Social Media

In preparation for our upcoming book, Charles Heflin and I were asked the following question by the other co-author, Richard Dennis:

“Charles and Tom, what is it about content syndication that blows your mind?”

Since I’m older and cuter I went first…

OK, I know, having your “mind blown” is a rather dated colloquialism, but it still manages to get the job done, and just about everyone knows what Richard was after by his question. So here is my answer. Actually, to be honest, it’s a SUMMARY of my answer. You must read the book to get the complete picture (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?).

What blows my mind about content syndication is that it is the ultimate END GAME for all current and future successful online marketing; yet only a minuscule number of people understand its immediate and long term effects and implications. Even fewer know how to execute a successful content syndication campaign. Now stop for a second… and read this sentence again. I’ll wait…

If this statement is ANYWHERE NEAR true then you have every reason to dissect, explore, test and literally devour what I’m about to share.

Content syndication currently exists in a kind of “FUTURE SHOCK” state, to borrow Alvin Toffler’s description. He defined Future Shock as the “The premature arrival of the future.” This is exactly how I view the current state of content syndication.

It’s “premature” only in the sense that the online world is not ready for nor do they expect the outcomes and massive success that content syndication will generate, especially when it’s executed properly, as we have demonstrated and continue to perfect at SocialMediaScience.com.

It’s the “future” in that content syndication is where ALL future online marketing is heading, regardless of whether people like it or not. In the very near future EVERYONE will be forced to abide by what will seem to be a very stringent code. But it’s not stringent to those of us who have practiced these syndication protocols for years and LOVE THEM because of the results we get, time and time again.

Even the words, “Content Syndication”, both alone and together are packed with stellar meaning. Quality, relevant “Content” describes the number one motive and goal for every person engaging in an online SEARCH. The primary goal of ALL search engines therefore is to deliver this quality, relevant and easily digestible CONTENT to all its users. The search engines KNOW that this is the ultimate end GOAL.

What is mysterious and baffling here is that most online marketers also know about the role of quality content. Around the world millions engage in various kinds of SEO strategies as a costly and often unpredictable solution. They understand the “trees” but for many reasons they have yet to see the “forest.” Believe me, once you see the FOREST and you understand what this vantage point offers, you will kick yourself for not seeing it sooner. It’s as if Fort Knox has stacked its gold bullion onto the center of Times Square and day by day people walk by and see only shiny metallic images, with less than 1% of 1% ever stuffing one of those valuable gold bricks into their backpack. The FOREST and the GOLD BULLION is CONTENT SYNDICATION.

In the next few years the search engines will finally perfect their search architecture to such a degree that they can superimpose their MASSIVE CONTENT SIEVE onto every combination of words and phrases that people so glibly submit as CONTENT. Expect the Net as we know it today to undergo the most massive and complete CONTENT HOUSE CLEANING since its inception. We have already seen smaller versions of this grand WORD PURGE; but you ain’t seen nothing yet! Expect this grand daddy of them all to be on the horizon soon.

Online marketers are fond of calling this “The Google Slap.” Well, call me a seasoned sadist, because I LOVE it whenever Google slaps me (and rest of the net). “It hurts soooo good!” Why? Because when they do this I see yet ANOTHER reason why content syndication blows my mind and another reason why it SHOULD blow yours. It’s like cleaning up the streets of New York City so that the hard working, honest and law abiding citizens can walk freely and enjoy the fruits of their labors; which for us content syndication advocates means more READERS and more SALES. Whenever the net get’s SLAPPED I win, because I know how to leverage my content by syndicating it on the new and cleanly swept syndication sidewalks that Google cleared off just for me and for everyone else who VALUES true content. And just think; now we get to do this without all the hindrances and trash that used to line the content roadways of cyberspace. Do you get the picture?

