B.L. Ochman has kept me entertained with his various articles poking fun at the proliferation of people claiming to be social media gurus. His most recent article about how the number of self-proclaimed “social media guru” titles has gone down but other, but new titles are emerging got me thinking:

Hiring a [social media] strategist, guru, consultant, or any other title is a bad idea for 99% of the companies I come in contact with.

Now, before someone with that title gets all upset and leaves me a heated comment, let me explain why I feel this way.

Social media is a very small piece of what it takes for the majority of businesses to succeed online, pure and simple. Hiring someone who is a recently name social media _________ is a bad idea, because it’s very likely that person knows little about many of the other tools in the online marketing arsenal.  It takes years of study, trial and error, discipline, and a little luck; to become an effective online marketer.  Do you really want to hire someone who has mastered Twitter and Facebook to manage your online strategy?

If you think you need a social media strategist, then I’m going to make a very educated guess and say that is probably only a part (maybe a small part) of what you need.  Most businesses I start working with are not doing many of the other fundamental things right – so why would you jump into social media?!

If you’re not effectively marketing to search engines and generating qualified traffic that converts, then you have work to do before diving into social media.

If you are not segmenting your customers with email lists, cross-promoting to them and building loyalty and referrals, then you have work to do before diving into social media.

These are some sweeping generalizations, but it boils down to this: you need an online strategist, not a social media __________. You need someone who can look at your business and craft a solution from all the many tools in the online marketing toolbox, not just push you into social media because it’s what everyone wants to talk about right now.

Related articles:

• Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Your Social Media Marketing (verticalmeasures.com)
• 3 Social Media Myths You Should Be Careful Of (onesocialmedia.com)
• The Big Myth – Anyone Can Do Social Media (charlesheflin.com)

Presented on July 14th to SMS/HSMAI “Ways To Win in 2010″ seminar.

This is my 4-step methodology that can ensure anyone is successful in marketing to social media channels, regardless of which channel is used. If you can master these areas, then you can realize the effectiveness of online marketing!

A ran into a friend of mine the other day at the marvelous Greek Festival that they have every year in Memphis, and he said something that really struck me.

As we were walking towards the gates, he was pushing his new daughter Lila’s stroller and said, “you know, the whole world looks different the moment you start pushing one of these around.” I tried to put myself into Brad’s shoes as a new father, and think about how I would feel if I was pushing around a stroller with my baby in it.

I realized that I do exactly the same thing anyway, because my business is my baby. My baby is impacted by every turn I take and even the slightest nudging as I push it along the path that we’re on.

Planning for long-term growth of a business is crucial, but you have to keep an eye on the things that are right in front of you as well. I know that I tend to focus too much on what’s right in front of me, and not take the time to scan the horizon and see what else is coming. Mastering this balance is something that I hope I’m lucky enough to figure out someday.

Oh yeah, and here’s your online marketing tip: don’t spam.  There you go – you’re welcome.

This is actually pretty simple:  don’t.  If you want to get real results from your site, you need to be talking to someone who understands online marketing and has a proven track record of success, not just someone who wants to “build you a website.”

If you’re in the market for a new website, you need to make sure that you’re asking the right questions. Or at least, that the firms you’re talking to are asking you the right questions. I cannot say this enough: web design has become highly commoditized. There is a very low barrier of entry to being able to call yourself a “web designer.”  My father has built a website before, but you don’t want him building your business a website!

Everyone has a cousin Max, or knows someone who can “build a website,” but if you’re interested in really driving growth for your business through the Internet, just walk away…

Cover via Amazon

Here are some thoughts to consider if you think that you need a (new) website:
Building the site itself is only the first step.  This isn’t Field of Dreams, and you are not Kevin Costner. If you build it, they will not come. Get that idea out of your head altogether.

If you are going to launch a site, a good rule of thumb for most SMBs is that you should devote 25% of your budget to the site itself, and 75% to driving traffic and promoting it. So, if your web designer or firm doesn’t mention anything about what they are going to do after your site is launched, thank them for their time, and walk away.

Online success requires your interaction, so if anyone talks to you about building a site that cannot be easily updated (by you) in the future, then you need to keep interviewing vendors. There is absolutely no reason to build static websites anymore; not unless you are a true designer and can’t code your way out of a paper bag.

There are some amazing, free products that do all this for you! WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, just to name a few. If your web designer can’t build you a site on some type of content management  system, then you need to look elsewhere. There are many opinions over why you should use open-source or proprietary, but that’s another topic entirely.

Lastly, if the people you’re talking to are only asking questions about your taste in colors, and the kind of content you will have, and what imagery will be used; then walk away. Don’t get me wrong, those are all very valid questions, but that isn’t ultimately what will make your site successful. If you keep with the 75/25 rule, then on 1/4 of your discussion about the site should revolve around the site itself. The other 3/4 of the discussion should be focused on your business and what will be effective at marketing it online.  How is your audience, what appeals to them, what are their pain points, what are your differentiators from the competition? These are questions that can lead to a successfully developed website that will have some legs under it.

If you’re in the market for a new site – make sure you talk to at 3 firms, too.  It is very difficult to compare apples to apples when it comes to web design/development, and also with online marketing. TALK to your prospective vendors and make sure you feel comfortable with them, and have a high level of confidence that they know what they are doing.  Look for case studies, check references, do your homework and see if they can back up what they are telling you. Find out what/who they use for project management, and how they can ensure that your project will be completed on time, within scope, and within budget.

Good luck, and if you get stuck – we can always help you vet them out!