In the meantime, I had a great new client question last week that has been bouncing around in the back of my mind, writing itself as a blog post ever since. The client question ...
"Facebook is kind of old. What is the next latest and greatest social media thing?"
Now this is a great question for a few reasons:
Short Shelf Life Spurs Pioneers. The question is indicative of the one-day-lifespan-of-the-housefly type environment in which we marketers and business owners and customers now live. Facebook became a mass marketing tool only about three years ago, give or take a few months. Attention spans are waning, the economy is still a mess, and businesses of all sizes are pretty motivated (perhaps desperate) to find and implement the latest and great tool to win customers and make sales. Businesses are more willing than ever to try new approaches to marketing and customers eagerly looking for deals are open to trying new marketing tools, like Groupon and FourSqauare.
Awareness Into Innovation. The question also points to an expectation - a blind faith really - that there actually is another latest and greatest out there that will serve as the silver bullet that will achieve all marketing goals instantly and with wild success. While somewhat unrealistic, this is good because it means that even small business owners are becoming more aware of social media and smart phone apps and they want to experiment with new things. This demand is helping to spur innovation, both on the part of developers and business owners.
"Old" Doesn't Mean Stagnant. In the case of Facebook, just because it is one of the first and most used social media sites doesn't mean that it isn't constantly evolving. Just this week Facebook added Places, its new location based application designed to compete with FourSquare. At the same time Facebook added new tools for Notes. The week before this, they improved the way you browse Photo albums. Facebook is constantly evolving its functionality and all signs point to the fact that we can expect that to continue.
Before you discard the idea of Facebook as a social media marketing tool because it is "too old", here are a few pointers to make sure you're business page is taking advantage of all Facebook has to offer:
- Focus Your Strategy. Don't just have a business page to have a page. Make it strategic. Make sure the content, images, and voice all work toward reflecting your brand and achieving you marketing goals.
- Mix Your Media. Make your business page come alive with combination of text, video, and images.
- Use Tabs. Take the time to populate your Tabs with strategic, relevant content. Update your Tabs content frequently. Do a little research and create custom Tabs for your page.
- Talk With Friends. The whole point of social media is that it allows your customers to talk directly with you, the business owner. Give your Facebook friends reasons to communicate back with you via your Facebook page.
- Stay Current. Visit frequently or friend the Facebook page to get the official latest and greatest news and updates first.
Like I mentioned, this question has so many interesting aspects to consider.
And finally, you still may be asking your self, "Well, what really is the next latest and greatest social media has to offer?" Mashable has five suggestions in their recent piece, 5 Huge Trends in Social Media Right Now.
Enjoy!
