Social Media Marketing – Advantages & Disadvantages

Social Media Marketing (SMM) is an Internet Marketing strategy where you promote your business and yourself through social sites, videos and interaction with members of target communities. While I would love to claim that there are only advantages to social media marketing, the reality is that there is good and bad in just about everything in life. Why should Internet Marketing be any different? This blog post discusses the advantages and disadvantages of social media marketing. This blog post was inspired by my recent interview Kelly Thomas at the The Northside Chronicle. Thanks!

If you think that any are missing, please add them in the comment section below.

Social Media Marketing Advantages

1 – Social Media Marketing is a FUN way to do business.

2 – It is a cost effective “Internet Marketing strategy that can create viral results.

3 – Companies have the ability to make “social” connections with consumer markets.

4 – It drives traffic to your website, blog, articles, etc.

5 – The traffic results in website links, blog comments, lead generation and sales conversions.

6 – Social Media marketing expedites online brand development.

7 – Major social networks integrate with one another, blogs, widgets and other social sites.

8 – You have the ability to immediately educate a larger public about your industry & business.

9 – Social networking is just as effective as offline networking; like speed dating if you do it right.

All of the advantages can result in rapid viral exposure that increases search engine rankings, leads / sales and your overall popularity off and on the Internet.

Social Media Marketing Disadvantages

1 – The wrong online brand strategy could put you at a viral social disadvantage (“put foot in mouth”).

2 – Social Media Marketing is more time consuming than companies expect.

3 – You need to interact on point at each location, though can automate some of the SMM process.

As you can see, the advantages of social media marketing certainly out weight the disadvantages, though if you choose to social seo or social marketing “blindly”, you will always be at a disadvantage while your competitors experience the advantages of social media marketing.

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Social Media Marketing – Youtube – To Have and Have Not

If it had grown up, it would have made a dreadfully ugly child;
but it makes rather a handsome pig, I think. ~ Alice in Wonderland

In this social “Wonderland”, some companies will stretch the online marketing to the limits and others will remain small oysters; improved Social Media Marketing STRATEGIES are essential in this 2010 year. Is your Pittsburgh business preparing for the Google’s Social Search Engine? I’m not sure about that … Let me tell you how I know!

I recently started the @leacharlton Twitter.  As I was adding a few friends, it was disappointing to see such a small increase in Pittsburgh Business Twitters from the last time I posted. Meanwhile, have you used Google at all this month? Did you see tweets scrolling in the search results? Maybe I should have explained the importance of Twitter in our native Pittsburghese …

“Ya’ gotsta to use Twitter, Pittsburghers … Yinze need it for Google Caffeine”. :)

In case you have not noticed, there have been a few changes in Google. They have added the Twitter feeds and PR links to their social search engine. If you type in a person’s name, you can see their Google profile page at the bottom of the page (if they created it). As always, Youtube videos are spotted in plain view …

Since Twitter is still not considered a Pittsburgh Business “need” … I headed on over to Youtube this morning thinking that just maybe Youtube could be your Jabberwocky … ?

While browsing though Youtube, I came across one of my favorite videos and tweeted it in the Beyonce Twitter trend. Who would have imagined that this little @babycory would have 8,152,102 Youtube views since January 26 2009 while a similar video is tagging far behind at 872,852 views since September 28, 2009.  Guess he needed this “Mad Hatter” to show him how to strut his tard (10,917,518 views in a a year) and get Beyonce to bring him out on stage, too. None have surpassed the success of the  fresh face at Pomplamoose Music. She is kicking Single Ladies at 3,063,785 views in just 4 months.

So what does this mean? 1) hit song by Beyonce, 2) Youtube babies,  3) Youtube clowns 4) Youtube talents and Pittsburgh SEO Lady preaching, yet again, about why you need to gear up your “social media marketing” strategies?

Well, first of all, this @PghSEOLady was grinning like a “Cheshire Cat” while watching all of these Beyonce “wannabes”.

