Facebook isn’t a website.

Okay, technically Facebook.com is a website, but that’s not what makes Facebook so powerful.

The essence of Facebook, the thing that makes it worth billions of dollars and helps it dominate a full 22% of the world’s internet usage, is this:

Facebook is people.

Twitter is people, too.

Social media websites are tools which people use to come together, share ideas, and build communities.

That’s pretty cool, isn’t it?

Here’s What That Means For You

When you decide to build a social media marketing campaign for your business, it’s easy to look at networks like Facebook as these giant, faceless websites that we have to conquer.

That attitude doesn’t serve you, though.

Contrary to popular belief, people are pretty smart.

They know when a marketer is addressing a demographic instead of talking to the actual human beings on the other side of the screen.

Maybe it’s not a conscious realization – often, what comes across is the general feeling that a company is trying to rip people off or take advantage of them.

Marketing with a “Our Company vs. Facebook” mentality gives people that impression.

Your heart’s not in the right place, and it shows.

What to Do About It

If ever you feel disconnected from your audience, as if you’re talking to a mass of strangers instead of to a bunch of friends, it’s time to get in touch with the people again.

Get out from behind your computer and have a conversation with a human.

Go to an old friend’s social profile and catch up on their latest news.

Take a day off and spend some time with actual, real people you care about.

Marketing off all kinds, not just social media marketing, requires you to make connections with others, and it’s much harder to connect with generic bits of data.

Keep people in mind, though, and you’ll be ahead of the curve.