Why Are People Afraid of Social Media Marketing?

iyazam

How many times have you heard a prospect say: "Social media
marketing? It doesn`t work. I tried it a little and the traffic didn`t
convert..it was a total waste of time..." or "What is the ROI with
Social Media Marketing"?

Why Are People Afraid of Social Media Marketing?

In
my humble opinion people are afraid because of the fact that Social
media marketing is a longer marketing process then any other regular
marketing campaign. For a social media marketing campaign to become
effective you need to first establish credibility and provide value for
lots and lots of people and this takes time. We are
living in a microwave society and we want everything now, we want
results first thing tomorrow morning.
"How fast can you
get me on the first page of Google" - does this question sound
familiar? Of course this is important...but the reality is that not
everyone is going to make it to the first page of Google. Depending on
the keywords - many won`t make it. Ok, so now you need to ask yourself
the following question: If that`s so, then how can I still use the
internet for marketing? Very simple: Social Media. If Google is the
front door - then social media is the backdoor. Social media is just
another way of reaching the masses.
How do you break that fear? How do you convince your prospects that it does work?
I think the first step is to present them with case studies. To present to your clients social media marketing success stories.
Where do you get them from?
Well
you can Google "Social Media Marketing Case Studies" of course or I
have found it effective to post a question on LinkedIn (in the Q&A
section) asking for specific case studies related to your prospects
business.

Remember: A good case study is like a good testimonial.

Trying
to convince a prospect about social media marketing by saying:
"Everyone is on Twitter.." is not whats going to do it. Step out of the
way and present case studies. Apply this critical third party tool into
your business.
I always tell people that social media marketing is great for two main reasons:
1) Its a great way to reach more people.
2) Its a great way to market your information to those people.
By
developing daily social media marketing disciplines - you will see and
understand how powerful social media marketing can really be for your
business.

Casi

I agree with Loren`s post.  I am not a marketer but my feeling is that social marketing probably has a higher success rate if the marketer is genuinly part of that social network.  You can`t just be a sales person trying to "get in".  You have to be interested, participate and give to the community.  Establish yourself as a member.