Internet Marrketing in the Twenty Second Century

There are hundreds of thousands of blogs being created every day.  And 99.999999% of them are not read by ANYONE (in fact you may be the first person reading this as I only created it today).  Leave comment I will reply!

So all of these blogs they are like secret diaries.  You might as well sit next to the toilet flushing paper down it So why is this one being born today and brought  kicking and screaming and bleeding into the fresh air.  Well I am going to use this for my  and argumentative comments on the web industry today and ask questions that I may not always agree about but may be ones that you have asked yourself.  So lets jump right in.

Like many of you I use social media and more and more I see people living on the bloody thing all day long.  I look at their profile and allegedly they have running businesses but from their social streams it is clear that they are living on the web and if I was do a time in motion study I would think they were doing f**k all during the day except staring at their screen waiting for updates.  To be successful on social media is a subtle and complex art.  Don't snigger it is.  And guess what I have no idea as to even a small percentage of how to be good at it.  But I can smell bad a mile off.  A clear indication is when people are when people are using it as a chat tool with endless one and one chats going back and forward.  I see people planning dinner and coffee dates on social.   This dries me bananas.  I DO network on social and do comment liberally on it as well don't get me wrong but I do not use it for 20 comments back and forward arranging the time and date.

In a conversation with someone the other day it has become clear to me that despite the amount of activity above the large percentage of people still do not engage in the Internet at all.  They may have smart phones (most people seem to now) but the Internet to them  is Google and nothing else.  They have not been convinced yet.  the reason for this is largely because they can not see a benefit.  My wife is a good normalised example.  She thinks Twitter and Facebook are a complete and utter waste of time.  We who use thing we are in the majority but we are actually in the tiny minority.

People who get up in the morning and work 9-5 really don't give a flying  toss about social media unless it is tons of fun or will give them a tangible benefit.   Facebook has given some of that to people in that it helps people make contact with friends and play some games.   Businesses are of course taking it on but many sign up for business Facebook accounts and Twitter then look at it and leave it as they do not know how to use them in a non-intrusive way.  This is because a lot of the advocates don't have the training and educating skills to show people and businesses how to make the best use of them.

Social Media is a Starting Point

Businesses need to understand that social media is a starting point and not an end point.  It is like a networking event.  You meet someone share interests and business and understand what each other does,  exchange business cards, promise to meet and depart.  Then a few days later you meet someone else who you think with your skills and the person you met at event you could help the prospective client.  A call to the person and there begins what could be the beginnings of a long and fruitful business relationship.

social media is only the start of the funnel - treat is as such.

Websites - To Hell With Them

the same applies with websites.  About 18 months ago I took a strategic decision to stop selling people websites unless they at least signed up to the following.

- An Internet Marketing plan
- A Search Marketing Approach
- Embracing social with a metric driven plan for engagement
- Working hard to get their brand visible on-line and off line

Now I would not be doing all of this work but using a virtual team to deliver tangible benefits that they can measure in CUSTOMERS.  Yes customers ringing and interacting.  That wonderful flash site wont do that.  People working with you including you working will deliver that for you.