Social Media... Misunderstood

If I had a US$ Dollar for every social media user who doesn’t understand the power of the tools they use, I’d be a very rich woman. But as CEO of ECO, Linda Hughes often points out to me: “that’s why we have a market for ECO”. She right, as usual. Here are some key misconceptions:

Wave of a Magic Wand

Linda and I frequently find people who are completely shocked that there’s more work to be done once they’ve signed up for a social media service. These types of marketers assumed that social media was a short cut to building brand awareness and sales pipelines. No. Social media is relationship marketing. And like most forms of relationship marketing, it requires consistency of message and willingness to engage in conversation with potential clients. There’s no magic, except for being able to suddenly reach 200+million consumers around the world.

Numbers for Numbers Sake

Some social media users on sites like Linkedin, Facebook or Twitter seem to focus on quantity over quality of followers/friends/connections. It doesn’t matter how many “Likes” your product has on Facebook if that doesn’t transfer to sales. Often these are the same social media users who don’t know how to engage in a real conversation online and move their prospects through their sales process.

Soap Boxes are Earned

But by far the most common misconception I have found are those who think that social media is a platform from which you repeatedly shout your sales message. As Linda Hughes often says, “for someone to buy from you, they have to first know, like and trust you.” Pitching your product or service before building rapport is a way to alienate your online audience.

If this topic interests you and you want to learn more, I highly encourage you to subscribe to Entrepreneur Community Online (ECO) where subscribers have access to substantive social media training as part of an annual membership.

Good luck in all your entrepreneurial ventures!
Becky