ClickZ: Social Media Properties are Searched for More Often than Sex

E-marketing strategist Dave Evans reports

Well it’s happened: the term "social media" is more sought after than "sex." Wow. That’s what ClickZ is reporting today anyways. ClickZ author Dave Evans writes: "social media properties are searched for more often than sex. Even individually, social networking site Facebook recently surpassed "sex" as a top search term in Google ("YouTube" is still number one)."

Social media here to stay

So what the blazes is going on here? It’s a bit hard to imagine millions of internet users finding more pleasure (pardon the pun) seeking out social media destinations and social networking spots rather than sex online. I found this to a fun read but in the end, all indications point to one undeniable fact: social media is pervasive, mainstream and here to stay. Evans agrees, reporting that this "represents an important milestone for marketers and businesses in general, since it positively establishes that social media is now well on its way to mainstream adoption and use."

Despite constant evidence via surveys, reports and articles detailing the growing, progressive and widely popular social networking, I personally know of some companies, businesses and organizations who adamantly refuse to get aboard the social media train (here’s one of many such stories). They say it’s all a waste of time or you can’t make money from all that social chatting nonsense.

It saddens me to hear this kind of negative attitude towards social networking. As a long-time marketer, never have I seen marketing channels as powerful and as cost-effective as social media networks. It’s hard for me see a small business, who has to make every marketing dollar work twice as hard in comparison to The Big Guns, especially squander off the high-value opportunities in brand building, customer service and thought leadership positioning via social media applications.

The problem is not social media; it’s the e-marketing mindset (or the lack thereof)

The problem with social media detractors is not social media. Rather, social media opponents tend to suffer from a much broader problem: lack of understanding. They simply don’t get it. Look, let’s speak plainly. Is participation in a social media network of any kind time consuming? Yes, it can be but anything worthwhile in business or in life will take some investment of your time. Oh, and that constant misperception about dismissing social networking as a fad for for teeny boppers and college types. Wrong again. A September 25, 2008 Cone agency survey has unveiled the following:

And does socially connecting with folks result in huge increases of sales revenue overnight? Uh…no, it doesn’t. But see, making millions is not typically the immediate goal of social networking. It really all boils down to what you hope to achieve out of your social networking efforts. And I can tell you, most folks don’t start up FaceBook or LinkedIn profiles in hopes of making direct sales with their friends or followers. FaceBook is not an e-commerce platform, last time I checked. Setting up any social media profile is the beginning of a journey where you will initiate and partake in many conversations, establish rapport with others, share information and engage with friends or like-minded individuals in your circles. Click here for some examples of how social media networking using Twitter is being used by many of today’s industries and big brands for ideas.

Communications can flourish into more, but not from the get-go

Now, sometimes communications can lead to opportunities. But before the opportunities surface, you have to sit in your social media seat and reach out, offer insight and helpful tips and position yourself as a resourceful member of the community at large. This has to happen before anything else. And in the social media environment, it’s been my experience that good things come to those who wait, be it in the form of speaking, article writing, business development and other such opportunities that may come your way as a result of your good community standing.

Change your mindset

At the end of the day, social media detractors have to really rethink their marketing mindset. Like all marketing functions, if you see any task, function or effort marketing as an "expenditure" rather than as an investment of your brand, market position and messaging, then of course you’ll think social media networking is a total waste of time.

Is your inaction an implicit endorsement?

As Evans is quick to point out in his book, Social Media: One Hour, "Your customers are already talking about you. The fact that you aren’t participating is your implicit endorsement of whatever it is that they are saying." Ouch. Why would anyone in business, in any kind of business, not want to take a leadership role in their own brand management and brand awareness? If for no other reason, why not use social networking to monitor and manage what is said about your business or your organization? Use social networking to champion your brand, propeling it forward in relevant, targeted discussions and where your presence helps to generate awareness and interest in your organization. As the Cone survey findings indicate, those who patronize your business are expecting you to be active and present in social media circles. Why not rise to the occasion and give it a try?

I practice what I preach

You know, there are countless of fancy social media gurus out there, like the ones that speak at big time panels at OMMA, MarketingProfs and MarketingSherpa-types of events. I am not one of them. What this means, then, is that I am more like you, a "hockey" and "joe six pack" type of marketing person and a farily recent social media convert. All the information I share here is stuff I’ve done or experienced myself. I can relate to some folks who may have been unsure as to how to start networking on social media platforms or with others who really wanted to get socially networked but didn’t know which of the many networks to chose. I remember being overwhelmed and unfamiliar with all the tools, web sites and social media lingo. But in the end, I just kind of dove in and tried it, not certain of what the response or results would be.

Since embarking on all things social media this past year, I’ve been able to connect with people from California and Indiana all the way to Germany and Poland. We share marketing war stories, exchange resources, opinions and information. Slowly but surely, my online reputation has grown to the point where people are now reaching out to me, asking me about how to approach this or that aspect of their marketing program. Through constant effort, I’ve been working on positioning myself as a subject matter expert in all things marketing and PR and I’ve been getting a very good response so far. Subscribers to my e-newsletter have increased by at least 20% in the past three months alone and I’ve made some strategic, key connections with other senior marketers in a variety of industries.

Have all these positive events led me to that pot of millions at the end of the rainbow? Not quite. Still, however, I am working on getting to my own pot of gold every day, investing my time, resources and attention into growing my network while nurturing my existing network. Ultimately, absolutely any marketing effort you embark upon will take some time to produce positive results. Social media networking is no different. I will check back in with more results over time hoping that anyone still on the social media sidelines can feel inspired to rethink their "wallflower" status and, if not dive in 100% into social media networking, perhaps then … dip a toe or two?