[spoiler alert] Not Every Organization Needs Social Media Marketing

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Comment by Bill Bean on October 30, 2009 at 10:38am

Probably important to clarify the difference between social media marketing and social media participation.

It's hard for me to imagine a company that wouldn't benefit from some sort of social media participation. There clients, customers, prospects certainly are. Could be the some company's participation would be very limited. I certainly agree that not every business or organization has to bother with Facebook or Twitter. And I think many businesses will be ok if they don't launch a social media marketing campaign.

I will disagree in that social media is exactly about word-of-mouth.

Comment by Kyle Lacy on October 30, 2009 at 8:37am

Here is more on my response: http://kylelacy.com/quit-with-all-the-bs-lets-create-business/

Comment by Kyle Lacy on October 30, 2009 at 6:42am

What happens when social search is released upon the world? Oh wait.. that has already happened..

Comment by Kyle Lacy on October 30, 2009 at 6:41am

I am going to be honest... this is an old debate.

1. Social media is viral in nature. I wouldn't mind you explaining why you think social media is not a form of word-of-mouth. Blanket statements do not keep the conversation going.

2. Of course social media is not for all businesses.

3. You would be surprised who can benefit from lead generation through social media. We recently had a social media boot camp with a seed distributor and they are experiencing a lead generation increase from using Twitter to reach farmers... who knew?

4. If anything... social media can be used to help with search engine optimization. It was recently stated that social media can increase visibility on GOOGLE/YAHOO (search engines) by 75% if used effectively. -Jeremy Dearringer (Slingshot SEO)

Comment by Amy Stark on October 28, 2009 at 8:59pm

You're welcome for the comments, Drew.

Radio, TV, Newspaper, Magazines - Broadcast Media - is an informational one way street with no interaction. I define social media as digital DIALOGS NOT restricted by space or time. It is the opposite of broadcast media in that information flows in both directions. How can dialogs NOT be word of mouth?
How do you define social media?

Social media marketing does NOT require a lot of time... the learning curve and set-up of a campaign can take awhile- depending on the teacher or consultant you select- but feeding a social media campaign can be accomplished in less than five minutes a day as part of a "check your email" routine.

Comment by Drew Skwarcan on October 28, 2009 at 2:41pm

Thanks for the comments, Amy. A couple points:
1. Social media marketing is not word-of-mouth.
2. Social media marketing actually requires a lot of time. That's why is social.

Comment by Amy Stark on October 28, 2009 at 12:54pm

I disagree.
Social media is word-of-mouth not restricted by space or time. Have you ever heard anyone say, "Word of mouth is the WORST form of advertising?"

All organizations can -to some extent- benefit from social-media involvement. Selecting the right platform and using it wisely is key.