If it takes work, it ain’t gonna get done. But, make it easy and you’ve got a sure thing. This is the world of social media… marketing.
And by this, I’m not talking about marketing yourself through social media, I’m talking about marketing social media itself.
“Check out this fancy socialwidget 2.0. It slices, dices, cleans up after itself, and all you have to do is stay sitting in your chair and press this big red button.”
Over on AgentGenius, I covered one of the big fallacies surrounding social media and business: that social media is a business strategy.
It’s not. It’s just a tool, a tactic, that should complement your overall marketing plan. If you just tweet it they will not come. But, some folks will have you believe otherwise.
As Jeff Turner pointed out, the horizon is filled with snake oil salesman selling promises that simply “joining the conversation” will cause traffic spikes and a bullish bank account.
You’ve probably seen the surge of self-proclaimed social media gurus, ebooks, and training courses. Look, use of a tool does not equate to proficiency.
To be frank, I’m working with a few different folks on social media projects but these aren’t your typical tactics-only approach to social media. You can expect specific Stomper-style strategies of how to include social media in your current marketing for bigger business-generating wins.
Content Generation
You must generate content that attracts people. This isn’t limited solely to websites, blog posts or videos. Your ideas and perspectives count just as much.
Content Syndication
Just because you have content that’s attractive doesn’t mean folks will flock to it. If you build it they will not come. You need to have a means for getting your content from here to there.
Play to Your Fans
Once you attract folks, you must have a means for converting those interested people into supportive people. The more supportive fans you have then the further your message will reach and the more pre-sold, pre-qualified business you’ll generate.
So, whenever someone is trying to sell you some social media doo-hickey (book, course, workshop) make sure it covers all the above points.
Social media is not a push-button solution to gaining more real estate business. Problem is, many of the folks out there are willing to tell you otherwise.
Now, it also ain’t rocket science. What you really need is a real marketing strategy that leverages the power of social media inside your complete business generation strategy.
What have you found that works for you in social media?
Great points- your article reminds me of another kind of marketing promise. Search engine optimization, people making promise to “get you on the front page of Google” automatically… with out explaining how they are going to do that (PPC) not organically.
When it comes to promises of instant gratification, success in minutes and a miracle cure – they are just what your mother warned you about- if it sounds too good to be true- it is! Social media is simply another way in which to broaden your online net, exposing you and your message to more people than you would have been able to reach via traditional media, but before you get too excited- the message still has to be there.
Looking forward to reading more Mark.
great comment, tara. i still have agents tell me they paid some shady SEO provider to get them top rankings… and i cringe. too many folks (in RE and in other industries) toss marketing fundamentals out the window too quickly and you’re points help to bring us all back to ’em 🙂