What!? Or in the parlance of Internet cussing WTF!?
Now don't get me wrong, I believe that the Internet can be a powerful tool for businesses and professionals. However, I think that the old-school marketing strategies of finding your "target audience" and pitching your product to them doesn't work. People are primarily looking for two things on the Internet: information and community.
If you are a business looking to FAIL at social media, treat your social media platforms like press-release forums. Only Tweet and FaceBook about your products and events. Only blog about your products. Never comment on another person's blog, tweet, or FaceBook comment. In short, be self-centered and only allow information to travel one way--out from you.
If you want to SUCCEED at social media, treat it for what it is: a vehicle for exchanging information and ideas. I am a blogger so I will discuss this in terms of blogging (not this, but another blog that I run).
I of course want my blog to succeed. I want lots of readers, and eventually, I would like to offer limited advertising of businesses I trust and whose service I think would appeal to my readers. So yes, being able to write for money is a goal of mine. However, it is not the be-all-end-all for my blogging life.
The real reason I started blogging is I have something I think is important to say. Note that I did not start blogging because everyone else was doing it, or I thought I could make money doing it. Rather, I feel I have experiences and expertise that will benefit my readers. I want people to benefit from my ideas and suggestions. I am also well aware that a blogger needs other people and ideas to survive. I need a larger community of people that I both tap into and contribute to to keep my ideas fresh. In addition to blogging, I have a personal relationship with local businesses that I blog about. I tweet about other blogs, useful links, as well as more personal things. I participate fully in several large discussion and networking forums in my field, and I comment on other peoples blogs.
In short, I am an active member of my chosen niche community. I do not constantly push links to my blog in emails, comments or discussion forums. I am not constantly referring to myself, my blog, or my product. Rather I participate in online conversations in a similar way that I would in person. After all, you wouldn't think of going to a professional event and constantly try to sell a product would you?
The Internet is the same nowadays. The days of hard sell e-commerce are a gone, or at least largely ineffective. Today the internet is about conversations, communitiy, and sharing ideas.
Don't believe me? Just look at the ubiquity of comments in blogs, online stores, and everywhere you turn. People no longer want to be on the recieving end of a hard-sell marketing campaign. Rather, they want to be part of a conversation.
That does not mean that "marketing" is dead. Lord knows that I am constantly trying to up my Google ranking, attract more readers, and generally raise awareness about my own blog. I even have business cards I hand out. However, I also know that I am a part of a larger conversation, and I embrace my role as an active a contributing member of a larger online community.
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