Social Media Marketing is not a One-Size-Fits-All Solution for Online Marketing

… Social media marketing has hit the online sphere hard. Its everywhere. Everywhere you turn, your being told to social market, conversation market… get yourself a social media marketing network built… yet, another “build it and they will come” pitch.

Yes. Social media marketing works… it really works. I’ve seen clients experience amazingly quick and effective results… But its not a cookie cutter thing that can simply be done by anyone, with any level of experience — and expect to get the same results as the big players. Like any other online marketing strategy you implement, it takes research, knowledge, and work. Yes work.

Not all audiences are accessible through social media marketing channels. Not all sites within the SMM sphere are created equal - or operate even remotely similar. The differences can often times mean the difference between quality results and simply wasting your time. The work really begins by examining your target audience online and comparing that with the audience of the many SMM solutions out there.

For example, while Squidoo is certainly a great tool, that I believe can be used by any solopreneur, other sites like the micro-blogging site Twitter might not be a viable option for every one. Take LinkedIn, another example - great for professional networking and as a part of your SMM plan - not great for that spiritual coach who coaches clients through bereavement.

My point? I understand, if you don’t know, its easy to see all the hype about social media marketing and automatically think it all applies… woo hoo… more traffic, so you frantically scramble to set up all the social media profiles you can handle and you diligently wait… no traffic… wait… no traffic… wait, oh a hit… wait… no traffic… Sound familiar?

Duh! I hope I said that as lovingly as possible

It’s with anything in your business, use your best judgment and do your research. You’ve got to take a look at your online marketing goals, your audience, and your business… and then determine which social media marketing strategies are actually worth your time.

What’s your experience? Ever wasted any time using online marketing tools where you believed the hype and it didn’t quite pan out? Sharing is caring

To Your Success!

Maria Reyes-McDavis

Web Success Diva

Very shortly, I’ll be announcing an exclusive opportunity to work with me… Free. Free, free? Yes. Free. It’s official, I’ve finally fallen off the rocker

Related Diva Posts:

• Social Media Marketing is Leverage King on the Net!
• Conversational Marketing for Solopreneurs… Client Study Updates.
• Is your website Social Media Marketing Ready?
• Your social media marketing audience is different, treat them accordingly.
• Get your social media marketing plan right… from the start.