Recently someone forwarded me an article from BusinessWeek, outlining “Social Media Myths,” and asked me if this was true and if they should be concerned. I told her that there is nothing to be worried about, and that the article was not researched well and that his arguments were superficial at best. Social Media Marketing is a powerful tool and one that is not going anywhere, anytime soon.
This article that was featured on BusinessWeek, outlines some myths about Social Media Marketing, and explained why you should steer clear of it. The first problem with this article, is he only uses Social Networking sites as his examples, which we all know is only 1 part of Social Media Marketing. He never mentions, video marketing, social bookmarking sites, Information pages, Press Releases or blogs. His understanding of Social Media Marketing is narrow and un-educated, as he feels all social media marketing is, is Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and LinkedIn.
As we know by now, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are all crucial staples in the Social Networking arsenal, but there is a reason we do not talk about Myspace. Prior to the time BusinessWeek’s article was written, Myspace had started making changes to their site, being more geared towards celebrities and musicians. Myspace was not a big place for companies to begin with, just a place for tweens to gather and gawk at their favorite celebs, or a place for rising artists to share their new music. Myspace targets these users, knowing that it cannot compete with what Facebook and Twitter have to offer
He mentions that if you want your social networking site to work for your business, you have to invest money in it, and not just in the ‘free’ side of it. This right there should tip you off that he is not exactly sure what he is talking about. Social networking is a simple and easy tool used to connect with other business’ and business owners, or like minded people that can all help your business. These sites offer hundreds of free tools to add to your page to make it powerful. Just take Kelly O’Neil’s fan page for example: in the left hand sidebar you find a little opt-in box to sign up… that is just a basic HTML box… done for FREE!
Towards the end of their article, the author mentions that Social Networking sites are NOT for Marketing. Is this guy kidding? It was at this point I figured his article was just an early April Fool’s joke. Sure these sites may not have been developed for marketing, and it may not be their ONLY purpose, but these sites do an incredible job at marketing. On Facebook you can set up a fan page for your business allowing you to give information and connect with your clients at the same time. On both Facebook and Twitter you can link up your Blog articles via a RSS feed to bring the visibility of your company to that many more people.
To close his article, he mentions that Social Networking will be swept under the rug and forgotten in coming years. Newer and better things will come along and make it pointless…. I am pretty sure this same argument was made about the TV… and computers… and even the internet. In January of 2009 (2 months before this article was written) Facebook had 150 Million users. Today (14 months later), Facebook has over 400 million users. That is an increase of OVER 265%!!!
Social media marketing is showing no signs of slowing down. Heck, everyday, more and more people join the Social Media army and set up camp on Facebook, Twitter or one of the many sites on the internet used to connect with other people and promote themselves or their business. If Social Media was slowing down, I am sure large companies such as Pepsi, would not be ditching their famous Super Bowl Ads, in lieu of Social Media Marketing. The world is online, Business’ are Online. People are online. Maybe your marketing should be online too….
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Article by Zack Zucker, Director of Operations, Turbo Social Media
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About The Author: I am known in my circle of friends as the Video Marketing Guru, and I strive to be better than everyone else. My competitive fire stems from years of swimming (including at the collegiate level). I am currently married and enjoying life. I spend my spare time watching TV, owning everyone in Mario Kart, dominating in board games, playing with my 2 dogs (Memphis and Macgyver) and long walks on the beach. 
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I agree that social marketing is a great tool; and, will continue to become one of the biggest and long standing communication mediums. In fact, I often “teach” clients how to use social media to improve their presence in their particular business market. Other counselors and I help them to understand social media and how to use the various related funcationalities to boost traffic to their website. This then becomes the means for increased sales.
So, the question should not be whether social media is myth or not but how best can I use it to drive potential sales for increased profits.
K