing, as in look at my goods/service, in the last section of the list.
I go to plenty of client meetings who see social media as a tool for cheap or free marketing. I have to remind them that social media, for marketing purposes, takes a great deal of time and effort (neither of which are free). John’s list is great because it shows clients the value add of using social media.One of the great functions of social media is that every day usage turns into your marketing and public relations.
I have a mantra when it comes to marketing with social media, “turn your actions into your voice.” The idea is simple every day you do things that help promote you or your brand. By integrating social media tools into your work day you can help promote yourself by doing your everyday work. Blogging about meetings, asking twitter friends for advice on proposals, posting slide shows through slideshare, heck even creating a Pandora station for your office are all great ways to use social media as tool to promote your brand.
Social media fails when clients see it as an end all to their marketing needs. Social media should be an aspect of almost any modern day marketing plan, but it should never be the whole plan. The old stand-bys of marketing still have immense value and should not be ignored because a client thinks social media is trendy.
Have you had examples of clients trying to push social media projects because it is the new thing to do? How have you dissuaded them or persuaded them to seek other PR/Marketing options? Let me know.
