Friday, July 16, 2010

Oil and Water by John McGrann

Oil and water don’t mix – neither do internet marketing and social media marketing. The former is an online version of a market trader selling direct and energetically; the latter an extension of word of mouth marketing. It’s not a question of which is more effective marketing. Both can be very effective. It’s a matter of realising that the two don’t mix easily. If at all...

Social media marketers (SMMs) leverage the relationships built on sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube for business. All other forms of internet based marketing can be ascribed to Internet Marketers (IMs) including these examples:

• Display advertising

• E-mail marketing

• Interactive advertising

• Cost per impression

• Affiliate marketing

• Cost per action

• Search engine marketing

• Search engine optimization

• Paid inclusion

• Mobile advertising

So what are the differences between IMs and SMMs?

SMMs market their own limited products / services, or as an agency on the behalf of the client. It is a long term commitment and client relationship. IMs will market any products/services which can be monetized and the life of the relationship can be very short. Certain IM schemes allow for IMs to act as agents without ever meeting the client. It’s cold and clinical.

The premise for SMMs success is that of ‘word of mouth marketing’ and relationship building. We like to do business with those we know, we like and we trust. IMs success is down to identifying and exploiting internet based marketing schemes and systems. The requirement is to be sharp, on top of it, and very active using the right systems and tools. There are lots of ‘secrets’.

SMMs will clearly identify a target audience for their products / services and seek out their targets on social media sites. IMs may have many targeted audiences which change often. For them it’s a numbers game. Blast away at the numbers and a percentage will engage them.

SMMs need to be subtle, develop relationships and trust. They are highly visible on social media sites offering lots of added value to prospective customers. It is expected and free. IMs have no such requirement.

In social media, one to one conversations are very important. Emails sent to prospects would be minimal. Sales pitches to prospects would only be allowable after a certain maturity of the relationship, or at the bequest of the prospect. IMs think little of blasting emails on a daily basis to those on their ‘list.’ The ‘list’ is the basis for success. Such emails will be very repetitive and are a form of spamming. The IM would counter that the prospect has subscribed previously. The IM would claim that a prospect needs to view the same information a number of times to make that decision to buy.

The internet is littered with many examples of ‘get rich quick’ schemes which are often nothing more than scams. Many successful IMs will have built up enough intelligence to know the scams and avoid them. Others are less fortunate. Such scams give IM a bad name. There are no ‘get rich schemes’ for SMMs. It’s a long road adding value and building trust – there are no shortcuts.

The successful IM will offer his / her skills and ‘secrets’ as a paid mentor to those seeking large ‘passive’ incomes. Opportunities are in high demand and you need to ‘get signed up quickly – now in fact!’ Successful SMMs are expected to share content and ideas, help others along the way. It is giving with the expectation that rewards will come later.

Social media marketers are social and extend good networking practices to the internet. Internet marketers will go for the jugular, wear down their target if necessary – it’s a numbers game! It’s exciting and fun! It’s not very social...

I am not advocating the IM or the SMM position here. I am merely giving you a few guidelines on identifying the traits of both and their method of operation. Either can be successful and satisfying. It depends on what suits you or your brand. Beware of mixing them!