Here are the top 5 myths that cause individuals and companies to be weary of social media marketing:

1. They’re afraid they’ll lose control of their brand.
2. They don’t understand it.
3. The effectiveness of social media is hard to measure.
4. They’re afraid their employees will be on Facebook and Twitter chatting all day.
5. Social Media is costly.

Ladies and Gents, don’t be afraid. We can debunk each and every one of these myths and get you on your way to social media marketing the smart way.

Fear: Losing control of your brand.

When you start a business you hope that people will hear about and discuss your brand. Word of mouth is a key to brand success, especially if you’re offering a service. Clients and the general public are going to talk about your brand; don’t you want to be part of that discussion?

If you’re involved in the dialogue you can help direct the conversation to benefit you and your company. The truth is, not being part of the banter can lead to loss of control; not the other way around. Get in there and join the discussion.

Fear: Social Media marketing is confusing.

Many companies still don’t know how to use social media effectively. It can be confusing and intimidating. It’s very easy to look at other brands and say, “they use social media so well, I could never do that!” But, you’re wrong! All it takes is a little getting used to. READ about social media techniques online; WATCH informational videos on YouTube; LISTEN to your colleagues talk about social media and pick up the tid-bits they’ve acquired along the way.

You will be shocked at how easy it is to pick up some basic skills. Hire a social media guru to get you started and after a few weeks you might find yourself confident enough to go it alone.

Fear: Social Media marketing results are hard to measure.

The idea that you can’t get an accurate read on your social media success or failure is ridiculous. The truth is, it couldn’t be easier! You can debunk this myth yourself by just searching “Twitter/Facebook/Google/etc. tools” online. There are SO MANY measurement and analytical tools floating around the web that calculate your data and spit out information instantly. Tools like Twitalyzer and Google Analytics can be hugely helpful.

Fear: Employees will be on Facebook and Twitter all day.

Face it: you’re employees are on these sites anyway, so why not use their presence to boost your brand? In fact, it would benefit you to ask them to post company updates to their Facebook and/or Twitter pages. Use your social media resources! Additionally, keeping your employees off Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. is restricting them from massive amounts of information that could benefit your brand. Social media sites are the most populous and popular sites on the web. YouTube alone is the second largest search engine in the world! Everyone else on the planet is using social media; why shouldn’t your employees? All you need to do is apply some social media guidelines and/or policies to help structure their time on social media sites.

Fear: Social media is costly.

Well, this one is easy to debunk! Unless you’ve been living in a remote village you should know that social media is not only easily accessible, but it’s FREE. Think about how much you currently spend on ad banners or television ads and then compare that to the $0 that social media costs. Nice, huh?

Alright, alright! It’s not entirely free. We know time = money and social media marketing takes time. It does not, however, compare to writing those advertising checks you’ve been writing.

Ford is quickly leading the social media innovation parade with their new digital cockpit system that allows you to tweet and text while you drive (by voice, don’t worry it’s safe!)  A developer named Alan Mulally helped Ford develop this new technology that will surely take social media to a new level.

Aside from the fact that this is a huge technological breakthrough, is the sheer impact social media is having industry. Even Ford, one of America’s staple corporations, is modeling their vehicle around the social media sphere.

Over the holiday break, I decided to turn a couple of leisure trips into business. First up, meeting with the marketing director of Diamond Peak Ski Resort. I had been monitoring them via Twitter leading up to their opening day - December 17th. Ski and snowboard fans experienced some great fun, trivia and contests. Did they work? Let’s find out.

1. First up, their “30 Day Countdown to Open Trivia Contest” that awarded one lucky winner of the trivia question of the day - Free All Day Lift Pass.

The contest ran for 30 days and increased their web traffic by 110% and a 13% increase in Facebook fans. In such a competitive landscape, Diamond Peak for sure marked this as a WIN.

2. With over 15 ski resorts in the Tahoe region, Diamond Peak gets innovative. Next up, Last Tracks Wine Tasting. The resort sales a limited amount of tickets every Saturday for those who want to enjoy the beautiful views of Lake Tahoe while tasting fine wines and tasty appetizers. Afterward, guests ski, telemark or snowboard down a freshly groomed blue corduroy run to the bottom (Ummm, I’d pay extra for that).

Why does this work? Because they took advantage of a feature that other resorts can’t compete with - The Diamond Peak Resort view of Lake Tahoe. We also spoke about a new concept “Early up powder.” Reminds me of the extended Disney Theme Park hours.

Well done!

