Realistic Social Media Marketing

Social media is a type of platform which when used to it’s fullest can provide extensive results and is effective to maintain a brand presence in the market. There are only few brands which are existing in the market industry today who use social media for what it really is, i.e. a powerful conversational tool in order to reach out to customers. But still most businesses are not comfortable and ready to accept social media as one of the important marketing strategy for their brand. And what they fail to understand is that this mindset can hurt businesses.

As for the sole purpose of social media goes it is to connect and share with other people, and it’s a tad more sad when you see it becoming a one way messaging tool just for selling some sleeping pills and energy drinks. But the business managers are not to be blamed as it is the job of the social media experts who are way too scared to experiment with their marketing strategy and use the social media to it’s fullest.

If we consider a start up social media company, they often tend to push the message and control the marketing strategy of their brand. In simpler words they are sticking with the same old and traditional method of social media promotion. If you really want to connect with the large number kids and teenagers online on facebook you should start experimenting with new strategies. And as for the big multinational brands, they have to be more transparent and open with the customers, tell them what is really going on in your organisation. You have to spend money to create good interactive videos and fancy websites. And in case you want to extend the level do it all in open source softwares, with open standards and a creative commons license.

But if we really look closely, the big multinational brands are doing the same thing i.e. taking control over the brand and pushing the message. This plan may build profitable business but it’s not effective when it comes to sustain in the field specially if it’s social media. As openness and transparency are of real importance in social media, if you eliminate those very factors there will be no expression, joys of connection and discovery on the web which was it’s primary purpose on the first place.

The only way in which openness can exist if the social media experts are open themselves. And not just openness on the personal level by sharing experience and words of wisdom but by sharing the shortcomings, drawbacks and their secrets to trade.

But really, does anyone do that. Businesses still prefer the traditional methods, they will talk about how other organizations should share and connect but they won’t share their own trading secrets and tend to keep them locked away. We often talk about reaching out to higher goals and achieving new heights but we won’t even discuss on how we should actually run our business in order to achieve those.

Social media consultants should lead by example. Instead of portraying all the transparencies and authenticity they should actually start applying it to themselves. Most companies are terrified by this idea of transparency but not trying would only reinvent the wheel and instead the aim should be to make it spin a little faster.