Lastly, what blows my mind is the word “SYNDICATION” itself, and the various meanings it conveys. Have you ever done a study on this word? Do you know what it means to “syndicate” something? For example when applied to online content I discovered that to syndicate means all of the following:

1. To BROADCAST through multiple channels.

2. To CONTINUE to broadcast through multiple channels on a REGULAR basis.

3. To syndicate so often and so well that you DOMINATE your content niche, topic or keyword. For example, when we say things like, “Las Vegas is still run by the Syndicate,” we are implying that a “Syndicate” is a group of people who have established themselves as a powerful multichannel force, one that will not be EASILY MOVED.

4. Isn’t this EXACTLY what we want our content to accomplish…to dominate our chosen niche so that NO ONE can move us aside…ever?

Now consider this. When most people think of content they automatically think of something written, like an article, blog post, press release, etc. But as my friend, Russell Wright, reminded me recently, content means any “item” that is capable of embodying meaning and can be distributed through typical online channels. When you consider the implications of this you have to get excited. As the average online business owner begins to explore and understand the value and the mechanics of content syndication expect to see a tidal wave of new approaches to online marketing.

OK, if you have followed me this far you have either concluded that this guy is on to something historic and monumental or that he is a complete idiot mind freak toying with my lack of knowledge and worse yet, my emotions. Obviously, you must be the final judge, and I welcome that. I’m not trying to be cute or flamboyant about all this…(OK, so maybe I am a little). The point is that you owe it to yourself to find out if these predictions and forecasts are based in truth. If you discover they are then I suggest you begin now to learn how to live and succeed in the state of CONTENT SYNDICATION FUTURE SHOCK…because it has already arrived and it’s here to stay.

Now for a word from my partner Charles Heflin on this “Future Shock”…

The facet of content syndication that blows my mind is its leveraging power.

There is no other single thing in Internet marketing that you can do that holds more leverage than content syndication.

Why?

In a SINGLE move you can (single being the KEY word)…

• Initiate the viral spread of your content to many, many networks and people
• Enhance the visibility of your content in social circles from other people propagating (spreading) your content.
• Enhance the visibility of your content in the search engines through multiple references all leading to your content
• Enhance the ranking of your content in the search engines because of all the ‘Social Buzz’ surrounding your content

There is simply NO other more efficient action you can take in Internet marketing today that has more leverage, none. You can effectively narrow your marketing tasks down to simply writing educational, enlightening and entertaining content for your target audience, syndicate that content and watch as your target audience begins to arrive at your website in perpetually growing numbers.

No other form of Internet marketing is this easy and none is more powerful in terms of time spent to reward gained.

Of course to use this leverage you have to go through a paradigm shift in what you “thought” Internet marketing was all about. To use this leverage you must forget marketing and start being educational, enlightening and entertaining to the audience you wish to attract. Then this audience will seek out your wares, no selling required… Sales just happen.

It is a shift away from the “pitch” and into quality of information which leads to sales. Internet consumers are VERY wise these days. They base their judgment of what to buy based on trust and social mention. Consumers are savvy now; they know how to research to find the answers they seek… Are you going to be one that answers those questions in an educational, enlightening or entertaining way or are you just looking for a sale?

To harness the leverage of content syndication you MUST shift your thinking and forget about marketing. As you forget about marketing and focus on delivering quality content, marketing will happen for you automatically. How is this for counter intuitive?

Are you ready for some FUTURE SHOCK? … If not I suggest you get ready. It’s already here and Thomas and I (and our partners and staff) have spent over 4 years researching, testing and visiting Times Square, daily claiming our gold, which nobody else seems to notice…Honest, you should see OUR backpacks!

Thomas Rozof & Charles Heflin, SocialMediaScience.com

Download the PDF version of this article

No, I’m not being sexist or stupid (although I probably have a little of both in me). I’m being totally realistic and strategic and you’d be wise to read on. Running a social media marketing company has brought me in front of numerous business owners who are desperate to increased sales in our current recession market.How they go about this is critical and one of the main reasons so many fail is that they approach social networks with the exact wrong strategy.

Here are the main features of the strategy I see most often and the one that works least:

1. Collect as many contacts in as many networks as possible.
2. Begin to communicate with these contacts about your business.
3. Keep communicating until you get someone to respond.
4. When they respond invite them to your sales funnel or to talk on the phone.

