Swift Kickin' Rebuttal: "Debunking Six Social Media Myths"

Prologue

The title and tone change now, because I decide these things. This blog is not sponsored (more's the pity).

Swift Kickin' Intro

This week: A return to Social Media. I'm a little fired up thanks to reading an article, "Debunking Six Social Media Myths" by B.L. Ochman, BusinessWeek, February 19, 2009, http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2009/tc20090218_335887.htm.

I thought about simply Tweeting this article, just to gain an honest reaction, but upon a second read I've decided I think it may discount small business entirely. I love discounts but hate being discounted. Therefore, I think it deserves a swift kick. Here 'tis.

Ochman's Myth #1: "Social media is cheap, if not free."

Summary: The tools are free but you need $50K to use them effectively.

Rebuttal: See Ochman's Myth #3, below, wherein she states of her own experience, "...with not one dollar spent on advertising, we were able to generate...traffic in our first three days..." Ochman's success speaks to the importance of having a clear strategy in regard to use of and participation in the medium, which is true regardless of milieu.

Most small businesses don't have $50K for any single marketing plan component. Goals, strategies and expectations must take this into account. Accounts and useage of Facebook, Linked In, Blogspot and Twitter cost zero dollars. Double that to add a Facebook Page and a Group to stimulate needs awareness. Total cash flow? Zero.

Ochman's Myth #2: "Anyone can do it."

Summary: Very few "experts" have proven track records, and examples of failures abound.
Rebuttal: The medium is dynamic, changing right now, as you read this. Did you see that? It just changed again. My favorite failure: Do a Google search for "rahodeb," and read the sad story of John Mackey. Burger King's "unfriending" Facebook promotion was a bomb...but they tried. If you're not in business to take risks, get out of business. If you're using social media to manipulate and deceive, get out of business.

"Track record" depends on differing goals of differing initiatives. In the most quantitative sense, establishing one remains nebulous vis-a-vis social media (see Ochman's Myth #6, below).

The tools are painfully easy to use. For those with the ability to read plain English, instructional knowledge is a Google search away. Are you more comfortable with a trainer? Here's an upcoming bargain in the Denver area: http://www.denverdataman.com/content/march-social-networking-seminar-series. Still can't do it after all that? Um...maybe you're not "anyone."

Ochman's Myth #3: "You can make a big splash in a short time."

Summary: Unless you already have a large market presence, gaining large awareness using social media is going to take a while, if it ever happens.

Rebuttal: You can engage in line with your brand. My friends at Experience Pros (http://www.experiencepros.com/) have taken to this stuff like fish to water, and the fact that they haven't been targeted for acquisition or elimination by a Madison Avenue agency factors not one iota into their evaluation of social media.

Not all "big splashes" are national. You can raise awareness within a particular demographic or geographic community. Say, for example, the one in which you do business...

Ochman's Myth #4: "You can do it all in-house."

Summary: Few in-house teams have the full gamut of experience to incorporate social media into a full-fledged marketing campaign, and to manage it effectively thereafter.

Rebuttal: If you're a small business, you or your brother-in-law is probably the in-house marketing team, so...OK she's right on "all," but you can get started and experiment. You can build a Facebook Page. You can put a profile on Meetup.com and join groups that can help you network appropriately. You are intelligent and savvy enough to do this. You got a business of the ground, didn't you? This is a walk in the park, comparatively. Small businesses shouldn't
do anything "all in-house" except for those few, core things they do best. Where's a great place to find, communicate with and evaluate potential partners? Social media.

Ochman's Myth #5: "If you do something great, people will find it."

Summary: You need to drive traffic to your social media efforts in order to get people to notice them.

Rebuttal: Is Ochman's underlying assumption that your use of a social network is an end of itself? I don't know. One of the appeals of existing social networks is the ability they provide to promote something wonderful you've done...your shop, product or service, for example. No marketing tactic stands effectively on its own. Here, right out of Facebook for Dummies, are some ways to drive traffic to your social media site...stop if you've read them before,
pertaining to some other medium or marketing tactic or anything else:

• Email people
• Talk to people
• Put a link on your website
• Put a sign in your store
• Use the tools available within the social network where you've built your microsite.

If you're not employing these tactics to raise awareness about everything you do anyway, that breeze you keep feeling is your competition passing you.

Ochman's Myth #6: "You can't measure social media marketing results."

Summary: Mentions, comments and click-throughs provide ready measurement criteria.

Rebuttal: You tell me how mentions and click-throughs equal sales and I'll recant this whole article. Ochman is measuring use, not results. If, in order to justify the hour or less it takes to build a Facebook Page, for example, you need tangible ROI, then social media will fail your test...today. That said, given the low barrier to entry and easily-reached ancillary goals available, it is inadvisable to wait until all the metrics are figured out to get started. Plant your flag, befriend the natives, become knowledgeable of the customs, participate, gain some "street cred"...and when and if your research reveals YOUR particular path to profit using social media, activate that plan on a battlefield with which you are now familiar.

Swift Kickin' Conclusion

You need an hour, some knowledge and a plan. You don't need $50K. If you're in small business and listening to the social media naysayers, you're getting your..."swift"...kicked.