How many times have you seen a business launch a Facebook page and then immediately start spamming everyone that LIKE’s the page…or they never posts anything after the launch… or never respond to anyone’s comments? 

Yes, it happens a lot.  The question this generates is..Why should anyone bother using social media if they have no interest in being social?

However unpopular being social maybe and disgusted it maybe for the large businesses to even think of being social online, interaction is the still the basis of social media. I hear frequently from marketing people that Twitter and Facebook are the next arena for TV like advertising.  Many advertising firms react to not being interactive socially online with…There is no need in us being interactive..we just place our advertisements in these spaces with large numbers of viewers and we are guaranteed to get a large number of clients.  Why should we be social?

How wrong can anyone be with believing advertising in the Social Spaces without being social will last.

Social Media Rules

The tides for the onslaught of advertising campaigns is turning in favor of the consumer.  Consumers now have learned how to avoid commercial on TV and how to Block Ads on web-sites.  Now they are finding ways to block ads and unwanted solicitation in their social spaces.  The game is changing for marketing firms and many are fighting the change instead of changing.

Interacting socially is now the preferred way of marketing products and services.  Why don’t marketing and advertising firms get this?  Consumers today are more likely to purchase a product or service from someone they have gotten to know more than them being just a salesperson.  Why are marketing firms not getting this either?

What has to take place today for a business to be successful is they have to have a strong web presence.  This includes a very dynamic and clear web-site featuring a Blog page full of information..not advertising.  They also have to be in the social spaces with the same intensity as their web-site and blog.  However, there has to be total focus on being interactive in the social spaces.  If not, the entire campaign fails.

Scoff’s Remarks

Skeptics are going to throw out statements like..being socially interactive online will only work for certain businesses and large businesses could not possibly find being interactive to their thousands of Fans or Followers to be productive. 

Oh how naive some businesses can be.  In reality large businesses have a much better opportunity to focus in on interaction in the social spaces since they have the human resources to make it happen. 

Yes, being totally focused on interacting with followers and fans in the social spaces is going to take time and people.  There is no getting around that fact.  Community Managers are going to have to be hired to oversee a large crew of social mediaist who spend their day responding to patrons, fans and followers.

The companies that reach out to consumers through effective social interaction are going to be the businesses who build the best and most loyal customer base.  If a company is not willing to put forth whatever it is going to take to be social online then it is best they not reside in social networks.  Those who are out in the social networks today, posting only ads, promotions and other marketing material, will quickly be seen as the spammers of tomorrow.  As a result, they will quickly be blocked from participating in the markets they are trying to penetrate.

Work the System

It is really a shame more businesses do not see the big picture of the impact their interaction in the social spaces would have outside their marketing plan.  Hiring more people to interact with consumers as a represented or employee of the business would put millions of people to work.  The possibility of greater profits for the business would be quickly realized once the social interaction from these employees is seen as being sincere.

Social Media is here to stay.  Businesses need to find help in understanding the changes that are being made daily in the social networks.  Interaction socially is the beginning of gaining understanding…how to effectively socialize online is the next step for many businesses to learn. 

Let me know how I can help.