(deep breath)

Okay, here we go!

For the last decade the term “Social Media Marketing” has been flaunted as the phrase that everyone needs to remember. It’s ingrained into our subconscious minds. It’s infiltrated the lexicon of our language and yet…it’s wrong.

It’s not “Social Media Marketing”.

Facebook… LinkedIn… Twitter… Pinterest… Instagram… Google+… and the rest of the social networks that have sprung up all have one thing in common… PEOPLE!

And, honestly only a fraction of those people use social media to market to their friends, fans and followers.

Social media is just a tool to reach out to your collective of friends and connect.

We share thoughts, stories, the news, weather, videos, politics, religion and host of other subjects that help us bond with another.

We bond with each other, sometimes we argue and on rare occasions we debate the issues we hold close to our hearts.

That is not social media marketing. That my friends is social bonding.

And the more bonding that occurs…the more friends you gather.

You are creating social influence and trust in your sphere. It’s that’s trust that will lead to a sale or attracting new fans. You are not marketing social media, you are using social platforms to educate, entertain and engage an audience.

Money is the byproduct of trust creation. People need to trust you before they will spend their hard earned dollars on you!

Without trust there is no sale. And if a sale occurs without trust that customer will experience buyers remorse or worse tell all their friends the salesman used manipulative tactics.

That’s exactly how people feel when they get swamped with thousands of marketing messages on their social networks. How do I know this?

I made the mistakes early on trying to manipulate my audience with marketing messages that didn’t do anything. And so, I upped the ante so to speak and ramped up my marketing and viola! Now instead of not doing anything, I was getting people to click on links and post messages. Just not the messages most hoped to receive.

Because I didn’t bond with my audience, nor create trust in their eyes, or learn about them and how I could be their friend or enhance their influence, the marketing I created to build up my business only pushed my clients further from me and caused them to lash out and post negative posts about me. Social media is about being social.

Being social starts with a “Hi” or “Hello” and morphs into a conversation. That conversation leads to a connection…and that connection leads to friendship…and then who knows…maybe even a sale. But it all starts with being social, not with marketing!

Why do I share this information with you?

I realize that social media has many misconceptions, and you probably have lots of questions. Questions I’d be happy to answer. This is something I do everyday. I’ve been educating clients on how to effectively grow their businesses using trust creation through online services since 2009.

-Rob

P.S. Have you read my two social media books, “Social Media Debunked” and “Share: 27 Ways to Boost Your Social Media Experience, Build Trust And Attract Followers”? If not you can get them at www.amazon.com/author/robertanspach.  If you need help with your trust creation I welcome your call to (412)267-7224