One of the questions I get most from business people wanting to use Facebook or Twitter is…

What do say?

Shocking enough, these are not small businesses asking this question. You would think they would have a lot to say and be excited to say it.  Insanely enough, they do not and only see the social spaces as another place to place their lame ads or uncreative contests and coupons.

Noah Bier, over on AdAge Digital, posted a good blog where he identified how businesses do not know what to say on Twitter so they post Free Coupons and other rubbage not wanted in that social space.  As a result the businesses come off as losers in their market.

Noah’s point was clear, businesses need to create a voice online and learn to use it before going off hoping their promotional giveaways will generate a community.  Too many businesses are still wanting to hang on to keeping a distance from their customers.  Old traditional methods of marketing feel good to them since it did not require them to have to have a conversation with anyone to generate business.  OH, how times have changed.

Unfortunately, when it comes time to have something to say on Facebook the large business decision makers just cannot make a decision.  As a result they default to posting a Coupon on Twitter, a have a contest on Facebook for the most LIKE’s.  Both failing miserably.

Meanwhile, their market share erode away to the smaller businesses who caught on sometime ago that social networking was the new form of marketing.

So what are these businesses to do?  First of all they need to find someone to break down how social networking works.  Once they get a handle of that someone might even need to go online and hold their hand to show them how to communicate.  Noah said it nicely…

…brands need to start thinking about their inputs, or who they pay attention to, as much as their outputs, how they look, act, and talk. They have to think of their channels less as CRM and more as owned media. In a nutshell, they need to act less like brands and more like people.

Enough said. I think you see where the problem begins.   Let me know how I can help.