What I have described above is the same process that millions of online business owners use every day. When initial reports began to suggest that social media was NOT a good arena for propagating business success, it was this strategy that most of them used. If it helps, don’t feel bad, I did also. Social media is a very new medium and four years ago this is exactly how I started. I made a lot of contacts but little money.

Let’s look at why this strategy will never work. Then we’ll turn our attention to the need we all have for an attractive, well built, sensitive, and highly responsive Hubby. You’re going to love this…so stay tuned.

The four point process above is excellent if you want to brag about the number of people who are connected to you through social networks. I even see sales pages for products that will help accomplish this goal. Recently I saw several Twitter products, software and training. The main selling point was the testimony of how the product owner had filled his social contact list as a result of his new Twitter tool, as if this alone
will magically produce sales. As you may have already discovered, this is not true. Making a sale is a highly interactive and involved process, even when it happens quickly. Knowing something about a typical sales exchange will help you to not fall prey to simplistic and ineffective tactics and will allow you to understand why a more complete instrument is needed to monetize social networks.

Let’s examine some of these sales components:

1. First, sales and marketing 101 says that the best way to create new customers is to get your product or service before people who NEED or WANT it MOST. Do you see the problem with social networks in general? Unless this new person on your list has connected with you BECAUSE they know your product or service can help them they will most likely NEVER become a customer. Most people who have a high number of social contacts have not stopped to consider that these people have very little if anything in common with the product or service they are selling.

2. Once someone who needs or wants your service is in front of you they almost NEVER buy from you IMMEDIATELY. We know this from years of testing and monitoring numerous offline and online sales strategies. For example, many of us have heard that the optimal number of email messages needed before a sale can be expected is seven. Whether this is still scientifically true or not the principle behind it is. Most people need to be SOLD before they purchase. That means that they need to read, hear or see something from you that convince them that their need or want can best be met through YOUR product or service. This is even more so true in our current recessionary climate. People are holding tight to their money and before they release it you must convince them that what you are offering is totally worth their investment.

3. Once you have established that your product or service meets your customers need you still may not be home free. This next fact is going to surprise you. Did you know that most people do not have the confidence in themselves to select the right product to meet THEIR need? I know, I know, this sounds crazy, but follow me here and I think it will make sense. Today we have an unprecedented capacity to compare and to research products.  Never before have so many comparable options been so accessible to so many. Unless your customer is already highly schooled on your market niche they probably feel inadequate to make an informed decision. What may seem obvious to you is not so obvious to them. Insecurity has never been a great disposition for generating a sale. People love to talk about the things they buy. They want to believe that they secured the best product or service for the best price. Some even like to brag. Buy the way; our social world makes this factor even more important, as more people communicate more often than at any time in history. Therefore the need to feel confident is going to loom large in the unfolding sale process. What steps can you take to help instill this conclusion? The most trusted and effective form of producing confidence in your business and therefore in your customer is the use of sincere and heartfelt TESTIMONIES. How many times have you purchased something because someone you trust recommended it to you? This one fact alone is now a PRIMARY ingredient for any online business. You MUST have a growing list of articulate testimonies if you hope to make sales a way of life.

4. Once a potential customer feels confident about your product, the sales process is underway, but it’s still not complete. What if they purchase your product and then find out it does not work as planned or they feel it does not exactly fit their need. The customer needs to be assured that they have some recourse in the event this happens. This is where the sales guarantee comes into play. In general, you will sell a lot more if you back it up with a solid guarantee.

5. So, now you have EVERYTHING needed to make a sale. Would you believe that it’s possible to meet every one of the criteria above and still not ring the cash register? One of the most elusive areas of online customer behavior has been the high number of shopping cart abandonment that take place day after day throughout the world. Why would someone who has come so close to making a final purchase exit the process right before it’s completed? Although we now know some of the answers, only time and more research will give us a complete picture. What we know is that many people use the shopping cart as a means of finding facts they could not discover on the sales page. For example, did the purchase price include shipping, sales tax, etc? Are there any other fees associated with the sale? Often the ONLY way to discover this is by engaging the check out process to see EXACTLY how much is being charged. Another reason for abandonment is the difficulty of completing the sale, which means the customer finds the shopping cart or check out method complicated and therefore becomes unsure that they are going about the purchase correctly. Since they don’t want to lose money or order two of the same items they just leave.

