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Human interaction should be the basis for all communication in “social media,” with people around the world using intuitive tools to publish news, ideas and information with one another. And while there may be plenty of social interaction it could stand to be a little more human especially when it comes to organizations and brands.

Whenever we read a post, in the back of our minds we know that there was a person whose fingers typed out the message. Companies have too long pretended that the logo is the voice of the company, and not the person crafting the message. The fact is that a lot of web visitors are interested in the people behind the icons and logos that they “follow” or “like.”

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Marketing online has mainly to do with a few specific categories in various stages of engagement with your consumer.

• Search Engine Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization
• Paid Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Web 2.0 Marketing
• and of course… Social Media Marketing

There’s probably a few more that can be thrown in there – with the internet it seems like you can tack the word “marketing” on the ass of a word and it would make sense (bikini marketing? Maybe.)

The end goal of online marketing methods (particularly social media marketing) is obviously to drive traffic to a site and convert those visitors into something that resembles a broken cash machine spitting money at you.

When it comes to marketing online though I’m not talking about branding in any way – though that is relevant. This post is specifically pointing towards the four P’s – Product, Place, Pricing and Promotion

Your Product and your Price are pretty self-explanatory. The Place is the online POS (but can also include offline POS) and then there’s Promotion.

The guiding principles within social media marketing are fairly similar to other forms of marketing with the exception that the communities involved here ultimately form conversations and dialogue. Unlike other one-way marketing gimmicks, social media marketing is a two way street. The convo goes both ways.

Your common and popular social networks are the core tools involved in social media marketing, as they’re used to facilitate the messages that go between the individual and the organization. It’s through these tools that businesses and marketers are able to build communities, reinforce brands, promote products and services and draft an identity that was never quite possible before. Ultimately, they are machines for driving sales.

Those brands that have successfully churned out valuable content and had a community rally behind them for their personality, image and efforts are the ones that truly understand social media marketing and they’re reaping the rewards that come from proper use of the four P’s

That content has a huge impact on the success of a brand through social media marketing. When that content is replicated and shared by the visitors within your community, then you become the beneficiary of priceless word of mouth marketing through social media. That’s the viral buzz that a lot of companies aim for but fall short of.

Unfortunately their focus, in those cases where they stumble, is on the buzz. They’re less focused on the content which will show itself through that content. You have to focus on delivering true value within your social media marketing and the content you provide or your stage dive becomes a face plant. Noone is going to carry you.

Create a message that will get people talking and rest assured that it will take off like a wildfire.

When marketing your content within social media and working toward your brand improvement, always remember that you do not control the environment. You do not control your brand image. You also do not control the conversation. You are a contributor, and the visitor is in control. Start your conversation from that standpoint, and the visitors will be able to sense your respect and appreciation for their presence.

Commenting is a popular method of engaging within a specific marketing and doing a little branding for an individual or business.  It’s a great way to introduce yourself and carry on a dialogue with someone in hopes of reaching out and creating awareness for your own products and services.

The problem with commenting is that it’s rather tough to do without coming off as promotional in any way.  So what’s the best way to make comments as part of your online marketing strategy  without directly promoting?

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When people land on your site, they’re more than likely looking for guidance and some kind of understanding as to how they can interact with you.  They want to know who you are, what you’re about, how you can help them, etc.

That’s what your tagline is all about.  There’s just as much marketing oomf in a website tagline as there is in an entire article that talks up your business.  That tagline is a statement from the go that delivers the promise of bigger, better things.  It paints the big picture for visitors.

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Everyday we hear people talking about how the internet changed how they think, act, and live, but few people really grasp how big the difference is. Commerce drives much of our modern world, and much of commerce on the cutting edge is transacted over the internet. The fuel savings alone are enough to compel the masses to shop online, not to mention the ease and convenience.

The fact is traditional methods aren’t going to cut it.

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I have the perfect new employee for your company.

This employee is adept at sitting around, sifting through all the latest news and gossip. They understand your company pretty well, and will work diligently to learn the ins and outs so that they can directly engage your customers.

There’s just a few things you should know.

This new employee won’t be doing any direct sales but they will make a lot of your customers pretty happy.  There’s a good chance they’ll annoy quite a few of them as well. They also won’t work by any real schedule that you have, and your dress code is unacceptable – they’ll be working in whatever they feel like wearing. They also don’t have a college degree and will be spending more than 80% of their time on Facebook and Twitter, along with a number of other social sites.

Did I mention that they want to work from home? Do you have an opening?

10 years ago we would have laughed together at the request, but not anymore. You and just about every other company out there should consider whether or not having this kind of position is viable.

I (and many others) have mentioned before that it’s no longer a question of whether or not you should get involved in social media, it’s just a matter of how and when. That leads to this query: Do you hire someone, or do you outsource?

