For the last seven years, companies have hired me to advise or coach them on one thing. And it's not this latest Twitter gadget or that Facebook app. It's strategy. Strategic online marketing.
What I'm about to say about social media may startle you a little bit. Actually, I hope it does. When the words I'm about to utter spill out of my mouth, I'm usually sitting across the table from or on the phone with a CEO or business owner who is looking to me for online marketing advice.
"Mr. Brown, social media is simply…meaningless. All of it."
I wait for the gasp and the dumbfounded looks. I have to admit – I get a kick out of their confusion. I'm sure they're thinking – "WTH, she is an online expert, right…?" Hehe.
I wait casually for a few seconds and then, to settle their panics and help them to begin thinking bigger about their online presence, I always follow it up with this:
"Unless of course, you have really juicy, mouth-watering content. Content that inspires your customers to take some sort of action…content that induces a particularly good feeling about you, your company and products or services….content that moves people."
Then – and only then – do your social media efforts and anything else you do online become brilliant. Actually, it's at that exact point when social media begins to carry your business into dimensions you didn't know existed. You'll gain more loyal customers and you'll see how your efforts are directly impacting your sales."
Unless a company is willing to reevaluate the kind of messaging and content they are putting out there, I can't help them. See, it's not an issue of HOW MUCH or HOW OFTEN as much as it it is WHAT you're saying. And your message and online behavior better match your brand.
But better yet – it must tell the clear story of where you are going. Something like,
"Come on, take a ride with me…"
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