My point is this. If a high number of customers never complete a purchase because you have not adequately met several of the sales requirements listed above, how do you expect to overcome these hurdles through your simple 4 step social media campaign? The fact is, you won’t. No one will. Sales do not happen this way. A sale is a very complex social exchange and it is naive and shortsighted to think you can overcome traditional sales barriers simply because someone has linked to you in a social media context. It isn’t happening now and won’t happen anytime soon.

What I have described as barriers is only a partial list. My goal here is not to give a total outline of the psychological components of a sale. The goal here is twofold. First to underscore why social contacts and social interaction alone will never produce the kind of sales all business people covet. The second is to lead the reader into a better understanding of what will accomplish this, which brings us to our final section.

The most productive sales take place online through what I call a finely tuned sales funnel, one that is attached to a business content syndication HUB. When I say that everyone needs a HUBBY what I mean is that everyone needs a central HUB, a center of operation, a place where everything and everyone can find you, your writing, your products and your services.  Most of all, this HUB is your primary link to your finely tuned sales funnel. Those who make money online (and believe me, those who are good at this make a lot of it) have this kind of robust HUB. It’s this HUB that will overcome all the barriers I’ve listed to the sales process. Once you understand what goes into the design, execution and ongoing development of your central business HUB you have your first real chance of monetizing your social network traffic. Stay tuned as the next post will examine the creation of a highly effective central HUBBY.  You’re going to love this sexy beast…

Thomas Rozof,  SocialMediaScience.com

By Thomas Rozof - (Revised & Expanded 3-3-09)

Over the last 5 years a slow but now certain trend has taken shape in the field of business organization and marketing. This new trend is making way for a new critical role and thus the largest new job opportunity in corporate America since the turn of the century. We predict it will quickly become the number one most needed position for any company dedicated to growth. Can you guess what it is?

Before we share the exact nature of this new employment opportunity let’s set the stage for how and why our research led us to this conclusion.

Most CEO’s and business leaders are aware that the world of traditional branding and marketing is changing.  They are also aware that one element at the heart of this change includes the fast emerging field of social media technology.  What they fail to realize is that they have little idea of the massive changes that are already in play, and coming much sooner than anyone imagined.

At SocialMediaScience.com we have documented this for some time with mountains of reliable evidence.  Here is how it’s taking place. As more and more people use social media tools, systems and processes to communicate, plan, and enhance their business and life, the more we are seeing this “social interaction” transform both the formal business networks and the informal social relationships that are attached to them.  Business and life are becoming one.

In this first report we’ll look at the two major areas where social media will have it greatest impact in the corporate setting. After this we will look at the why and how this social dynamic will forever change the business of business and why the new role of Social Media Consultant will be the most sought after skill in the corporate context for many years to come.

If companies large and small could comprehend the impact of this social force on their bottom line they would have hired this person already or began to train someone in house to assume this new and vital position.  Our research suggests that there are a few companies who are already ahead of the pack and acting as pioneers, very few, while others are almost totally in the dark. Let’s take a deeper look into the two areas where these social media skills will be needed most.

1. INTERNAL IMPACT:
The first impact of social media will be an internal organizational impact.  The corporate context has always been more about WHO you know than WHAT you know.  Many in these social settings are fond of lamenting the “Good Old Boy Network” that drives decisions from top to bottom. Over the last five years, however, something has happened that will transform this and every other “human business network” of its kind. But here’s the twist: Instead of obliterating these once detested “In Crowds,” we are expanding them and opening them up for more people to participate in the discussion, thus destroying much of their power for evil and enhancing their capacity for good.

