Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Social Media Marketing (SMM) is a recently coined term that ironically through mediums inherent within SMM has become the hottest three-letter word in marketing since SEO (search engine optimization). As with any great concept, without fail, "SMM" has been thrown into marketing proposals by dulling-edge executives looking to cash in on the latest buzzword in the industry. Go ahead and look at theproposals you've recently received from bidding online marketing agencies. Does it have SMM as a critical component? Awesome! Do youknow what you're paying for? No...?
The concepts of SMM are hardly new but the term is, so how do you distinguish a legitimate strategy from one that's trying to ride the wave all the way to the bank? Here's a good starting point:
The Top 5 Lies Online Marketing Agencies tell you about SMM:
1 ) We'll post you on YouTube - be ready...BusinessWeek might be calling!
Posting a video on YouTube is a SMM tactic. SMM tactics can generate huge waves of people to your website, but tactics without a clearly defined strategy and goals is akin to shooting a basketball with your eyes closed (in other words, good luck!).
Sun Tzu, a Chinese General, once said, "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat." Sun Tzu's time (500 B.C.) was before the advent of the internet, but the fundamentals still hold true. Define your business goals first. Don't use strategies to fit best with a tactic. Use tactics that best fit with your strategy.
2 ) SMM has made SEO and PPC obsolete!
Repeat this mantra: SMM is NOT a replacement for your other online marketing efforts. SEO and PPC are concepts, not toys - do not throw them away for the latest GI Joe action figure. SMM is the army tank that your GI Joes sit on. It augments your overall online strategy.
3 ) SMM is easy - we'll put up a MySpace page for you, and you can watch the leads come flying in.
Ah, if it were only that simple. An effective SMM strategy integrates appropriate tactics to harness the full benefit of its efforts. This is classic "the sum is greater than its parts" stuff. Did you make tagging quick and easy? What about bookmarking? Are you participating in other online communities? Are you addressing the complaints about your product? Are you communicating with your target audience? Are you giving them usable content? Remember that you are a visitor in these communities and just putting up a MySpace page doesn't exactly turn browsers into buyers.
4 ) We don't do SMM - it's spam.
Let's think about this for a second... What is SMM, really? Social media optimization is all about optimizing communication on Web 2.0. That's it. Yes, there is a dark side to SMM, just as there are unscrupulous people performing black-hat SEO. But spam-focused SMM doesn't provide any business with long term sustainability. Only by becoming a resource to your users will you truly unlock the full potential of SMM and viral marketing for your business.
5 ) We'll create a blog for you. You'll be famous!
See #1.
Look again at your proposals. Does anything look familiar? If so, then you may want to re-evaluate your SMM strategy (or look for an out-clause). An optimal SMM campaign starts with a clearly defined strategy which is unique to every business.