{"id":946,"date":"2012-11-01T16:27:15","date_gmt":"2012-11-01T16:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jonhartley.com\/blog\/?p=946"},"modified":"2013-09-01T22:45:28","modified_gmt":"2013-09-01T21:45:28","slug":"4-of-the-most-common-types-of-social-media-bullshit-and-their-antidotes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jonhartley.com\/index.php\/4-of-the-most-common-types-of-social-media-bullshit-and-their-antidotes\/","title":{"rendered":"4 common types of \u2018Social Media Nonsense\u2019 and their antidotes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bullshit-free-zone-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As a social media consultant I do my fair bit to promote social media as an effective marketing tool, but persuading small and medium sized business owners to start taking the likes of Twitter and Facebook Page seriously can be an uphill struggle.<\/p>\n

I regularly meet 2 distinct types of social media sceptic<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Those who have no experience, knowledge of or interest in social media and are attached to their traditional marketing activities<\/li>\n
  2. Those who have attended a social media workshop\/seminar or even sought one-to-one advice from a social media consultant<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Type 1 sceptics<\/strong><\/p>\n

    A hard nut to crack. I don\u2019t concern myself with them too much because I know that as time goes by the first thing listed here will definitely happen to all of them, and to many of them the second will probably happen first<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Their generation will die off<\/li>\n
    2. Social media\u2019s importance will become harder and harder to ignore and they will finally convert<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Type 2 sceptics<\/strong><\/p>\n

      A very sad case. Having taken the initiative to look into social media themselves they should be amongst its greatest cheerleaders, but they\u2019re not. Why not? Because they are the once-bitten-twice-shy victims of social media nonsense.<\/p>\n

      Creating type 2 sceptics is bad business practice. As a former sales manager I recognise success is repeat business, not one-off business. Unfortunately one-off business is the bread and butter of so many so-called social media experts or \u2018thought leaders\u2019 (Thought leaders? Please! If there is any place in the language for as inelegant a noun as this then it should be preserved for the likes of Jean Paul Sartre and Karl Popper. No one in mere marketing or sales deserves such an elevated title. NO ONE!)<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      In the hope of saving business people from becoming ‘Type 2 Sceptics’ here\u2019s a guide to the commonest social media BS you should be aware of and the antidote for each.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      BS1. Seminars costing \u00a3300+ a day, the program of which includes things like overviews into different social media platforms and presentations by guest \u2018social media glitterati\u2019 speakers<\/strong><\/p>\n

      You can get plenty of intros to social media free online. Seminars of these sort that include presentations from social media glitterati amount to little more than a load of generalisations, a few branded pens, free mineral water and a buffet lunch<\/p>\n

      Antidote:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

      Generalities are no good to anyone wanting to devise and implement a practical social media strategy. Workshops and training like my own (detailed here<\/a>) promise every participant the opportunity to develop concrete ideas on their social media mix (explained here<\/a>) and also the kind of content they will be tweeting, blogging and Facebook-ing (plenty of examples here<\/a>)<\/p>\n

      I also offer free advice by phone or e-mail to all my workshop attendees for 30 days post workshop so that there is a real chance they actually get things done. I even offer a free \u2018polite badgering\u2019 service to those worried that their new resolve to tweet and blog will go the same way as their post-Christmas diet or that 3 times a week jogging plan!<\/p>\n

      BS2. Promotion of social media by citing the success of large corporations<\/strong><\/p>\n

      At several seminars on social media that I have attended guest speakers have alluded to the success of social media campaigns at large companies including Coca Cola, Liberty and Louis Vuitton.<\/p>\n

      These examples of social media success have not been helpful to people like me running a small enterprise for several reasons<\/p>\n