Social Media Symphony

Today we sponsored a half day conference entitled "Demystifying Social Media." Our feature speakers included Joe Schaefer of Overit Media and SUNY Plattsburgh Communications Department Professors, Colleen Lemza & Dr. Jonathan Slater. We had 23 small business owners in attendance and some great information was shared by all.

I am by no means a social media maven and my lack of consistency posting to this site is one of the cardinal sins of blogging. Still, on occasion, I come up with a new posting and decide to share some information with my few faithful followers (thanks, Mom!) and those who happen to search the web for some business advice.

During my introduction to this event, I compared social media to a musical instrument. It is just a tool and what you get out of it is directly related to how skilled you are at using it. There are those people who use sites likes Facebook, Twitter and Linked In for fun or recreation. In their use of these social media tools, they have fun and make a lot of noise. Sometimes there is something catchy and entertaining, but more often than not, there is just noise. Sometimes, if it is out of tune, it can be downright annoying.

For small businesses who want to utilize social media as a tool to grow their revenues, they have to be careful to learn the proper techniques of using these instruments. Just using social media will not result in extra sales. Even though it can be a revolutionary marketing tool, the fundamentals of marketing remain the same.
You have to emotionally convince your potential customers that you have something that they value enough to purchase from your business. Those who effectively use social media, study the techniques to use these tools with care and continually refine their efforts to create beautiful messages that are harmonious with their customer's needs.

With social media, you are given tools to share messages about your business to the masses. If used effectively, you can create beautiful music that your customers can share with their networks of friends; sales can exponentially increase as they share your message with their friends. They may also take that extra step provide a testimonial that reinforces your message and provides instant credibility to your business. That's beautiful music.

Still, if used ineffectively, social media will not benefit your business. Social media is viral, which is good if your business message is catchy, like that #1 hit people want to hear over and over again. On the other hand, the viral nature of social media can be devastating if someone shares negative information about your business.


I don't want to scare you, the social media tools out there are fairly easy to use effectively. Some of you will be naturals at using these tools and others may need some instruction. I invite you to visit Dr. Slater's Google bookmark with some great articles on the effective use of social media.

Seth Godin, one of my favorite marketing gurus, once said, “Conversations among the members of your marketplace happen whether you like it or not. Good marketing encourages the right sort of conversations.” Like playing a musical instrument, there is an art to creating a good conversation about your business. If it doesn't come easy to you, consider working with some marketing professionals to help you craft that magic story. Then grab your social media instruments and create a symphony of success.