The Third Excuse for Not Using the Power of Social Media

The third excuse I wrote about for a FastGush.com guest post on not harnessing the power of social media is:

3. People in my target market aren't on social media

And you would know this because how? Actually, you would probably be very surprised by who is active on social media with whom you'd want to connect.

And this isn't just potential clients or customers. It includes, among others, joint venture partners, journalists and bloggers.

If you aren't on social media, it's probably difficult for you to actually evaluate how many people in your target market are or are not active on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and any number of specialty social networking sites.

What's more, if these people are on social media and your competitors are on social media but you're not, what do you think might happen?

Yes, your competitors might be the ones making all kinds of new connections with potential customers or clients all over the globe while you're still paying for Yellow Book ads.



Let's think about this logically:

People use the Internet to find all kinds of information – and we have to assume that a certain percentage of your target market is using the Internet to find information on the types of products and services that you provide. And increasingly, social media activities are showing up in search engine results.

We can also assume that not all your target market may search online. And this does mean that those outreach activities that you currently do — and that provide a good return on investment — should be continued.

But effectively using social media to connect online with your prospective clients or customers enables you to add to your marketing mix. Social media sites offer you new places with which to showcase your expertise and attract prospective clients or customers.

This is where blogging can come in very handy. You write blog posts – or record short video posts – about information related to your products and services.

Then, even if part of your target market isn't on social media, you can share the links to your posts in a variety of ways (including email marketing). And you can even print out your posts and use these printouts as flyers in your brick-and-mortar locations or at live networking events.

Plus your information sharing online may come to the notice of journalists or other bloggers. You just never know where an online connection may lead to.

The bottom line is that showcasing your expertise online can be an effective marketing strategy both for your prospective clients or customers who are online and for those who are not yet online. For both groups you are offering a way to get to know you and your company better.

Now who wouldn't want to harness this outreach potential?

(You can read all 8 excuses now on FastGush.com.)

Plus read the blog post about the first excuse: "I don't have time to do social media"

And the post about the second excuse: "I have nothing to say on social media"

© 2011 Miller Mosaic LLC

Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) is the co-founder of the social media marketing company Miller Mosaic LLC.

Get the free information "8 Social Media Marketing Mistakes" and "Social Media Marketing Does Not Magically Work; You Have to Work It" at www.facebook.com/millermosaicsocialmedia