If Social Media Isn't For Marketing, What Should It Be For?

(by Craig M. Jamieson) I was reading an article by Todd Wasserman on Mashable the other day that was titled “Let’s Face it: Social Media Marketing Is a Waste of Time“. In this article the author points out:

“The secret to good social media marketing: Make good products and offer good services. If you can’t trick people into “Liking” your brand, maybe you can try to make them actually, you know, like your brand. How? Under-promise and over-deliver. Make products and offer services that are really, really good. That’s not to say you should completely forsake social media marketing communication. Every once in a while if you have something interesting to say, then by all means use Twitter or Facebook to say it. But stop posting cute pictures of puppies to win cheap Likes.”

I’m not sure why this article struck me. I’ve heard this argument many times before but, for whatever reason, it did. For that matter, I have even made this argument. Todd really nails it though when he states that “The secret to good social media marketing: Make good products and offer good services.”. Is that a marketing function, a sales function, both, or neither?

In a way, this made me feel better about how I view social media. Because I am fairly active and write about this topic a fair bit, people often have the misconception of me being a marketer. Not much could be farther from the truth. I can barely spell “marketer”. I am a salesperson. Nothing more, nothing less. As a salesperson, my view of social media tends to skew in that direction …

I like the visibility social media gives me as that helps me to uncover new sales opportunities
People buy from those they like and I like relationship building. Social media helps me to do that
Writing and other activities help to build the aura of whatever expertise might I have
Social media helps me to learn more about my clients and that knowledge is an edge

Todd pointed out that he had had a bad experience with United Airlines but, the next time he booked a flight, if United were $10 less, he would fly with them again. That’s probably because all airline service sucks equally these days so price and schedule are the only differentiating factors. Conversely, he had a great experience with Best Buy but, if he found his next purchase on Amazon for less, bye bye Best Buy. I don’t blame him. In order to succeed these days …

You must not meet customer expectations. You must exceed them!

And you must do this consistently. Sounds like a sales function to me.

Bio
Twitter
YouTube
Latest Posts

Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services

Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!