#1 Rule for Social Media Marketing Success…

“Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity” ~ Louis Pasteur

#1 Rule for Social Media Marketing Success has got to be TENACITY.   Without a doubt, tenacity ( the ability to persevere or stick with a task) is probably the most important ingredient in social media marketing success.

See, social media marketing is not a “set it and forget it” proposition.

For those of you who are actively PARTICIPATING in social media, you’re responding with a great big Homer Simpson style, “Doh!”

Anyone with an established healthy blog knows that social media “magic” doesn’t happen in 6 days – 6 weeks or even 6 months.  They will also attest that it takes a serious investment of time and effort to participate in social media – but most will also tell you that the investment is well worth it.

In the post, When Fantasy Meets Reality – Social Media Marketing Reality Check, I share what I think are the 4 “essential” ingredients for social media marketing success:

• understand your customers GDP (Goals, Desires, Problems)
• be able to express how your business  helps customers to achieve goals, satisfy desires and solve problems
• be naturally social
• be technically savvy

Yet – even if you are able to bring together all of those elements – you must apply a HEALTHY dose of tenacity to the mix.  Bringing these 4 essential elements together and expecting overnight success is  – well, it’s like mixing the ingredients to bake a cake but failing to place the mixture into a preheated oven.

Denise Zimmerman in the article 4 signs you’re a social media failure illustrates the importance of tenacity in social media marketing as she chronicles two weight loss industry heavy weights (pun intended) epic failures in the world of social media marketing.  Both Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers are committing “marketing sins” commonly plaguing much smaller companies and are acting as if social media marketing is a “set it and forget it” proposition.

Denise writes:

Weight Watchers’ Twitter page contains all of three tweets, all posted Feb. 22. It has been silent ever since, although it has 1,167 followers. Rather than interact with these existing followers and build its following, it directs folks to its Facebook page.

Contrast this “set it and forget it” social media marketing strategy strategy with how Dell Computers is using Twitter.  Dell is often held up as shining example of social media marketing success. Dell is serious about using social media marketing to promote and build their business.  This is from Dell’s dedicated Twitter page –

Perhaps you already use Twitter to communicate with your friends, find out about breaking news, and keep up with technology and social media (or even political) leaders.

Now you can also get great deals from Dell, stay current with what’s happening at Dell, and connect with other Dell fans and employees through Twitter!

If you go to the Dell Twitter page, you’ll find over 30 different Twitter feeds as options.  If you live in Ireland and are interested in the latest news about refurbished Dell computers  – there’s a Dell Twitter feed for you.

Perhaps you’re digital nomad – “For individuals that travel their world, their country, their city, their neighborhood, their office, their campus with their laptop and other electronic device,” there’s a Dell Twitter feed just for you.

Maybe you’re an online video aficionado – there’s a Dell Twitter feed dedicated to letting you know when Dell uploads new videos so you can learn more and most importantly, share those cutting edge videos with your family, friends and colleagues.

Go ahead – click on a feed – any Dell Twitter feed.   I’ll bet you won’t find a single one with only 3 tweets from last February.

Do you know what happens when you expect your social media marketing to operate on autopilot?

NOTHING!

I once worked with a client who, when he learned all the effort he would have to put into a social media marketing campaign decided that he would rather use television advertising to communicate with prospective customers.

I don’t fault him in the slightest.  As a matter of fact, it was one of the wisest business decisions ever made IMHO.  He weighed the value of his time and decided that paying for production of a television commercial PLUS air time was a better investment for his business than the investment of time needed to make social media marketing work for him.

Even though social media marketing is still a relatively new concept, the internet landscape is already littered with the tattered remains of inactive communities, stagnant Facebook pages and unused blogs.

The good news is that with a little time and effort, most of these inactive social media marketing tools can be revived and put to good use.

The bad news is that social media marketing will NEVER be a “set it and forget it” proposition – but maybe that’s not really bad news at all.  Maybe that’s the way that eventually we’ll use to separate the good from the bad.