Yet, watching a chubby man in leotard proudly flaunting his “stuff” can NEVER compare to watching the diapered bottom baby giving Beyonce a run for her Youtube popularity. It is not quite the same; even when comparing them to the super suave “Caterpillar”, Shane Mercado. He is well over a million views for the year and showing up as #1 (above the Diva herself) as I venture from Google to Youtube with search sting, “beyonce single ladies + youtube”. That is just an incredible “boo boo” by the Beyonce marketing team …

The Queen should say … “off with their heads”! :D

Regardless … even little single ladies can receive 10,9973 views in 6 days just for riding off the TOP 10. Although this may not be the most entertaining video, their mama stays on point by protecting these “red roses” by only permitting their own video responses. You have got to see their video titles, “Kat Dennings – OMG We Meet Again!” — This Mugglesam team has it “going on”. But … who is their Papa?

PITTSBURGH SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ENTHUSIASTS & NEWBIES …

I HOPE THAT YOU’RE GETTING THE POINT AND PATTERNS HERE!!!

In social media marketing, it is about whether you are ”to have and have not” when it comes to Youtube video marketing for your Pittsburgh business. Whether choosing the perfect Top 10 song, artist, man or child … you can have video marketing success … start by using someone elses Beyonce video :)

The following is one of my favorite Youtube Videos / Celebrity Videos.

This particular one is of my son (Jonny MJ Charlton). He is dancing to Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean in the computer / storage room :(  at “the Florida water front rental” (will have to blog about this monstrosity one day).

What do you think? Should I have him create a Beyonce video, too? :D

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Google Caffeine / Google Caffeine Search Engine

When Matt Cutts anounced Google Caffeine, I was one of the 1st to dance a jig in support of the search engine changes. I am a firm advocate of companies utilizing more social media marketing strategies, therefore their talk of speed and integration was exciting. I had been watching Google and tracking potential changes as we approached the holiday season, though was able to rest assured after finding Matt’s blog post starting that Google Caffeine would launch after the holidays.

I remember what it was like to spend the holiday season making site updates. This was a few years ago and numerous business owners were disappoint by how selfish Google was to hurt their business with updates at that time of year.

Regardless, here we are in the 2010 New Year and I am now realizing that Google was making changes over the holiday season. The obvious was the addition to Google Webmaster Tools …  now webmasters can report duplicate content and keep “tags” as “follow” with confidence. There were also  subtle tests in the SERPS that presented no major disadvantages at that time.

The following are examples of what I noticed at the end of 2009:

  • Google Wave sturred excitement and clouded our attention to Caffeine tests.
  • Users bumped into Tweets every so often and then they disappeared from the SERPS.
  • There were more dramatic cross browser inconsistencies in Google rankings.
  • Pages with quality content and excellent Google rank were affected this week.
  • Pay Per Click results and rotations were not as refined.
  • Some social sites were not proving the same seo advantages.
  • Google is reminding users to set up profiles at the bottom of the SERPS.

I am currently switching over a website that has been geo-targeted for the past 5 years. It ranks unaffected for those terms although the site is no longer focused for those keyword. The “best” was when Google read and updated the SERPS with the new homepage Title, Description and rank.

A few hours later the website was back in the previous position and with the original geo-targeted tags.

I really thought that I was going to loose my mind after that last one. Perhaps, I am loosing my mind right now because I think that Google needs to “slow their role” and communicate more about what we should expect and prepare for once the Google Caffeine Launch is in full effect. Lets forget about wasting time discussing their upsale Google phones and realize that they are turning this search engine into one of the most incredible social sites at our  expense.

Think about it! Would you rather have consumers access your Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, LinkedIn and reading content from YOUR OWN WEBSITE or from the search engine? Just as there are only 10 organic listings, there are only going to be a certain amount of natural “coffee beans” in the Caffeine SERPS.

So, what is this … Google Caffeine?

This is going to be one  incredible social sites / search engine.

We would not expect anything less from the Google innovators – you better get ready!

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