Yes, social media and social skills in general will be used to transform the way a business community functions internally, within itself.  Why? Because we have long known that the effectiveness of a business to produce profits is almost always a direct by-product of a healthy internal business community.  We are not here just talking about “getting along” but about being emotionally and mentally invested in the company vision and in the products and services tied to this vision.

Jim Collins in his landmark book, Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make The Leap And Others Don’t, documents the kinds of companies who are able to execute the transition from adequate, to good, to great. When you catalog his findings you quickly see that the WAY a company operates internally, from top to bottom, is a key factor in determining both productivity and quality.

Every day evidence mounts to support the need for companies to transform the way they operate internally. For the most part this is no longer even a matter for debate. Too much social evidence has already accumulated on this subject. Therefore the next step is one of implementation.

Believe me when I say that many people will resists this process in the same way that many will whole heatedly embrace these internal social changes. As with all other professional consultants, the Professional Social Media Consultants who are called in to assist with this task must develop a proven track record before they will be welcomed in mass. If this conjures up images of the old style psychological applications like Transactional Analysis you have missed the concept completely. No, these new internal behaviors will be guided and forged by the application of new communication tools and objective social processes all aimed at something much larger than just helping people feel good about their current level of powerlessness and disenfranchisement.

Good social media consultants will stay away from any attempt to impose their understanding of what comprises perfect company relationships. Their goal is solely to put into place the social media channels and systems that will allow the corporate community itself to communicate, reward, suggest, ask questions, offer solutions, raise issues, list complaints, and other engagements designed to produce a company united in vision and purpose.  At the heart of the consultants regimen will be the goal of empowering every worker’s “company self image” so that he or she is mentally and emotionally invested in the business at hand. To accomplish this the consultant will institute things like:

1. Regular online internal business forums.

2. Impromptu surveys to solve problems and gain consensus.

3. Online town hall meetings with the CEO or President of the company.

4. Idea pools that are read and taken seriously by those in charge.

5. Reward systems that allow fellow employees to advance in stature and  position based on community recognition and accomplishments.

6. Access to the CEO’s email address.

7. CEO’s who begin blogging and writing specifically to company workers.

8. Photos of new employees that are randomly assigned to eat lunch with a new person in their department each week.

9. And several other effective social processes…

The list goes on and these are only suggestive enough to give you an idea of how social media mechanisms might soon impact more companies, not just in the U.S., but around the globe.

The Japanese car manufacturers have long functioned with a much higher degree of internal community than their USA counterparts. It is cited as one of the top reasons for both their productivity and quality.  We in the West have tried for decades to learn from Japan so that we too could produce cars that would rank just as high in consumer satisfaction reports. Unfortunately we learned everything we could about how they applied modern machinery and unique assembly line techniques to the car making process, but little about how they formed and developed the intrinsic “spirit” of the company itself.

This is what we are missing in our companies today. Most have no true company spirit. In addition to qualified and experienced social media consultants we will need courageous leaders who are not afraid of being transparent, open, and who will adopt these new methods because he or she knows they are indeed good for DISCOVERING the spirit of their company. Therefore, these new social consultants are more needed than ever to help us realize our American business potential.

Although our public school systems are not 100% comparable to a CEO led company, there are enough similarities that I felt the story of Mark Gross could be illustrative. He’s the teacher who developed School Loop, which he defines as, “a collaborative system that helps teachers, parents and students share information without strain or pain.” Mark is a former ninth grade teacher who had a long standing dream.  In this own words again he says, “I had a dream of knowing my students personally, of earning their trust, of basing my work on their individual needs, of providing immediate feedback and encouragement, of connecting with their families and of working with my peers to help them.” Mark sees School Loop as the application of social media tools to an area of pressing human need. He’s right.

Personally, I think this is exactly what is needed in corporations as well. When you consider that the modern day company is, in many ways, the outgrowth and manifestation of our institutions of high learning, then perhaps we could agree that all businesses need their own Company Loop to reach their fullest potential.

Whole books will soon be written on this one aspect of applying social media to promote stellar corporate formation.  In the meantime we are here to either warn you or rejoice with you depending on how you view this inevitable social dynamic.

