Snake oil salesmen in the guise of television salespeople selling clients 200 spots for cheap prices, 195 of which run when no one is watching. Or the “social media expert” who read three books on Facebook and creates a fan page and twitter page for you but has no clue who your clients are. SEO “experts” who drive unqualified traffic to your site, if any at all, and none of that traffic buys a damn thing. Or my personal favorite, the award winning agency who creates stunning graphics and an amazing website but has no clue if the message will work and nothing sells.

The fact is, it doesn’t matter what the tools are. It doesn’t matter whether you call it public relations, social media marketing, branding, advertising or marketing. It doesn’t matter what looks cool or wins awards. The only thing that matters is SALES.

High priced motion graphic television spots, really cool websites, and a wild tweaked out Facebook fan page isn’t worth the paper they were designed on if they don’t sell your product. What it comes down to is what it has always come down to, find your customer base, provide them with great customer service and speak to them, with your marketing, in a way that they will be moved to buy. David Ogilvy said it best “Creativity without direction is art, creativity with direction is advertising.”

I have had clients tell me they need to be on Twitter. When I say why, the answer is always “Cause everyone else is.” Advertising is about standing out not fitting in. While I wouldn’t advocate avoiding Twitter, you should know why you are there and who you are going to talk to. The new metrics in social media is numbers…I have 3000 followers or fans. AWESOME, but are they buying? What is better 3000 fans who just watch or 300 fans that purchase?

Many will say, “But the 3000 may purchase with enough posts and information.” Not necessarily. If you are selling maternity wear and 2900 of your fans are adolescent males, they are probably not going to ever be your customers.

Advertising and public relations are full of generalities. Sex sells. There is no such thing as bad PR. It doesn’t matter what you say about me as long as you spell my name right. These are complete and total CRAP. Sex doesn’t sell, emotion sells. Making someone feel something sells. Do you think sex would sell Depends? There is no such thing as bad PR, really? If your day care center has teachers molesting the kids and it breaks on the 6pm news, I guarantee you … you will close. And, as for spelling my name right…I never want it spelled right in a story that is about a plane crash’s debris pattern.

Social Media has become one of those generalities. Social media experts are a dime a dozen. I have been called one. I am not. I am an expert in advertising, public relations and branding. Social media is just a tool to be used for an overall marketing program. You need to have a social media strategy. But it needs to be just that, a strategy. And by strategy I don’t mean just get on and post.

The best thing you can do is make sure that whoever is handling your social media is doing it in a way that makes sense for your overall marketing strategy. And, more importantly, whoever is handling your overall marketing strategy is doing it with goals and with an understanding of the basic fundamentals of marketing. The companies that have a clear marketing strategy with an understanding of their customers and provide great customer service will be in business for a long long time. And that is what really matters.

Warner is adding a very cool, very modern twist on the stalking part of the movie. The stalker is going to be stalking the pop star via Twitter, Gawker Stalker, Google and various other social media sites. So the whole Social Media craze it seems, is going main stream! Which is not surprising since you can’t turn on your T.V. or listen to the radio without someone saying, “Follow us on Twitter”…etc. It seems that they are also going to be changing the background on Kevin Costner’s character, to what I can only assume, will make him better equipped to deal with the Social Media angle. From what I understand, he has a military background. However, I am also wondering if he will be some sort of IT/Social Media expert.

You can read the whole article on the remake here

And let us know your thoughts when you do….Let us know your thoughts. Do you think the remake will be any good? Do you think that more movies will head in the Social Media direction? How does Social Media impact our culture? These are just a few of the questions that the Newcom staff has been mulling over and debating on….what are yours? Whatever the case may be, the original ‘The Bodyguard’ will always remain one of the best movies in this writers heart! Will there be room in there for the new and improved “Bodyguard’? Only time and Facebook will tell, lol!

So, let’s break it down. When you first begin your entrance into the social market, you want to hit the big three first. The “big” three consist of the following:

Facebook
Twitter
Blog

I am sure that you have heard of all three of these at some point. You can not get on the internet these days without seeing something from Facebook or Twitter; and I am sure that you have read your fair share of blog posts from your favorite sites. However, when you first start, I recommend that you visit each of these sites and get your feet wet a bit. Learn how to navigate each site. Take a look at some blogs out there to get an idea of how they flow and how you want yours to look esthetically. This will help you to start thinking about the sort of content you want to send out, as well as what type of personality you want to convey to the public.

Once you have done this, just pick one platform to begin with. I recommend Twitter, because out of the three, it is the simplest to set up. It’s system will walk you through the set up process step by step.  The biggest key to remember while beginning, is to brand everything you do. When people find your account, you want them to know who you are right away. So, remember to add your logo to everything! Place your website URL on each account,  cross link your Twitter and blog urls, badge your blog with a Facebook box and a Twitter feed. The phrase to remember here is, “All roads lead back to your website.”

When you have all three of these set up, you will want to badge your website with Facebook, Twitter and blog buttons. Doing this completes the circle of Social Media for your company….everything connected to everything so to speak.  Most of our clients post these on each of their website pages and they will also say something to the effect of “Find us on.”  This will open you up to network in ways that you were not able to network before.

So what does this mean for you and your business? Well, simply put, you are totally connected. You have now opened yourself up to a new market and brand new sales. You have also made it easier to maintain existing  sales as well.  Just as the internet is infinite, the well of potential new clients or potential new sales is infinite by completing the circle of Social Media.  In other words, someone who finds your blog can now get lead back to your website and that means more visibility to your business and possibly money in your pocket.

I hope that this article has helped inspire you to test the waters of the Social Media Market.  Still feel daunted and find yourself looking for help? Contact The Newcom Group today to learn how we can help you and your business in both the Social Media market and the PR department.

Anna Patten is the Director of Online Public Relations for The Newcom Group. She currently handles all on line networking for The Newcom Group and their clients as well as their professional blogging needs. You can email her at anna@thenewcomgroup.com or find her on Facebook

2011-horoscope

Happy New Year Capital District and beyond!

May your days be merry and bright!

Check out the Awesome, new New Salem Saab commercial and add campaign! Michele, Darryl and Vic worked hard folks! Show Saab some love this season!

Juicy518 and The Newcom Group will be coordination efforts with local business to help bring joy in this holiday season. We will be having a Raffle to help the Unity House. $100 Gift Cert Package if you bring a toy in to any location you are entered to win.  Message AlbanyToTheMax on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/juicy518 OR Newcom Buzz on facebbok at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1617566987
Let them know you dropped something off, where & when and you are entered!

Drop Box
Locations :
The Pirates Den Studio – 60 broad St. Waterford

Gates Of Hell Studio – 2304 15th St. Troy

Jonathan’s Pizza- 31 North Pearl Street , Albany NY

Florals By Design- 170 Columbia Turnpike, Rensselaer

Capital Imaging and B.I.O.- 1001 Loudon Rd. (RT. 9) Latham, NY

Together, we can spread a little holiday cheer in the Capital District this holiday season!