Social Media Overload, Part 1.

In the quest to master all that encompasses Social Media, it's easy to get lost in what's already been said and done. Even in the most generous of thought sharing communities...it's inevitible that we're always one step behind. As technology continues to evolve, it can be difficult to decipher a successful process from outdated material. Point being, if you are looking to make a mark in the Social Media game, you better have a good process in place.

I’m a runner. Social Media is a race. I can train all I want, but if I’m not mentally prepared to capitalize on those efforts when the gun goes off, I lose.

It’s the Internet, of course, but it’s no longer as simple as having a good website. Now, you better have an ever-changing, content driven website that’s picked up by the ever elusive search engine (let’s face it, Google) crawlers to boost your ranking so that your target audience sees it. Urban or rural doesn’t matter anymore. Everyone is accessible, and everyone has access. Oh, and one more thing…I would highly consider a strong, smart, presence within Social Media intertwined with your website, or no one may notice it at all.

Is your company prepared? Who’s coaching you?

Let’s recap. Where before, in the dark ages, you could get away with just a http://www.thisis ourwebsite.com/, now I’m telling you to master search engines and present your company in Social Media? Yeah, ok. And we’re going to do all that how? And we’re going to track that this is working, how? And, who are we going to trust to make sure our brand stays consistent throughout all of these Internet marketing channels and our other marketing efforts as well?

Have you set out to run a marathon as if it’s a sprint?

The game hasn’t completely changed. The basic Marketing process is the same. It’s simple marketing: be where your buyer can see you. And your buyer is knees deep in blogs and social networking sites like Facebook, You Tube, and Twitter.

When done with the proper E-etiquette, any business can enter into Social Media successfully. The hitch is time consumption. Although a simple Facebook profile for one user doesn’t take more than an hour a day to maintain diligently without a personal assistant, keeping up with and ahead of the ball game on multiple profiles on multiple networks takes a good process.

I’ve been up to my ears in Social Media for years, and it still takes an enormous amount of gusto to stay at the cusp of it all. See, what might have been an informative training video on You Tube last year, or 6 months ago…or even 2 weeks ago, could be outdated material. It’s crucial to the modern day business to have a process that will not only capitalize on the current trend, but the many to follow as well.

The people and the tools for success in Social Media might be within your company already. You might just need to instill a good process and adapt with some good coaching for success. Or, you might need a complete start up or reboot from the outside in. Create and maintain a Social Media presence to stay consistent with your brand message…and maintain an honest message.