2. EXTERNAL IMPACT:
The second, and even more challenging role of the Social Media Consultant will be external, in the field of branding and marketing. What we are witnessing is the utilization of every form of communications technology to enhance our social connections with one another. This is not just an Internet phenomenon.  It involves ALL forms of audio-visual communications, radio, TV, and especially telecommunications. The increase in SMS text messaging is not happening just among youth.  The dynamics that are part of the computer based Internet world are exploding outwards and attaching themselves to every field of communications.

At Social Media Science we have long predicted a rather catastrophic outcome with regard to the impact of social media on the business world in general. It is a fact that companies who do not comply, adapt, and learn how to leverage these new social dynamics will no longer exist within the next 10 years, mainly because they will be replaced by those who do. It’s that simple and it’s that final.

Slowly the whole world is becoming our neighborhood and our neighbors are no longer limited by time or space. The impact of this on the traditional Fortune 1000 company is so immense that it’s created a mad rush to both understand and to somehow benefit form this new global metamorphosis.

We now know almost exactly how this new world order will emerge. Since space does not permit a complete review let’s consider just one major way this will unfold. Currently we have found that between 70% and 80% of all people who seek advice for the purchase of a product count the opinions of friends and other non professionals to be more important than any other form of advice, even that of a recognized expert.  This trend had continued to increase slowly over the last five years. Why do you suppose it’s increasing? We suspect that it’s because gradually over time these “shoppers” discover that those closest to them and those with little or no financial incentives are the ones who give the most honest and accurate recommendations.

Guess what? These kinds of communities are growing…a better word is proliferating, spreading like a dandelion shedding thousands of seeds into the air soon to embed themselves in another location…on and on. Now look into the future with us. Each year form here on out these “authentication communities” will multiply. Soon we expect to see things like: “Coppertone Sunscreen, voted number one by the Twitter community.” Now consider all the 5,000 plus social communities on the horizon, each focused on their own little segment of the world, and each capable of empowering millions and eventually billions in sales over their lifetime. If I owned a traditional company I would be planning TODAY to position my products or service so that they meet the exact needs of a select number of social networks.

Now think of all the businesses that support the current marketing world. As these “authentication communities” render the traditional branding process more and more useless we will see writers, graphic artists, printers, sales forces, public relations agents, and others attached to this industry less and less needed. Believe us…the die is cast.

This new reality has created, almost overnight, the need for more experts in the field of social media marketing.  Although it may seem obvious that these unprecedented social communication networks need to be mastered and harnessed to unearth their meaning and potential…it’s not that easy.  For one thing, the level of confusion, disagreement and flat out inaccuracies are making it hard for business leaders to hire “experts” in this field.

Here’s what we predict will happen. Over the next several years traditional online marketing companies that now focus on SEO, PayPerClick and other proven online marketing strategies will (and many already have) develop a segment of their business that develops social media marketing campaigns for companies who can afford them. However, in recent studies conducted by Marketing Sherpa and Marketing Experiments there is a VERY uneven and often contradictory approach that these companies use to provide social marketing solutions. What this means is that social media marketing right now is more of an art than a science. The science is unfolding and will eventually be verified, but in the meantime: Buyer Beware.

As we have researched this new field of study and tracked the philosophies and tactics of those purporting to be experts we have found a vast level of pure ignorance on the one hand and genius on the other.  For one thing, there is a wide variety of ways to tap into the social media space.  There’s also just as many ways to gather, channel and utilize social traffic.

For example let’s look at some of the challenges associated with the task of becoming a Social Media Marketing Consultant:

1. Although sites like YouTube, MySpace, FaceBook, eBay and LinkedIn are in the news often, did you know that currently we have cataloged over 5300 social media web sites that are large enough to catch the attention of the search engines? We know there are hundreds and perhaps thousands more that are destined to either be discovered and grow, or fade into the background and die. It is a full time job just monitoring the existing and newly forming networks, anyone of which could become the next huge source of online traffic.

