SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: JUST A FAD? Not in the least bit. Facebook has been and is the fastest growing internet phenomenon in history and is here to stay. Here are some stats that come directly from Facebook Statisitcs: * More than 500 million active users * Average user has 130 friends * People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook * There are over 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events and
community pages) * Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events * Average user creates 90 pieces of content each month * More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo
albums, etc.) shared each month. * More than 70 translations available on the site * About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States * Over 300,000 users helped translate the site through the translations application Does this sound like a fad to you? You may already be using Facebook as a networking tool but are you doing it right? Here are just a few of many Do’s and Don'ts when it comes to social media marketing. BE POSITIVE! If you don’t have to say anything positive don’t say it at all. Whatever goes live on the internet remains there forever. Be careful what you say. BE CONSISTENT! Don’t flipflop on your views or opinions. Think before you speak (or type) and be prepared to backup any opinion that you share with the world. Be TRUE! IT’S LIKE A GYM PASS! If you buy a gym pass and don’t go, you’re not going to have those buns of steel that you desire. The same goes for using your social media...if you’re not actively using it correctly it won’t work for you. PARTICIPATE! If someone takes the time to comment on your posting - respond. The whole idea behind social media is to ENGAGE. Keep the threads alive! Think it out. Will others find what you are submitting interesting? If not, then submitting it to a social news site will not going to be effective. POST ONCE A DAY! One good, thought provoking post in the morning (that engages your audience) keeps you in the news feed longer and doesn’t overwhelm. It’s also a good idea to vote or submit on other people’s posts more than you post. DON’T SPAM! It’s annoying to go onto your “personal” Facebook page and have somebody try to sell you something when you don’t want it. You are faced with that all day. It reminds me of a recent episode of the “Office”. Dwight Schrute stood up during Pam & Jim’s daughter’s christening and began a prayer to the congregation that was self promoting his services at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company . Although the context of the show was funny, in real life it’s invasive and tactless. Social media is about drawing people in to you, not pushing yourself upon them. DON’T SPEAK LIKE UR TXTING :) If you’re going to write, take the time to write thought out words. AVOID NEGATIVITY! Don’t bash your competition in social media sabotage. If they decide to do something negative or wrong, let them. Don’t fall into an online battle of ethics. When using social media as a marketing tool, there are tons of tips and tricks out there that will make or break you. Be careful that you are making “friends” and not having them want to delete you. Posted 3 hours ago • Like • Comment Lyle Doucette Electric Paper Company