Social media is the buzzword for the foreseeable future with regard to all things business. The ability to connect with current and future customers in a truly meaning way can create opportunities for sales that until several years ago did not exist.

While the theory of social media sounds wonderful the application of the tools don’t always translate into what every business needs to see: sales. Why is this a regular occurrence? I have a few ideas that I will share here as well as possible solutions. Just remember as you read these, that there is no social media fairy that does things easily and for free. That kind of talk is for marketing hucksters which there are (at last count) 8 gazillion of those in today’s marketplace. Instead, let’s look at reality and see if that helps you any.

1. Social media is not a loner – We often talk about social media as an island unto itself and one that has magical powers (like the one in Lost). Well, also like the island in Lost, what looks like paradise can be hell in reality. You see, if you think that social media in and of itself will be your marketing savior you are naive at best and well, not so smart, at worst. Which leads to the next point
2. Social media supports all marketing – Because social media is not at its best when it is the sole performer it needs to have other marketing efforts it supports, supplements or complements like online display and banners, e-mail marketing and search marketing. The idea of social media is to make all other ships rise with the tide as well.
3. Social media is limited – As with anything there are limitations. Despite the claims that social media will raise the dead and cure lepers it’s just not true. In fact, while we talk about how social media allows for so much more it’s more hype than reality. What social media can do is stretch the limitations of other extremely effective techniques like search marketing so you can get the most bang for your buck.
4. Social media is additional not foundational – Despite reports of “I use only social media to market and I am buried in business!” claims (which, by the way, are mostly made by social media “experts” and people trying to sell you a “program”) social media is not the first thing that any company should be doing in Internet marketing. It is certainly ONE of the things but not the only thing. If you do a great job with social media bringing prospects and customer to the trough but it’s empty (like a terrible website or no other Internet marketing efforts like search or e-mail to make sure you are touching all potential customers) then you have really done nothing.

So what’s the point here? It’s simple. Make sure you are doing everything correctly with Internet marketing and not relying too heavily on a magic, silver bullet. In most cases, that bullet is a myth and it will end up costing you dearly in time and resources chasing it. Make sure you are doing ALL Internet marketing techniques correctly so social media can do what it is supposed to which is make all of your other efforts more effective collectively.

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