I’ve been using social media for many years and in its most elementary of forms, but mostly it was for personal matters up until about 4 years ago when I began marketing a nonprofit fundraising event using myspace. Since that time, I have been using various forms of social media to promote businesses, including my own, and have observed three major problems with using it as a business marketing tool. 

The problem with using social media for business is….

It is always changing. Just when you think you’ve mastered something, they make changes and you have to start over (see Facebook timeline). You find out you are breaking rules when trying to market your business (i.e. Facebook promotional guidelines and sweepstakes laws).  New social media sites are popping up everywhere (ahem, Pinterest).  And don’t get me started on apps & mobile.

People using social media don’t like to be marketed to. I know what you have heard about social media. Many “experts” will tell you that it is a cost-effective or even free way to market your business. What they don’t tell you is that the people using social media hate it when you self-promote your products and services all of the time. Truth be told, you need to throw out your ideas of traditional marketing when you are using social media as your platform.

It can be a huge timesuck. Ever look at the clock and then glance back in what you feel was a few minutes, only to find you have spent an hour on Facebook? When you go onto a social media platform without a strategy or schedule, you can very easily find yourself swallowed up by the information being exchanged & have no real results to show for it. It is almost like mass ADD. This can be killer to the efficiency of running your business.

Fortunately, there are ways to combat these problems so that you can use social media marketing effectively to reach your goals. I am a strong believer in the concept of “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life.” I want to make sure you are fed for life, but you need to take action. First off, you can follow me. I am always staying on top of new technologies, sites, apps, social media sites, etc. and I will translate the geekspeak into easily digestible tidbits of info you can use to stay ahead of your competition. And secondly, you can reserve your copy of my Butterfly-in-Training: Social Media Edition, which will teach you the un-marketing methods of marketing via social media, how to avoid wasting your time, and how to set your business up on various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google +, & Pinterest.  Book your complimentary 15 minute social media evaluation now at http://tungle.me/heatherlopez & get pointed in the right direction!

Heather Lopez, aka The Social Commerce Mom, specializes in relationship marketing both online and off.  She is the CEO of Heather Lopez Enterprises LLC & the Principal of Heather Lopez Media, where she is responsible for several events, websites, trainings, and services targeting moms and those seeking to market to moms. Heather empowers women to create their own financial freedom through business or blogging so that they may have more time for what they treasure most. She is also a 30-something mom to two rambunctious toddlers and wife to one entrepreneurial-minded husband.  You can connect with Heather @ http://www.HeatherLopezEnterprises.com