The biggest barrier to entry into the social media world is education. It’s difficult to “teach an old dog new tricks” especially when social media and the internet in general, are always changing. There’s so much to learn and understand – What is it? Why do I need it? How do I get started? Who has time for this? How do I prioritize? How does this benefit my business?
My advice is to just try it - start small, make mistakes and learn from them. Here’s a great article that details Simple Ways B2B Companies Can Be More Social and another on Common B2B Social Media Marketing Mistakes to get you started. We even created a comprehensive collection of Social Media Marketing Resources to help you accelerate through and overcome the social media learning curve.
So, while the “old dogs” are learning, taking it slow and giving it a chance, how can we help the “new dogs” or the next generation of entrepreneurs and business owners get onboard with social media? We need to give them a leg up and better prepare and educate them through courses and curriculums designed around social media.
Melissa Cohen, PR Manager at Metis Communications, recently wrote an article called “ The Spirit of the Real-Time Web ” in which she reflects on a panel discussion from the 140 Characters Conference among two principals and a high school science teacher who all “expressed the need to educate school districts – everyone from teachers, parents, students and the board about the importance of social media for education.”
Teachers are very much like many business owners in that they continue to rely on traditional methods and technologies to reach their target audience of students or parents or customers. They aren’t thinking about the way their audience gets information today – through Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. They aren’t thinking about new ways to interact and engage through the internet. The world is shifting from being static and tangible to being instantaneous and changeable. We need to adapt on all levels if we want to create successful students, future business owners and businesses.
As Cohen says, “We welcome and challenge school districts and every entrepreneur out there to commit to social media. You might actually learn something…or…increase your customer base, raise awareness of your brand, recommend brands to others and obtain market feedback.”
That doesn’t sound so bad, does it?
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Dave Heinrich 7:46 PM on September 22, 2010
What a terrific post! Actually, if you want society to really change, you have to start w/ the kids, because they learn & adapt so much easier than we adults do!
Charlie Scala 8:14 PM on September 22, 2010
The biggest mistake I've seen in the social media realm is an unclear focus. What does my brand stand for? Who is my target audience? How does being associated with my brand help my customers express themselves? These age old marketing questions are no different in the social media realm. Just because you can reach more people than ever through social media marketing, doesn't mean you should. Stick to your value proposition and use social media to build a core group of extremely loyal brand advocates who would jump in front of a bullet to save your company. Hearing positive word of mouth about your company is far more powerful from them than it is from you.
Cristian Gonzales 8:53 PM on September 22, 2010
Definitely in agreement with Dave. Lack of focus when it comes to social media is one of the faults that several companies make.
However, with social media, it's important to be prepared for the unexpected. Sure, there is going to be a major point of focus for what you're going for, but other things will come up: additional opportunities, consumer influenced tangents, negative conversation, etc., and it's important to be able to know how to roll with the punches, and understand not everything is going to go with your original point of focus.
This can be a terrific opportunity or an absolute disaster depending on how a brand handles it. But when it becomes an opportunity, it's incredible just how powerful social media can be.
Jack Ham 7:50 AM on September 23, 2010
Indeed a terrific piece. When there is an opportunity to add on to your brand equity. Why not take it?
myleadsystempro
Jordan 10:12 AM on September 23, 2010
The links for "Simple Ways B2B Companies Can Be More Social" and "Common B2B Social Media Marketing Mistakes" don't go anywhere. I click them and this article reloads. Am I missing something?
Emily 11:03 AM on September 23, 2010
Hi Jordan - the links should be fixed! Sorry about that.
Joe 12:01 PM on September 24, 2010
Charlie - I agree with you 100% that the biggest mistake is an unclear focus when it comes to social media. Some of the tactics may seem easy but not having a plan of action and a clear definition of success will only hinder your efforts. As the article suggests starting small is the way to go. Don't jump from site to site because it'll only cloud your vision and your efforts.
Great stuff - thanks!
Joe
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University of San Francisco - 100% online
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Cindy Lavoie 5:03 PM on September 24, 2010
We coach a lot of clients - especially small businesses - on how to get started with social media. What many have said is most helpful in getting them started is the 1-2 punch of 1) creating an "editorial calendar" so they can think ahead about topics to write about and 2) a weekly 'coaching' call so we can nudge them to do it, discuss ideas out loud, and get their brain moving in the right direction. I call myself a "social media personal trainer" sometimes! But it seems to work.
Aaron 11:45 PM on October 03, 2010
Thank you for this great post! I am really into social media right now, especially Facebook Marketing and FBML…It can be hard to keep up to date on this every changing concept, but thanks to blog posts like yours and the resource http://www.facebook.com/thefanpagefactory I at least have a chance at staying ahead of the game!
Thanks again!
Enjoy.