The answer really depends on your business and how much direct control you want over the individual or group handling your social media presence. Hiring direct is a good idea for a firm capable of providing a decent regular wage along with benefits for a full time employee or a group of part time employees. Having the group or individual in house means you have immediate control over your social media presence and those employees can attending training, meetings, conferences and more within the organization to ensure that they are up on all the current company information relevant to their content and social media marketing.

Should you op to outsource, there is still plenty of control to be had however you need to ensure that those agencies or individuals stay current on company info. The benefit to outsourcing is that you can often get the services at a lower rate that won’t fluctuate under contract agreements as opposed to living, breathing employees that demand raises lest they handcuff themselves to the water cooler.

If you’re hiring an individual or several people to fill an in-house team, keep in mind that there’s no college degree for social media marketing.  Not quite yet, it’s getting there. The old rules of marketing don’t even really apply here, so a Harvard grad with a background in marketing is about as charming as a shaved cat to your social following. An outsourced firm or individual will likely have a bit more experience than an individual as they’ve already been in place working with other companies and clients to manage social media presence.

The whole beast is still relatively new, so there’s a learning curve as we all move along. The important thing is that businesses need to do something to solidify their social media marketing presence.

One thing you should not do is manage your social media presence on your own. Your focus should be your business, and social media (and marketing in general) can quickly become a huge time suck – especially if you become popular among those who follow you. Before you get sucked into something you can’t walk away from (because leaving followers suddenly hanging is bad) it’s best to get someone in place before you’re overwhelmed and burn out hits.

I’ll leave you with this article from Marketing Sherpa regarding the future of social media marketing and the way businesses are changing their position.

Generating a good list of email marketing contacts is no easy feat in and of itself. It is difficult to make sure that everyone on that list is going to want the products, services, or offers that you are advertising. Even if you do have a rock solid list of diehard conversions, your email campaign may fall flat. With the tips that follow, we can help make sure that it doesn’t happen that way, and everybody is happy.

Keep Your Message on One Topic

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When you’re setting up content marketing campaigns and working to engage your consumers through social media, the primary focus is persuasion.  You want to persuade and influence your target audience to remain within your sales funnel and follow your content to a point where you can magnify that influence.  At a certain point down the road, conversion takes place.  It all starts with the right kind of persuasion.

The art & science of persuasive content marketing is generally discussed as though it’s as simple as changing the mind of a person with the right argument, the right tactic or a tone of voice.  True, effective influence (and thus persuasion) isn’t just about body language, pattering on, or other sneaky tactics.  It’s about understanding what motivates people so that you can leverage there position.

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I was picking up some lunch at Subway, inspired by Jared, when the exchange between the customer and employee in front of me caught my attention. It was proof of a listening issue – Get this:

Customer: “…club with no ham, lettuce and tomato”

Employee: *Starts putting ham on sandwich*

Customer: “no… no ham.”

Employee: *correct the ham, moves down* “Do you want lettuce?”

This issue with an employee who isn’t really listening is a lot more common than individuals and organizations care to admit when they’re marketing online – especially within social media. What’s worse is that consumers are so used to this kind of behavior that they barely flinch. It’s becoming social accepted. “Accepted” in the sense that we often walk away annoyed but tend to forget about the incident.

But what about other situations that we may find ourselves in while marketing. We might actually be listening, but are we REALLY listening? Are we hanging on the words of the customer to the point that – if polled like a teacher asking a daydreaming student for an answer – we can snap to attention and provide a relevant solution?

Like the exchange in Pulp Fiction between Travolta and Thurman:

Mia to Vincent: “Do you listen…. Or do you just wait to talk?”

You’d be surprised just how many businesses feel that their listening is up to par, but what they’re actually doing is waiting for a chance to talk; an opportunity to break into the conversation with a hook, solution or pre-sell. A way to build credibility by leveraging the current topic. They’re listening enough to find a way to flip the topic in their favor.

Very few people are actually good listeners. Dale Carnegie writes about one in his killer book “How to Win Friends and Influence People”:

He said:

“It struck me so forcibly that I shall never forget him. He had qualities which I had never seen in any other man. Never had I seen such concentrated attention. There was none of that piercing ‘soul penetrating gaze’ business. His eyes were mild and genial. His voice was low and kind. His gestures were few. But the attention he gave me, his appreciation of what I said, even when I said it badly, was extraordinary. You’ve no idea what it meant to be listened to like that.”

So, when you’re out there beating the virtual streets with your social media marketing – are you listening, or just waiting to talk?

It’s relatively easy to put up a Facebook “like” page for a business. Just about everyone can do it. The same amount of effort is required whether you’re a major brand or a local business. However few of the brands that actually do so are pulling off their social media marketing effectively.

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