Selling Through Social Media

One of the hot, buzzing, exploding topics right now is Social Media – LinkedIn, Face Book, Twitter, etc. These emerging marketing tools are defining themselves as real players in the industry and even the most conservative of groups is taking notice of their impact.


Everywhere, companies and individuals are asking, “Should I be on LinkedIn? Do I have to do Facebook? How do we use Twitter?” Well, before we go running off to set-up, invest time and money, or personnal in Social Media, let’s stop and ask a couple of questions.


1. What are my current marketing goals? A wise company or individual business will regularly review marketing goals against ongoing trends and revenue needs. We need to begin to address the questions of Social Media by clarifying our goals.

2. Of these goals, can Social Media help me achieve them? If so, which venues are most helpful? If I am targeting a specific demographic, which Social Media are they using? Study the forms of Social Media, or attend some workshops on the subject. You Tube has a great channel on LinkedIn (how is that for using one to learn the other?).

3. How will I measure the results of my involvement? Social Media tends to be cheap in money costs, but higher in time costs. What are my measures? Remember, we can only manage what we can measure.

Along with these questions, we do well to realize that Social Media is much less about selling to a client base and more about creating an environment for our clients to sell for us. Social Media creates followers, friends, fans, and groups. These groups in turn use that same media to speak about you and your product.


Begin your consideration of Social Media by clarifying your goals and then utilizing the tools of Social Media that best accomplish those goals. Your marketing will be LinkedIn, and Tweeting in no time – FaceBook it!