2. All of these social media sites must be cataloged and segmented. In our lab we have already identified close to 50 ways to filter and dissect the focus and content contained in each site. These results will certainly grow, change and even morph into more segments.  Like traditional data segmentation these sites can be sliced and diced in a variety of ways, and should be, and even more so if social media takes on the place in marketing that we predict.

3. Social media comes in many forms. Each of these expressions tell us something about the specific needs they were designed to meet. These needs will likewise inform us about the kinds of customers that use these sites. All of this information is critical when creating a custom social marketing blueprint for business applications. You quickly see some of these differences in the Social Media Types List below:

• SOCIAL NETWORKING: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Ning, LinkedIn

• SOCIAL NEWS: ReadIt, Propeller, Fark,

• WIKIS: Wikipedia

• SOCIAL BOOKMARKING: Digg, Delicious

• BLOGS: Wordpress, Blogger, TypePad,

• VIDEO SHARING: YouTube, Hulu

• PHOTOSHARING: Flickr, Photobucket

• PRESENTATION SHARING: Slideshare.net, Issuu, Scribd,

• And Another 15 PLUS TYPES Of Social Media Expressions

4. What many SEO and online marketing companies have yet to digest is that the evidence increasingly suggests that social media is destined to change every facet of their business and even put an end to some aspects of their marketing menu.  What we predict is that social media will be the foundation and starting point for All online marketing. How a company adjusts to these facts now is just as important as what they do with social media specifically.

5. If you examine the many ways that business professionals have attempted to use social media to further their goals you find a dizzying array of methods, most of which, unfortunately, have not succeeded in the ways they expected. This has led to confusion and competing methods that often work at cross purposes. It is only through extensive testing and research that order and clarity will arrive in this field.

This list is suggestive only, as it represents the most obvious challenges, but it’s in no way exhaustive.  These challenges are all part of the new job description for this very unique and important emerging role in the business community. Just as in the early days when other forms of online marketing were being discovered, we believe that a very similar sorting out process will take place as the market identifies the best and brightest of this new breed of social marketing experts.

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION: As with any form of marketing, companies will support it only so long as it works and produces an obvious benefit in the form of profits.

To accomplish this the new experts are going to need at least five
things:

1. They will need intense hands on training conducted by people who can verify their results from objective testing and research and who have a long string of successful campaigns under their belt.

2. Their training must be more than theory and concepts. They must learn how to conduct campaigns from start to finish and produce results.

3. They need software tools that will automate and empower their efforts, knowing that both speed and increased effectiveness will set them apart from what will soon become a very competitive market. In fact, we predict that SOFTWARE will play an extremely critical role for any company or person who takes on this challenge/opportunity.

4. They must know how to design campaigns that meet the unique needs of their clients, knowing that no one method will produce the same results for all. CUSTOMIZATION will therefore be a hallmark of this industry.

5. They must have ongoing support so that they have someone to consult with when they encounter difficulties or are met with a challenging circumstance. We see a few top social media GENIUSES emerging who will in turn begin training schools with certification programs for their students as a way of disseminating their tested and proven methods.

Perhaps by now you have begun to understand both the benefits and the challenges associated with the role of the Social Media Consultant. What I have covered above is truly a cursory overview. Anyone interested in seeking this position would be well served to read some of the many books springing forth on the subject and to dig into the social media world first hand. If after this you find you are drawn to this new vocation the next stop is to enter some form of training program designed to equip social media students.

I’d like to close on a very positive note. Those who do not resist social media but embrace it’s inevitable consequences will be the winners…and there will be LOTS of them…LOTS. We are at the very beginning of a new social order that has never existed since the beginning of time. Heroes will emerge, billions will be made, new companies will blossom that will look nothing like the corporations of the past, and best of all EVERY small company will stand a genuine chance of making it big…IF they fully embrace this amazing new organizational and marketing medium.

If you would like more information about our social media technologies, our training programs, or desire a custom campaign for your business, please look us up at: SocialMediaScience.com or call Tom or Charles at 316-640-0486 or 316-684-1466.

Thomas Rozof, tom@SocialMediaScience.com