The Marsh Café in San Francisco! They found the most unique way to display their emergence into the social media world. This summer they put up a sign that read “Foursquare mayor drinks for free” in order to promote Foursquare. Foursquare is a location-based social network that helps people connect with anyone (you don’t even have to know them) using GPS via a mobile device. Since the promotion, business for The Marsh Café has been in demand, they have had to hire more staff as well as extend their hours of operation to meet the needs of their new consumers.

Cari Turley, the manager of The Marsh Café, an active social media user worked with Denis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare, to develop a box application that would promote The Marsh Café on the social media site itself. With the excellent strategic plan to promote a new social media site, The Marsh Café in return got a lot of media coverage which brought attention to their business. Hi-five to the Marsh Cafe!

It is obvious that people around the world are spending more and more time online, making social media properties a valuable asset to any industry. With the holiday season rolling in, shoppers everywhere are resulting to social media as a shopping aid. Deloitte’s 24th Annual Holiday Survey of retail spending and trends confirms that social media and mobile phones are key influencers this holiday season.

How you may ask? Take a look at these stats!

-    17%  of all consumers are planning on using social media during their holiday shopping

-    60% of those consumers are planning on using social media to find discounts, coupons, and sale information

-    53% of all consumers are planning on using social media to research gift ideas for family and friends

Age is no factor when it comes to social media. From those consumers who are planning on using social media as a shopping assistant – more than half are in the age group of 18-29, 33% are in the age group of 30-44, and 12% are in the age group of 45-60. With the internet being a top shopping destination for all ages; 22% of consumers are planning on shopping primarily online this holiday season with 44% of the shoppers planning on using coupons obtained online at local stores.

With the current economic downfall, social media is a key factor to attract those consumers who are planning on using the internet as a shopping aid. How will you market your business this holiday season?

Besides being accessible to anyone, which one is better Twitter or Facebook? Do you like to Tweet about your company’s upcoming event or do you like to promote the upcoming event by using the calendar event option on Facebook? The usability of these two social networking sites varies. At first, Facebook is easier to navigate while Twitter can be hard to wrap your finger around. On the other hand, once you adapt to Twitter, it is easier to get your momentary thoughts instantaneously on the web.

Facebook was first created for college students, but now is used by everyone as a platform for social networking. There are currently over 200,000,000 active users distributed amongst 170 countries that Facebook is available to.  It was primarily created as a social networking site for users to keep in touch with family and friends. It soon turned into a huge source of networking for the purposes of business and personal use. Facebook allows uploading of pictures/albums, commenting on each others’ “wall”, updating your current status, creating an event, adding a music application, and etc. It is growing into an all purpose networking site which entails over 52,000applications you need plus 140 new applications being added per day (such as the quizzes that can predict when you will get married).

Twitter lets you update your status with a limitation of 140 characters via mobile texting, instant message, or the web. This can be a little tough, but have no fear you will get used to it quickly.  The upside of tweeting is that you don’t have to know the person to tweet with them. This eliminates the hassle of having to add someone, although you can and should “follow” people, so you can get updates on what’s new with them. For example, if a Tweeter (you don’t know) was looking for a fun Halloween party and you are promoting an event at a club, all you have to do is Tweet back with details on your event. It really is easy as that. Ranked at #1 for the fastest growing member community, in February 2009 there were 7,038,000 members, a 1,382% growth compared to the 475,000 members in February 2008. For businesses that are trying to promote a service or product, this is an excellent source of promotion, with so many people in the network, marketing to a specific target or expanding to different channels is easy.

Which one is better?

Twitter Pros:
·    Connect with anyone even beyond your friend circle
·    Easy to communicate simple thoughts or promote events
·    Anyone can follow anyone else – no acceptance required

Twitter Cons:
·    Character limitation to 140 per update
·    Tricky to navigate at first
·    Limitation on usage: sending private messages, finding people, and etc.

Facebook Pros:
·    Many usage functionalities: instant messaging, private messages, email, Multimedia sharing
·    Ability to privatize or publicize personal or business account
·    New applications added constantly

Facebook Cons:
·    Time consuming
·    Not immediate responses (have to add or accept to be friends)
·    Limitations on pages created (fan vs. group)

They both serve as good networking sites and both can be used through your mobile device (always an added bonus). Speaking of mobile devices, Facebook allows you to access all the functions used on the computer on your phone (Blackberry, iPhone, or any phone with an internet connection), which includes picture uploading, adding friends, changing your status, or taking a quiz. Twitter has many different mobile tools such as: UberTwitter used for uploading pictures, sending videos, and updating your Google Talk status with your last Tweet Tweelo which is the yellow pages for Twitter, and JustTweetit which is a user directory organized by genre that helps you connect with others easily. Why not have both for your business, the more you put your company out there the better. Use the Twitter account for daily updates and follow your clients as well as people you think might be interested in what your company offers. Use the Facebook account to create events and update the status of your company, at the same time use the fan or group page to broaden your client base.  It is a win-win situation that will help your company.

