5 Steps to Beating Social Media Marketing Cold Feet
January 10, 2008
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I just read an article from Read Write Web which covered a genius topic entitled, “A List of Objections, Replies and Concessions Regarding Social Media and Tools”. The article reminded me of my own post about the 10 Most Common Social Media Myths, simply because it covered many of the objections to social media that we a
s a social media agency tend to hear from prospects, and the remaining resistors of social media - traditional marketers.
So shortly after reading it I realized that with this new year there may be a lot of traditional marketers out there who are nay-saying social media simply because they are still wrapping their minds about how exactly to get their feet wet in social media. So, I’ve taken a few steps back from the posts that assume that you already know this space, and instead wanted to do an introductory post of basically “how to get started”.
1. Set up an RSS Feed Reader and Subscribe to Feeds- Go ahead and start a feed reader that follows the blogs of the social media marketing geeks, in addition to blogs that may be talking about your company. I promise you will a) learn a lot more about how to appropriately enter the space, and b) learn about who is talking about you in the blogosphere. Of course you can start by adding Ignite 
2. Start Twittering- No matter how pointless you think twittering is, start using it to follow even more social media geeks. I promise that the more you use it, the more value it will provide. As you connect with like-minded people on the subject, it will allow you to talk with them, ask questions, and have insight into links they find interesting, etc. Some of my favorite twitterers are: Wayne Sutton, Jeremiah Owyang, and Chris Brogan. You can also follow all of us: Jim Tobin, Gene Smith and me (Lisa McNeill) .
3. Start Studying- If you can’t understand how social media can be used for marketing - start studying as many case studies of companies who have tried it. Start by taking a look at the most infamous case studies like Dell, Wal-Mart, or Whole Foods, and then try to find some examples that may exist within your particular industry.
4. Start Filtering- Yes, there is a lot of social media tools out there that will beg for your attention and time. Instead of learning every tool that exists, begin to filter and understand how each may work to connect with your audience.
5 . Start Social Bookmarking - Start dabbling in social bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon or Sphinn and install the toolbars to make it easier to promote articles you find interesting. This will take all of 5 minutes of your day, and can go hand in hand with your RSS reading.
After trying these 5, I hope you will join us in an awesome year of learning and growing in our knowledge of social media and our applications of it in marketing!
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16 Responses to “5 Steps to Beating Social Media Marketing Cold Feet”
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[…] Comments About The AuthorAs a Social Media Strategist for Ignite Social Media, Lisa McNeill outlines social media tactics and develops social media campaigns to help companies reach customers and build brand advocates. Her expertise in project management and marketing additionally guides the execution of these campaigns. Visit Ignite Social Media […]
I believe a lot of small business owners and webmasters have a fear of Social Media Marketing. I wrote a post very similar to this on Social Desire about 6 weeks or so.
Great post, Lisa.
Shana
Thanks Shana. Can’t wait to read it- I love all the stuff that you do!
-Lisa
[…] Mini Car: Engadget - 40+ Social Media Sites: Dosh Dosh - Twitter as a Business Tool: BobAngus.com - Getting Your Feet Wet in Social Media: Ignite Social Media Blog - Star Wars Design Presenation: Brian […]
[…] marketing , socialmedia Tags: ignite, rss, socialmedia, twitter Lisa McNeill, over at the Ignite Social Media blog, posted great list of five steps to get over the cold feet you may have about social media […]
I read these articles filled with all the reasons not to use social media and it reminds me a little of the reticence to move to websites in the mid-1990s. Besides expanding any marketer’s dialogue with its constituents (at a very low cost), it allows the same marketers to spy openly on their competitors, gaining tremendous insights on their every move and to have access to more market research about their consumers than they could ever have afforded before.
Getting a grip on the content that is meaningful is an important first step. Listening for a good long time and tapping existing forums that are relevant are much more important than creating new forums in the beginning. Many marketers think they have to dive into creating a blog or a new social network and are understandably concerned about getting buried in a commitment that might not be worthwhile in the long run.
I wrote The Travel Marketer’s Guide for Social Media and Social Networks directed to the travel sector that is a useful reference to gain a solid understanding of the scope and impact of this new set of tools and the underlying consumer behavior driving it forward. 100% of the proceeds of the book go to the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Assn Int’l Foundation for research on sales and marketing topics and scholarships for needy students. It can be purchased at www.hsmaipublications.com. I welcome further comment on this.
[…] over at IgniteSocialMedia.com writes a interesting article 5 Steps to Beating Social Media Marketing Cold Feet, and explains that how could one beat the social […]
Some good advice for social media beginners Lisa, thanks for being an inspiration.
Thanks for the twitter link and great social media advice. I agree with this quote from the social media pr book I’m reading called “now is gone” either you embrace social media or die. It’s a hard truth for any company trying to increase in online sales or launch a product; also for PR 1.0 firms.
As we are starting to do more and more social media marketing for our smaller local clients, it’s nice to be able to give them a post to read and help their staff get familiar with the process and what they/we will be doing. Thanks!
[…] 5 Steps to Beating Social Media Marketing Cold Feet : Ignite Social Media So, I’ve taken a few steps back from the posts that assume that you already know this space, and instead wanted to do an introductory post of basically “how to get started”. (tags: Marketing) […]
[…] 5 Steps to Beating Social Media Marketing Cold Feet […]
i completely agree with your twittering comment. it took a good month of looking, lurking, and listening to really get a grasp on how to use it and how to have conversations. now i’m hooked.
Great post! I’m far from a social media beginner and yet I still haven’t joined Twitter (I don’t know why I haven’t yet, i guess I don’t feel its anybody’s business when I sleep and what I eat? haha), but your post has encouraged me to do so, as I know there’s much more value in it then having individuals tell me they’re listening to The Killers.
Filtering through the vast amounts of tools out there is something that I find quite difficult because there’s so much! I suppose I’m over eager, as I seem to try out a lot more at once then I can handle (I signed up for Joost ages ago, and yet I couldn’t even tell you exactly what its purpose is.)
Thanks for the advice, I’m sure many social media “newbies” will appreciate the suggestions.
Now if there was only more time for social media… but you gotta keep the clients happy
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