Why is it easy to convince your client of Social Media Marketing but not implementing it

Social Media Marketing is the new buzz word because its easy to convince your clients, and get them in to signing the deal. Social Media Marketing is a fad because just like you many out there have no clue to get the real value out of it and get burned out easily.

The Client Perspective

If you’re a potential client who’s trying to hire someone for social media marketing, then its hugely likely that you’re yet another guy who’s just about to jump into the bandwagon, not really understanding it. You hear a lot of people talking about Twitter, Facebook social media metrics and all that BS you actually feel like you’ve been living under a stone all these years. Lets not worry about whether you’ve been living under a stone or not, rather lets see how and why you’re hearing all these things now.

Social Media Marketing is of course a nice term, with a nice ring to it. But how meaningful is it ? First and foremost, if someone told you that they have social media marketing experience for last five years, they’re most probably lying. The reason is that the guys who coined the term Social Media Marketing is still trying to figure out the meaning, and its not easy for one to keep pace with it, and keep updated with its complexities in evolution. Social Media itself is an ever evolving field and with the brilliance of its users, its constantly evolving into new things each second, its not even possible for one to clearly define the brackets where social media will contain. For instance Twitter, where millions of conversations and live opinions happen simultaneously, nobody can possibly predict what the next trend is, for its all non-dictated and impromptu. Only one who’s amidst all this could possibly at least keep up with it.

So essentially, do not give into the belief that Social Media is magic, or is easy. Its huge, its active, and the results have been humungous for people who have successfully implemented it. But that doesn’t mean that one can actually repeat it with a proven formula.

So if you’re looking to get into Social Media Marketing,

- make sure that your business is flexibile enough to fit into a Social Media strategy.

- make sure that you’re not doing it just because some one said it works.

- make sure you don’t expect quick results, rather look for a business model that can incorporate SMM into it smoothly.

- make sure your users/clients/customers are on social media.

The Social Media Marketing Agency perspective

And now the agency perspective. I’ve seen many agencies do this the wrong way – unfortunately. A few get it right though, but again only half of it is really well planned.

The problems Social Media agencies face.

Many a times, agencies are forced to take up social media marketing, because one fine day a client throws up the question “Do you guys do the social media thing as well ?”.

Some agencies jump in because they attended that seminar the other day paying $ XXXXX, after all that dude in black suit with all that metrics and graphs can’t be so wrong, can he ?

1. Zero experience

Since social media marketing is new, you got to get your hands burned before you offer the services. There’s no university that will teach you social media marketing effectively like a pro who’s been there done that.

2. Treating Social Media Marketing like Search Engine Marketing

Many agencies still like to treat social media marketing like SEM. You know with daily spend, monthly ROIs and traffic metrics. Little do they know that borrowing the measuring metrics from elsewhere will fit social media campaigns.

3. Staying out of social media

Do you think someone who doesn’t even know what social media is, heck at at least uses social media can offer the services. I don’t think so.

So essentially, the problem is that while its easy to convince potential clients of Social Media Marketing showing them graphs and numbers that promises too much, agencies are not taking time out to understand what exactly social media is, or social media marketing is and how different it is from traditional forms of marketing. Like we all agree, the worse situation is to have an ignorant client and a half educated agency.

But luckily enough, things are moving ahead from there, clients know how to differentiate between someone who BS with numbers while failing to deliver what he promises to. And agencies are becoming more pro-active by getting to understand the real stuff behind social media. 

We have a bright future. Don’t we ?

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