Is too much really ever too much? Well, drawing a line between personal and business information can be a little tricky, but should you have to? In the world of Social Media, you must be prepared to be transparent and  depending on your comfort level your ability to share information with the general public vs. your personal contacts can vary, but should it? Being transparent is a term used to describe the level of openness to share your personal information with everyone on the internet.

Here is the deal.

• Fact- people are more likely to respond favorably towards a company that they can relate and connect with

• Kill two birds with one stone - post up your recent family trip pictures while updating your group about new and upcoming events for your company

• DO NOT -  post obscene pictures or make offensive comments

If you want to create a Facebook account that would function as both your personal and business account and you are comfortable doing it while following the simple rules, go for it.

For those that are not comfortable mixing personal and business together, that is all right. Don’t shy away from social networking sites because you are afraid to mix the two. Good news, there is another way –

• Be comfortable - create two separate accounts; one for your business and the other for your personal use

• Draw the line - add your friends and family to your personal account and post your recent family trip pictures only for their view

• Be open – allow your business account to be open to the general public by making this account fairly open and letting anyone access, view and comment on the page

The bottom line is that you don’t need to draw a line when it comes to personal and business information. Depending on your comfort level you can combine the two or just keep them separated. But, the most important factor is that you create these accounts. Social networking sites are imperative for helping  your business and  staying connected with people you know.

I had the chance to see Gary live at SXSW 2009. His panel was titled Video Blogging: Turning Wine into Gold. If you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing who Gary is - this will be a great intro video for you.

Caution, adult language.

Watch Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV at SXSW. Gary discusses his knowledge and expertise about video blogging and self branding in the ever growing world of online video blogging.

These are the best highlights in a 10 minute reel.

.

Myth #1 – It all starts with a great web site.

A flashy splash page with gigantic lifestyle photos will not draw consumers into your site by itself. Your Company needs to have a strong brand identity with well defined services. Even the most attractive of websites won’t convert visitors into customers if you can’t describe your professional specialty and specify the core benefits your work provides for your clients.

Myth #2 – Do whatever it takes to build your email list.

There’s no question that a substantial opt-in mailing list is a valuable marketing asset, but the quality of names on your list is much more important than the quantity. Acquiring names through giveaways of other people’s material, trading lists with joint venture partners, or purchasing them from a vendor rarely provides qualified buyers truly interested in your services. You have worked hard to build a credible name for your company, why tarnish your reputation?

Myth #3 – More traffic translates to increased profits.

The only result that more traffic to your website guarantees you is increased bandwidth use by your web host. Before breaking the bank on excessive amounts of PPC and banner ads for an unproven site you should mercilessly critique it and invite existing customers to do the same. Consider it constructive criticism and take the time to fine tune your site before diving into a massive campaign.

Myth #4 – Killer copywriting is the secret to sales.

Your Internet marketing persona should reflect the same professionalism as the work you do with your clients. You should avoid gimmicky “limited time only” and “buy one get one free” catch phrases. Those appeals are best left to the late night infomercial salesmen. You are a professional who’s copy should inspire trust and brand loyalty.

Myth #5 – Just follow the magic formula and you will get rich.

There is no magical panacea to cure your internet marketing woes. The secret to landing clients is what it always has been. You need to build relationships and get people to know, like, and trust you. Building long-term, trusting relationships with prospective clients and referral sources will win you business on the web.

Buzz Bissinger smears Will Leitch of DeadSpin.com on Costas Now’s HBO special on April 29th. Check out the full segment here: http://deadspin.com/385770/bissinger-vs-leitch

A clear divide between the baby boomer journalist and the 30 something embracing the blogosphere era. Please weigh in on this HOT topic.

Transparency people. Wake up.

Furthermore, a recent poll shows that 19% of people ages 18-34 are regular newspaper readers. The average age of the newspaper reader is 55 and rising. Is Buzz feeling threatened here? Even so, he doesn’t need to be so blatantly and flat out rude.

Your thoughts?