Every once in a while we get sun-struck with a marketing medium. You know, it is the new thing that is going to outshine all other methods that came before it. Social media has been that "thing” in marketing for the past several years. Yet there are many businesses that have not yet figured out how to use social media to their benefit. Much like staring at the sun and then coming inside a building, it is taking a very long time for their eyes to adjust to the new environment.

Understanding the medium

The first thing you must do with social media is understand the concept behind it. Social media is different than traditional product advertising. In fact, the purest would tell you social media is not about advertising at all. It is all about the opinions of real people towards your products and services, not the slick scheming that is contrived in a corporate boardroom. If a regular person likes your product, they have the ability to engage through social media ("like” a post, follow you, comment, or share, retweet, etc.) Behind each person are all of their connections (friends, followers, etc.) It has been said that for every connection that one person has on social media, there are 10,000 second and third degree connections behind them. This is where social media has its greatest impact.

Scared into inaction

If all of those followers "like” you, social media becomes the greatest marketing tool ever invented. But if a single follower has an axe to grind with your company, it can become the scariest invention since the French commoners came upon the guillotine during the reign of King Louis XVI. Tens of thousands can read that one disgruntled opinion in a matter of minutes and you have a virtual revolution beating down your doors calling for change. The prospect of this has scared many companies into inaction or, at the very least, to be cautious with social media. If you don’t respond to a complaint, you are asking for the masses to believe one unhappy customer is how all customers feel about you. If you respond the wrong way, it can get out of hand quickly. Social media has a way of empowering people to say the most outlandish things to each other.

Using the medium without the hazards

Let me suggest a way to get involved in social media so that you can enjoy the power of it without feeling like you have put your hand into a crocodile’s mouth to get the job done. One of the stalwarts of social media is flow of free information. One of the tenants of marketing has been to convince people your products or services solve a problem. When you put these two ideas together, you have a forum to show people how you solve problems rather than to advertise that concept to them. What does this look like? You may do a video that demonstrates your product or services solving a problem. Post this to your YouTube channel. You may blog about a specific situation where you again solved a problem. It may be a tweet or a post on another type of social media. Real life problem solving is custom made for any medium.

I like to break marketing into three phases – the first being Awareness Marketing. Awareness marketing gives a potential customer information about your products and services so they can be informed before they make a purchase. It is based on the concept that most of our purchases are made after we weigh our choices… and we have choices in every purchase we make. I bought an onion at the grocery store the other day. There were four or five different types of onions in the produce section. Then I bought a picture frame for a photo. I passed at least six stores that I knew had picture frames. I made a choice of the store. When I got to the frame section, I had a choice of several dozen picture frames. I purchased gasoline for my car afterwards. Once again, I had several stations at which I could purchase fuel, and three choices of gasoline grades when I reached the pump. Awareness marketing helps inform the customer so they are more likely to choose your products. When you use problem-solving content marketing within your awareness marketing strategies, it helps your cause. This is a safe and effective way to use social media. It is safe because problem-solving content does not get a lot of negative comments. In fact, in engenders positive comments. It is effective because it unleashes the power of the multiplication of sharing content on a network of followers.

Social media is a great marketing tool when you understand the way it works and stay away from hazardous content. It should be part of your marketing plans moving forward.