Social Media Won't Do That

There are several Won'ts for social media. If you are starting to market your small business using social media, you should understand these Won'ts. Understanding and remembering these Won'ts will help prevent you from becoming disappointed and frustrated with your social media marketing. You will be less likely to give up using social media to market your company.

Social Media Won't

• Work if you are not involved. It sounds obvious, but if you are not active with social media, you can not use it effectively. Are you using Facebook or Twitter in your personal life? Get involved so you can have a better understanding of what is possible and what is good etiquette when you start using it for your business.
  
• Attract interest by itself.  You need to promote your social media efforts just like any other online content. People will not find your company blog, Ning Network, Facebook page, twitter account if you don't tell people about it. You also need to give people a reason to return to your blog, Facebook page or twitter account.
  
• Replace other marketing efforts. Tweeting about your business products or weekly discount will not increase your sales. Social Media can be a good marketing tool, if used properly, but for most companies it shouldn't (and won't) replace your other marketing efforts.
  
• Give you immediate results. If you are not a large brand (think Google, Cisco, Zappos...) with lots of loyal fans then it will take time for your message to spread and for people to find you.
  
• Succeed if done half-heartedly. Don't expect to turn your social media efforts to "teens" that get social media, and tweet or text every minute of the day. You need to make a commitment to social media, both in time and resources. Sometimes this involves getting professional help.
  
• Succeed the first time you try it. You might get lucky, but chances are that you will need to try and try again before it works for your company. This is especially true since it is very unlikely to generate immediate results.
•  Tell you when it is working. You need to figure out what you should measure and how to measure it. Are you tracking sales from social media, comments on your blog and influence in the market place. The Four I's by Liana Evans is a good place to start.
  

Social Media is not a substitute for marketing, it is not a quick fix nor is it easy.