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.

The general consensus in San Diego is that if you have good food, groovy music, and tasty beer you are pretty much guaranteed a good time. There is one establishment in San Diego that has all three—Anthology in Little Italy.

Anthology is a first-class live music and fine dining space in downtown San Diego. The primary audience is lovers of Jazz, Rock, Latin, Indie and more. Anthology participated in the recent San Diego Beer Week and received a great outcome to the beer, food pairing and Fresh Vibes event.

The event brought a new audience and demographic. Anthology was thrilled with the ambience, vibe and new guests that San Diego Beer Week and the craft beer fans brought to their venue. Rather than be like everyone else and continue to praise wine and food events, they are looking to create a fresh new series of events.

Anthology is keeping it fresh by:

1. Having hosted their first craft beer and classic rock night on January 20th. One night per month they will feature beer from a different brewery and a menu designed to complement the brews.

2. Hosting various music and beer themed contests on Facebook and Twitter.

3. Keeping their event ticket prices low. (between $5-$10)

Anthology has taken into consideration the 3 things San Diegans value in a good time and used the SoCal lifestyle to turn a profit. They’re having fun and making money all at the same time; you really can’t beat that!

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.

LIVE EVENT: Social Media for Business

Do you have a team or group that needs to get up to speed with leading-edge social and information technologies? Would you like to inspire your team to use social media tools in innovative ways to expand your business?

EVENT DETAILS:
October 14th, 2009
9:00am to 10:30am
Hive Haus – 770 11th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
Cost: FREE
Presenter: Melani Gordon, Founder/President of gWave Consulting, Inc.
RSVP by October 12th.  Seating is limited

LET US KNOW YOU’LL BE THERE! CALL: 619-894-0384 or EMAIL US

What you will learn:
•    Creating your Online Profile
•    Facebook Marketing
•    Promoting Products and Services on Twitter
•    LinkedIn for Marketers
•    Online Reputation Management
•    Blogging, commenting and community participation
•    Much More

This workshop will empower people with knowledge and tools for the latest social & information-sharing technologies.

Come join us. Invite a client or friend.

gWave founder Melani Gordon prepares to host a discussion on online marketing at the Hive Haus.

Hard work and a good reputation are no longer enough to insure your success. Knowing how to connect with your market effectively is critical. Do you have the knowledge to systematically build a steady stream of qualified prospects?

WHEN: August 25th 7:30am - 9:30am, coffee and danishes
WHERE: Hive Haus 770 11th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101 (corner of 11th & F street. 2 hour metered parking starts at 8am or $5 lot on 11th and Market.)
RSVP: Space is limited to 25 people. Email melani@gwaveconsulting.com or disaacs@messerandcompany.com
WHO:
Dean Isaacs (Partner, Messer and Company, Inc.)

* How to improve your marketing and get the results you need.
* The secret to developing high impact marketing that will set you apart from your competition.
* How to effectively communicate with your target market to generate new opportunities.

Melani Gordon (Founder/Principle, gWave Consulting)

* Website Conversion Optimization. How to get more people to your website and turn those visitors into customers.
* Social media marketing - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn… will it work for me and where do I start?
* How do I measure my online efforts to warrant investing more?