Is Social Media a Fad? Revisited.
10X Business Letter
San Diego, Ca
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Dear 10X Business Builder,
How many times have you heard that you need to be on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube?
How much time have you invested in any of the above with little or no results?
Back in 2009 there was a video launched that asked the question, “Is Social Media a Fad?”.
In 2009, in terms of the internet, social media was a relatively new concept.
People were SHOUTING from the top of their lungs that Social media was going to be the end of marketing as we knew it.
Early adopters were going crazy trying to get followers, fans and views.
The gold rush was on.
My answer back then and today is very similar and yet completely different.
Both, back then and today, I’d say it’s NOT a fad. It’s here to stay.
But back then I was excited about the possibility of building a community (followers, fans etc…) of like minded individuals that would eagerly buy from us.
Fast forward over five years… I re-watched the video and asked myself the same question.
I don’t know if it’s because my understanding of business and marketing has deepened or that, since “I’m over-the-hill”, I’m becoming set in ‘old school’ thinking, but I’m not excited about social media for the same reasons, as I was back then.
Let me explain: I’m the most excited I’ve ever been about Facebook. And we are the most active marketing on Facebook that we have ever been.
But, looking at it now… I just see it as another paid channel option. The same way marketing has always been.
5 years ago, I was excited about the prospect of building a community, which is cool, but what really excites me today is the ability to get our message in front of the correct audience — quickly and easily.
WHAT ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA EXCITES ME?
Even though I don’t agree with how most people are using social media, I am over the moon about the opportunity to use it as a paid media channel.
Facebook for example, has the ability to get your ad in front of unbelievably targeted audiences.
So that means if you have taken the time to build an offer that converts and a sales funnel that produces, you can simply BUY access to the potential market.
No need to get likes, fans etc… just pay your fee for an all access pass. You can even get access to your competitors’ fan base. Just pay to play.
So, Is social media a fad?…
I didn’t realize it then, but the answer was staring me in the face. The answer lies in the name itself — social media.
BACK TO THE BASICS
In marketing, there is the golden triangle.
The golden triangle are the three components that you must figure out to have a successful marketing campaign.
They are (dan kennedy’s version): Message, Market, Media.
The goal of a marketer is to align the correct message to the right market, using the right media.
Nowadays I realize, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter etc… are just additional media channels.
People spend way too much time trying to build a social media community to buy their product, instead of focusing on selling their product to a social media community that already exists.
They focus on engagement metrics like: likes, comments, views, followers, re-tweets…
Great! they liked my cat video, what does that mean?
The only real engagement metric is SALES. They liked you enough to buy your service or product.
Isn’t that why you’re in business? No business exists if there aren’t sales.
Your time is better spent on crafting a sales message and offer, that resonates with your target audience. And then use Facebook, youtube and Linkedin advertising as a paid channel. — To get that message in front of your targeted audience
I know there is a common 2 step social media strategy out there that goes something like this…
Step 1: is to build up a large community. (This takes time and money).
Step 2: is to then start to offer content with offers mixed in. (Your ‘fans’ may not even see because of Facebook’s algorithm )
I know this works. I’ve seen this first hand.
But why can’t you just put your offer in front of those same people via paid advertising and save the hassle of trying to build a community first?
Every million dollar business is built around an effective sales funnel.
Show me a company that is successful and I’ll show you company with a predictable sales funnel.
Meaning, you feed it full of 100 leads and predictably, it spits out XX number to paid customers.
The sales funnel is the nervous system to a business — it’s the life force.
Once you have a sales funnel that converts, you seek out various paid advertising channels and begin to scale.
That’s where Facebook, Youtube, Linked, magazines, newsletters etc come in…
The point I’m trying to make, is having a huge presence in social media is going to take a lot of time and resources.
If you are successful (which is a low percentage), at the end of the day all you’ll have is an audience.
But if you focus on building an offer that converts and a sales funnel, you’ll have a business that you can actually scale.
DOES THIS MEAN I’M TOTALLY AGAINST SOCIAL MEDIA?
No, not at all… I just look at differently today. Instead of seeing the potential in building a community, I see the potential in Facebook/LinkedIn/YouTube as a whole.
It’s very similar to the difference between Google organic results and Paid Advertising.
How much time, energy and money does it take you to get on the first page for your keywords? Versus being able to pay and be there tomorrow with ads.
Sure it cost money, BUT IF YOU FOCUSED YOUR TIME ON AN OFFER THAT CONVERTS AND A SALES FUNNEL, this isn’t a cost for you, it’s an investment.
I am curious what you think?…
Do you agree with me or am I missing something here?…
As Zig Ziglar would say…. “see you at the top!”
Jeff Paro
Editor, The 10X Business Letter
P.S. Looking for even more ways to get your product/services out there? Check out our Video Marketing Content Volume 1 HERE!
