This week we are going to discuss the “5 Lies of Social Media Marketing”. I came across a great blog by Mikal E. Belicove “The Daily Dose”  that had this as a title and I thought that it was worth repeating and expanding on. So this week I decided to go through the 5 and give my own take as well as the original from Mikal.

1. Size Matters! “Many small businesses equate the number of ‘likes’ or ‘followers’ on branded social-media platforms to success, not realizing that it’s the quality of those likes and followers that is important. More people signing up to view your message doesn’t necessarily equate an increase in sales or even a bump in long-term or sustainable brand recognition.” Mikal Belicove

I could not agree with Mikal more. It seems as if everyone is bragging on their numbers lately. ION Television is announcing that they have over 150,000 followers on their Facebook page and thanking everyone, but I would love to see the Nielsen ratings of how often those followers are viewing their programs and more importantly to a channel like ION paying attention to the commercials.

Creating a Facebook Page and Twitter Account just for your marketing message misses the point of Social Media and that is to build trust in the community where your audience is. And add value to your audience. What is the key here? Knowing who your audience is.

So many blogs have been written about Trust and Joining the Conversation with your Audience that it is worth linking these two words with previous blogs. Just google these two words and you will get millions of hits.

The point is that it is the quality of your message and the effect on behavior that counts as opposed to the size of your following or likes. Keep this in mind the next time you hear a business or someone bragging about the number of followers or likes they have on Social Media.

Les Adkins, CEO Orange SMS Consulting