When is a Social Media Just a Buzzword?

Here’s the thing about social media marketing:

It only works when you do.

If marketing was easy, businesses wouldn’t spend billions of dollars every year hiring agencies like us to help them get the word out.

Starting a successful business looks easy.

Until you do it.

In a free market, anyone can start a business.

That low barrier to entry means that lots of companies and small entrepreneurial ventures fizzle out or fail, but it also means that people who are willing to learn and grow have a chance to do that.

Social media marketing is the same:

Anyone can jump into a social network and start marketing their company, but that low barrier to entry creates an environment with lots of mediocre – and plenty of downright terrible – marketing.

Every business wants to have a social presence.

As digital marketers ourselves, we believe that they should.

However:

There’s a big difference between social media marketing strategy, and simply getting excited about the latest buzzword: social media.

Is There Actually Strategy in Your Social Media Marketing Strategy?

There’s a big difference between having a social media account and a social media strategy.

Companies that develop social marketing strategies answer these questions:

• What do we hope to accomplish on social media?
• What is our marketing budget?
• What kind of return do we need to generate in order to make social media marketing worth our time?
• How will our brand be represented on social networks?
• How will we handle feedback and communication through social media?
• On which networks does it make the most sense for us to focus?
• How will our strategy differ between networks?
• What can we do to generate higher returns?

Social media marketing isn’t drastically different from traditional marketing channels.

Market research is still a factor.

Tracking metrics and measuring results is just as important as ever.

Even basic marketing competencies like copywriting skills and branding are the same.

The biggest difference between social media strategy and traditional marketing is that low cost that makes it possible for even solo entrepreneurs to participate.

Companies that create social media pages and expect followers to automatically find them are just as delusional as the guy who opens a gift shop in the local mall and expects customers to wander in without the store having made any real marketing efforts.

True social media marketing strategy takes just as much time, effort, planning, and commitment as any marketing channel.

If you’re not treating it like a real asset…

Then your social media strategy is just a buzzword.

Buzzwords don’t pay dividends.