Recently, I was approached by a colleague about Social Media Marketing. Basically, this particular colleague is feeling a bit confused and frustrated because they have made 46 LinkedIn connections, 88 Facebook friends, 2 Squidoo pages, written numerous articles on their new blog, and also joined 2 micro niche networking groups but have gained 0 prospective clients….
So, my first question was, “Have you developed a social media marketing plan yet?” Their response was, “a plan – no, ah, do I really need a plan to join Facebook?”
My second question was, “How much of a time block for social media marketing do you have in your weekly agenda?” Their response was, I don’t have any spare time to commit to this right now. I thought that as long as I have a basic profile then I would be ahead of the game.
And my third question was, “Did you know that by 2013 the number of user generated content creators will reach 115 million, up from 83 million in 2008…” (as per emarketer.com) Their response, “that’s only a few years away – how can you help me with this?”
My colleague is definitely moving their business in the right direction to use social media marketing to generate leads and position themselves as an expert within their circle of influence. I am confident that they will seek the results they are looking for if they build a plan, invest the right amount of time and commitment and/or bring talented people on board to assist them.
I feel that as a social media specialist these will become the most frequently asked questions of 2009:
