Why EVERY Business Needs Social Marketing

A business needs to look at social media not as a social site but as a "social marketing" site. A business cannot succeed without marketing. Social media is a free marketing tool.......free is good!

Written Oct 21, 2011, read 4046 times since then.

A business should look at social media not as a social site but a "social marketing" site. A business cannot succeed without marketing. Social media is a free marketing tool.......free is good!

There are a lot of different opinions whether a business should get into social media or encourage their employees to do so. Social media has received a bad rap in business because many employees have gotten in trouble with their jobs, even losing them in some cases over comments made on a social media site. A business should take a new look at social media to use as what I call "Social Marketing". Technology has created a brave new world and like it not your customers use and read social media. It can open up a whole new world to your business whether that world is a local brick and mortar business or internet based business.

Social Marketing gets your name out there globally and locally. Most social media sites are free. Why wouldn't you use them? I have read many articles where they say "Don't use social media if you don't update them". There are ways to update all your social marketing sites at one time. There is no reason with today's technology that social marketing on 20 sites or more will take over 10 minutes a week to accomplish. I do this every week in 5 minutes to 23 sites. That is time well spent for the potential in sales it could generate. Just name recognition alone is reason enough.

Encourage your employees to embrace it. If your business is not currently using all avenues of social media to market, you are losing business. Here are some tips for bringing your business into the world of social marketing.

Get your business out there on as many pertinent social media sites as possible. Encourage your employees to do so as well. An example of this was a bank we did a seminar for. Social marketing could be used by the local branch managers to let customers know about any specials or offers the bank might be running. They needed a social network to do so. The president of that bank encouraged all his management team to setup a work related social marketing account. They are currently working on a plan to implement social marketing into their overall marketing plan.
Keep your personal social media just that, PRIVATE and PERSONAL. Do not mix your personal media with your social marketing business. They must be separate accounts. I quit doing business with a particular business person in my area because of comments made on his facebook page. He needed to keep business and personal sites separate.
Use the social media to advertise specials. Such as, use your Twitter account to tweet about a promotion or special discount you may be offering. Don't put up useless babble, offer the customer something. A free gift for stopping in (make sure you ask where they saw it) or an internet discount on a particular product.
Track where your customers come from. Ask when they call or email. We get a lot of inquires and business now from our social marketing sites. We have only touched the tip of the social media iceburg.
If you have a good location, advertise you are on social media on windows or signs. A driveby, or walkin customer can now become a new sale after they visit your Facebook or Merchant Circle account. I do this all the time. I don't have time to stop in every business I want to, but I usually do have time to check them out online.
A few sites to use for social marketing:

Biznik
Twitter
LinkedIN
Facebook
Merchant Circle (great for local brick and mortar business)
Yellowbook Pages (a must for all business)

These are just a few of the many free sites to market your business using social media. There are countless blogs to subscribe to as well to let the world or your small world know you are out there. Social marketing is a grand slam for business.

Learn more about the author, Julie Cole.

Posted by Harmony Coburn, Vancouver, Washington | Oct 25, 2011

Julie, this article is well written and offers very good points about using social "marketing" instead of wasting time on just the social part. I also agree that one should keep personal and business completely separate. However, I caution that these sites are not "free" - even though they don't charge for access they cost us time and if not used properly they can cost us business. These sites use software to "read" what you post and deliver advertising to the people reading it based on that content. I caution all of my clients to use social media but deliver the meat of their content on their own websites and link back to it from their social media sites. If you want to interact with your visitors do it on your own website as much as possible. Otherwise you are just building a platform for your competitors to advertise on.

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Posted by Julie Cole, Jefferson, Ohio | Oct 26, 2011

Harmony- I agree completely. All social sites are there to make money , just like us.
Posted by Steve Kozy, Nashville, Tennessee | Oct 26, 2011

Hi Julie,

Well written article. I like your statement about "Do not mix your personal media with your social marketing business. They must be separate accounts." This is something so many individuals forget, and I believe it turns people away from their business site.

Steve

Steve Kozy, The Software Knowledge Co, Inc.
Posted by Michael Hartzell, Seattle, Washington | Oct 27, 2011

EVERY Business does not Need Social Marketing. There are many businesses getting it done with no problem without social marketing.

This is not true: If your business is not currently using all avenues of social media to market, you are losing business.

Social media tools for a business are not free.

As a business owner: investing in training, developing policies and keeping up with the ever fluctuating changes in the online software costs money.

Keep your personal and private social media separate? Not so fast. Case by case. Too personal can be risky but there are some who are eloquent and others who are annoying. It is not based on the private/personal. It is the person sharing who has bad judgement.

Your statements are bold and your passion is obvious. Both are excellent to see.

Certainly there are people using tools other than a telephone and email to connect. Absolutely it is helpful to be aware of the opportunities.

Take each business case by case before deciding which tactics / strategies to follow. Social marketing may not be the best investment and use of resources.

Google: Twitter Infographic Shows Twitter Daily Trends - Read the top post for a few more thoughts.

Thank you for your commitment and drive. Love it. Social media is certainly a piece of the puzzle for inbound marketing. Can't say that it is necessary though for every business to be successful.

Guerrilla Marketing Ideas that Rock!
Posted by Kelley St. Germain, West Jefferson, North Carolina | Oct 27, 2011

Enjoyed the article!

You mention that "There are ways to update all your social marketing sites at one time."

What are the ways you use or recommend for doing this?

Thanks!
Posted by Marc Gordon, Toronto, Ontario Canada | Oct 27, 2011

I hope you know more about selling rubber mulch than you do about social media marketing.

Your broad statements are a key reason why so many business owners are experiencing stress and social media fatigue as a result of too much time tweeting, updating their Facebook pages, and making blog entries – while seeing no measurable increase in sales.

And as Michael Hartzell so clearly points out, social media is not free. The cost is time, which for many business owners can be measured in dollars and cents. Something you seem to not understand.

As for your own company, maybe you should take some of your own advice, as there are no social media links anywhere. Not to mention your site looks like it was done in 1998 in MS Word. Perhaps you don't really believe “EVERY business needs social marketing”.

As for the term “social marketing”, nice try taking credit for that. I coined the term in March 2010 in my article “Why no business should be involved in social media”, which went on to become the number one read article in the history of Biznik. Maybe you should read it before throwing out ignorant advice.

http://biznik.com/articles/why-no-business-should-be-involved-in-online-social-networking

Professional Speaker and Marketing Expert
Posted by Nando Caban-Mendez, Austin, Texas | Oct 27, 2011

I agree with a balanced approach to marketing that includes social media marketing in the mix. The key word being "balanced".
Posted by Annastacia Tooke, Gastonia, North Carolina | Oct 27, 2011

I still firmly believe that if you want to grow your business beyond the current generation of boomers and GenX then you must embrace social media networking. The younger generations are completely wired in and connected, it is much more of a global market and world than it was when I was coming out of university.
Posted by Daniel Wagoner, Seattle, Washington | Oct 27, 2011

Every business is different. It is all about planning a manageable marketing strategy that is the most effective, and continually re-evaluating progress. Determining what is and isn't working, and what has the greatest return on time and money invested.

It is smart to keep trying different things and see what works.
Posted by Cari Barron, Edmonds, Washington | Oct 27, 2011

Maybe I'm missing the mark here, but do you have an option with Facebook to keep your personal content separate from business? I have avoided marketing very much via Facebook for that very reason as I prefer to keep personal and business separate. Anyone? I too would also be interested in hearing how you update all your social marketing sites at the same time.
Posted by Harmony Coburn, Vancouver, Washington | Oct 27, 2011

For those wondering about auto posting to FB, Twitter etc. There are tools where you can set up an RSS feed that posts to those sites from your blog/website. However, be forwarned that auto posts to your Facebook Page no longer get listed in the activity stream of your fans - just on the page itself. In order for your FB page posts to get noticed by your fans you need to physically post to your fan page. However, if you google "show my FB posts on my linked (or twitter) profile you should find some answers. There are many ways to do it which is why I'm not giving you specifics here.

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Posted by Kim Tucker, Santa Clara, California | Oct 27, 2011

Great article, very well written. I told a group of business owners I was speaking to a while back that if they didn't get on board with Social Networking they were going to become like the dinosaurs "extinct". The group ask me to come in because they have people in their group that still don't have a web presence. That amazes me but some people just think what they've been doing for 20 or 30 years has worked up till now and they don't want to change. It's free take advantage of it.
Posted by Annastacia Tooke, Gastonia, North Carolina | Oct 27, 2011

@cari you can create a business page on FB which doesn't share your personal information, it is just for your business.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

http://www.facebook.com/help/pages

I used to use Tweetdeck, and find it useful if you are doing a lot of posting on different pages at the same time. However Twitter and other sites, I believe, have created their own apps to allow you to post on facebook or elsewhere.

Harmony I am not sure that is true about pages posting via twitter and not showing up in feeds. I have a lot of pages I have liked and I see their tweets on FB all the time. I believe it may have more to do with how active your page is, I am sure there is some really random math behind it.
Posted by kevin kemper, phoenix, Arizona | Oct 27, 2011

in the last 2 mo, this topic has been discussed till we are almost blue in the face...........These are the facts, from a professor of business [me]" Social networking, like PCs in the 70's, is a medium process in its early bell curve life. IT was designed as a morphing animal; to let the users decide how to use it. Most of them used and still do use it for international info sharing about political events, esp Iran where a government "complaint" was underway. Then, it was used in the middle east concurrent with jimmy and jane sharing pictures and events around home in the US. Linked In, BizNik and others have tried to say "this is a sure way of getting the word out to gain more customers." IT is not. It is a way to maybe get an audience but it is daily morphing. We pioneer users are told to attend webinars to learn more about it. Unnecessary. Formal advertising in marketing is a mature industry with statistics to show how $1. 00 can get x dollars return in y periods of time. SN cannot do that YET because it has not advanced enough to assure business users of its value. Linked IN was not designed strictly for business. BizNik hopefully was. But factually, most businesses do not use it SUCCESSFULLY yet because it is an untested [for business] medium. This writer has had a Twitter, Facebook and other accoutns. He has a LI and obviously a Biznik account and he has not had, in 2-3 yrs of use, ONE person interested in his services as a direct result of SN postings. In surveys with others on SN sites, MOST of the posters have had similar negative results. That does not make SN a failure, but instead, it is a baby. IT offers only growth and morphing approaches. Like others have said, to EMBRACE SN is --as of now--absurd--for businesses. Maybe tomorrow. Some of you claim to be SN experts. I challenge you: Work, on a no fee basis, with several small businesses like mine, and MAKE IT WORK FOR US.
Posted by Cari Barron, Edmonds, Washington | Oct 27, 2011

Thank you Annastacia for the helpful feedback. I will look into it further. And thank you Julie for your article. I thought it was informative and certainly started some good dialogue between fellow Bizniker's! Wish some were a bit kinder with their criticisms.
Posted by Mark Mancino, Holmdel, New Jersey | Oct 27, 2011

Thanks for your post. I was totally against social media until a few weeks ago. Social Media has greatly increased my ability to network and communicate with like minded businesses and colleagues. Although it hasn't driven the sales, I'm more interested in connecting with specialists and experts in my field. So far so good as I've been meeting some great minds and ideas from all over the world! It is truly social. - Mark Mancino
Posted by Harmony Coburn, Vancouver, Washington | Oct 27, 2011

@Mark - that's all it's about - not really any different than attending the local chamber functions - just a larger reach. Nice to see you "get it".

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Posted by Sherry Holub, Roseburg, Oregon | Oct 27, 2011

Every business? So a mortuary should be on social media? How about a septic system cleaner? Surly people will want to become "fans" of those businesses.

Also, automated social media is not actually engaging with your potential customers (for businesses where it actually makes sense to do social media in the first place that is).

I could go on, but I'm limiting my time for social commentary (because time is money - and as someone else already pointed out, spending time on social marketing isn't exactly "free").
Posted by Kimberly LeRiche, Cornelius, Oregon | Oct 27, 2011

Interesting comments for this one especially from those who apparently think they are the experts in all things related to using social networks as a business. I guess the one thing I learned is Mark Gordon apparently was the guru and expert behind coining the term "social marketing." Who knew? As a "professional" speaker though, I'd imagine he could have been just as constructive in his criticism with less snark to make his points.

Participating on social networks should never be about marketing but looked as an opportunity to connect and engage.
Posted by kevin kemper, phoenix, Arizona | Oct 27, 2011

Kimberly: YOU have it BACKWARDS. This web site where we are chatting IS NOT Facebook, it is not TWITTER, it is Biznik. IT I S about how to grow one's company. IT is not about how to meet others and be well liked. IT is not about how to share with others your love of sports, kids, dogs, or football--it IS about growing business profits. I have offered several points about what RESEARCH shows SN is and is not.

--as an example.......would you like me to invite everyone in your city to visit your store for a social event? NO food but meeting to share info on their lives, kids, sports, jobs, etc?
OR would you prefer those who came to your shop to be at least slightly interested in buying your goods or services?
---i have never been to a "mixer." I don't want to go to one any time soon. I do however, want to be the #! small biz adviser in my state and maybe the nation. If I need to hold chats on every SN system there is, i will quickly lose focus. And not one person yet has offered to run my SN dept! NOT ONE.
Posted by Annastacia Tooke, Gastonia, North Carolina | Oct 27, 2011

Sherry why shouldn't a mortuary or funeral home use social media? If they are publishing obituaries on their website they could also be broadcasting those on Facebook for people. I know there are a lot of people who are always keeping up with life stories through obituaries and make sure if they know someone who has passed that they observe the social etiquette of sending a condolence to the family as is proper. Why shouldn't a septic company have a social networking presence? They could answer questions for customers or potential customers perhaps prevent costly accidents - which would gain loyalty with the customer base. The great thing about Social Media is I think it can expand a company's customer service by creating a stream of questions asked and answered, questions that other customers might also ask or seek an answer for. It is how you use the tools that counts.
Posted by kevin kemper, phoenix, Arizona | Oct 27, 2011

Annastacia Tooke,...."it is how you use it that counts."

REALLY!! PROVE it, please. SN is not yet a true biz tool BECAUSE there is no specific tracking tool for it. At least, we biz consultants claim so. Please prove me wrong. Show me a direct relationship between time investment and SN skills and NEW profits.
Posted by Harmony Coburn, Vancouver, Washington | Oct 27, 2011

@Kevin http://ducktaleskitchen.com - catering business has increased 300% since the owner has started "engaging" on FB. Feel free to contact the owner and ask if he things social networking has improved his revenues.

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Posted by Annastacia Tooke, Gastonia, North Carolina | Oct 27, 2011

Why does there need to be a specific tracking tool? Honestly I feel that if I am communicating with customers then it is working. Social Networking will probably never be something linear that can be tracked quantitatively . It is going to be more dynamic. It is about relationships and getting the word out. As our generation ages out the and the next generations take over companies need to be plugged in and it can't be late in the game either.

My favorite example is Time Warner Cable - i don't work for them and honestly wish I had another option. In the past they have been notorious for having horrible customer service. When you call to report an outage you can sit on hold for what seems like hours. In the past 2 years they created a twitter account for help and their response is immediate http://twitter.com/#!/TWCableHelp I have used it to ask why my TV service was out as that is the only thing directly on the Time Warner servers, my ISP is elsewhere. Outages happen a lot (the reason I wish we had another viable option) and it is annoying. But having that twitter access has improved their response to issues. Plus whoever is working the account is very customer service oriented and isn't being snarky or rude - which I know can be an issue with call centers. My faith in TW Cable is a bit stronger because of their response to social networking.

I also see a lot of musicians using social media to announce their projects, cds, shows etc...but then most musicians are younger. Maybe I should invite some of them to join so they can talk to you about profits through social networking.

but if you don't' want to be plugged in for the next generation and your business is only focused on getting you through life then by all means don't use it. It is up to you.
Posted by Nando Caban-Mendez, Austin, Texas | Oct 27, 2011

What is the ROI of networking (the old-school, physical networking)? It's hard to measure because it's based on human interactions, which are way more complex that posting an ad on the yellow pages and waiting for a reply. Yes, this is all new, and we're all just starting to figure it out. Is that a reason not to use it? not to recommend a business to use it?
Posted by Annastacia Tooke, Gastonia, North Carolina | Oct 27, 2011

Excellent point Nando.
Posted by Sherry Holub, Roseburg, Oregon | Oct 27, 2011

@Annastacia (and others) How are you driving people to your Facebook ... or Twitter ... or any of the other myriad of sites that are now part of social media? How much time and effort is spent marketing the marketing? Especially if you are a business where, in my opinion, you're misappropriating your social marketing time by automating one-way blurbs out to these networks.

Much like a company website, just because it exists people do not flock to it. And with sketchy (at best) ROI, there are a number of better ways for a lot of companies to make better use of their marketing time and dollars.

I stand by my statement that not EVERY business needs to be involved with social media. I also stand by the fact that if a business who does market through these avenues is not fully engaged - that is, they are not present for two-way conversations - then it's a waste of time. It's like showing up to an in-person networking meeting with a business card around your neck and not responding to anyone who even says hello to you. There are plenty of better methods for broadcast (push) marketing, that are more likely to get your business seen than the company Facebook page you hastily put up because someone told you that it's the hot new thing that everyone's doing and you have all of 3 LIKES on it.
Posted by kevin kemper, phoenix, Arizona | Oct 27, 2011

Mando: and all of you who swear by SN "its all about networking." I am presuming that you do not care about business profits. IF so, why are you here at Biznik instead of being a shill for Facebook? --biz MUST have scientific tools to ID sales and their hoped-for net profits. IF we could wait for SN to bring us $, we would be all over it. I will contact check. Until then, to make you SN users happy, let's quit calling this BizNik and let's call it social networking that might lead to business. IF you ran a biz with the idea "maybe this will work, maybe that will work"---your landlord[c] will not be patient with you. --those things not quantifyible will not put specific $ into your pocket. IF you DON"T care, great. I do.
Posted by Annastacia Tooke, Gastonia, North Carolina | Oct 27, 2011

I personally spend very little time "marketing" I spend a great deal of time "networking" there is a difference. I develop relationships with my customers and they trust me because of the knowledge I have demonstrated. They also see my response time to questions and requests, since my business is Administrative in nature this is key.

Kevin I am guessing you don't go to face to face networking events either because their ROI can't be factored into money being brought into the business.
Posted by Harmony Coburn, Vancouver, Washington | Oct 27, 2011

@Sherry, I discourage my clients from "driving their customers to their social media sites". In fact I STRONGLY discourage it. What I encourage is that they leverage the fact that customers are already on those sites and use their presence on those social sites to drive their customers back to a more personal interaction. For example, we do not put "follow me on FB" links on our websites, but we do make it easy for a website visitor to share a link to our site on their facebook page. For the restaurant, we post a link to our daily specials on their facebook page because 217 people watch for it there and then they "like" it and all of their friends see it as well - but they come to our website to get the nitty gritty details. For the ones that are not on facebook they can get our daily specials via an email.

I do not want FB or Twitter to own my relationships - but I am happy to find new relationships via those avenues and then grow those relationships on my own terms. It's no different than going to a networking function where I exchange a business card with someone. That in and of itself is pointless, but when we make an appointment to meet outside of that environment the real relationship begins. @Kevin, social networking is a tool not an answer. Personally I wish it had never come into existence - but it is here and will stay here in one form or another so I am using it to win my share of that market. We live in a world of followers, someone has to lead.

Search Engine Optimization | Website Design
Posted by Michael Hartzell, Seattle, Washington | Oct 27, 2011

Never forget, the phone can also be a social media tool.

The purpose of it's use depends entirely on the user.

How it is used can't be judged by another.

Social media tools can help. They are tools. In the right hands, more happens. In the wrong hands, the social media tools fail.

Guerrilla Marketing Ideas that Rock!
Posted by kevin kemper, phoenix, Arizona | Oct 27, 2011

ms TOOKA; perhaps a surprise but the definition of marketing is :all the activities involved in getting your message out. Thus, SN is part of marketing. And we consultants and professors are non-plussed at the non conversion capability of time spent in SN to gross sales/net profits. ---again, if you want to SN, go to ball games where you will meet [albeit briefly] the most number of people in the shortest period of time. of the 400,000 subscribers to Llnked In, and even running 4 groups, I have yet to convert one person to a sale. And for the 16th time, i invite any one claiming to be experienced in SN to RUN my SN dept............[6 BIznik subscribers claim to be SN experts but so far, none haVe offered to run mine.
Posted by Harmony Coburn, Vancouver, Washington | Oct 27, 2011

@Kevin. We are all professionals running small businesses. We are not volunteers. Why do you feel it is appropriate to ask someone to offer their services to you for free? Do you offer your services for free? Perhaps you are not converting people to a sale because marketing and sales are not your strengths? It sounds to me that you are more comfortable crunching numbers and analyzing things. We cannot be all things to all people. Any basic entrepreneur training teaches that the most successful business people know their weaknesses and hire or partner with people who can fill those voids. Maybe you need to hire someone who enjoys networking (online or in person) and knows how to convert an introduction into a sale.

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Posted by Julie Cole, Jefferson, Ohio | Oct 28, 2011

Well it looks like the article generated just what I had expected it to do. Business people exchanging ideas on a social network for small business. This is what I thought this venue was for but some people don't seem to get that idea.

First let me thank those that understand what was being said, not as an expert but as a business person who finds that this works and wanted to share that. I believe there is not a single business I can think of that couldn't use this free media forum. Maybe you can't afford 5 minutes a week and you think you need a staff person to run your SN dept. Really a small business that needs a department for SN? You have to decide with your own business to get on the bandwagon or not. If not, leave it for your competitors to waste their time on. Taking 5 minutes a week on just one social media to get your feet wet, if you can't afford that you are in trouble already. Those who had questions on what site I use to do to multiple posts please private message me. Harmony and Annastacia you seem to have the right idea on how to use social media to your businesses needs. I use social media differently,tailored to my business needs.I also don't use social media on my website. I use social media to drive people there. I don't want them to leave once they get there.

Marc, you really are special. You blasted me personally and professionally. Cudo's to you for your great communicating skills and using this forum to do it. I can clearly see you have no interest in actually helping another business person. I never said I coined "your" word. Let's just hope when "your" word takes hold and makes it into Websters, you get the credit. As for my website. I generate a million dollars in sales from that worthless website. I will ponder your criticsim of my website while on my way to the bank. For the unbelievers out there, just don't do it! Let your competitors.
Posted by Nando Caban-Mendez, Austin, Texas | Oct 28, 2011

Kudos, Julie, not only did you write a thought-provoking article but also demonstrate profesionalism in the face or rather blunt criticism. Should your company decide to revise your website, I'll be happy to help with a free consultation.
Posted by Harmony Coburn, Vancouver, Washington | Oct 28, 2011

Well said Julie!!!

Search Engine Optimization | Website Design
Posted by Julie Cole, Jefferson, Ohio | Oct 28, 2011

Harmony- Thank you. Contact me about where to do all your posts at once.
Posted by Julie Cole, Jefferson, Ohio | Oct 28, 2011

Nando- Thank you. That is what this site is about. I understand my site is not the best one out there, it just works. We are usually in the top 5 on Google and Yahoo under our key work in the natural listings. A priceless thing in an internet business, but I would love for it to work better.Sometimes it will fall to #8 and that is not acceptable to me. I have been in the market for sometime to see what I can do without jeopardizing the natural listing we have earned.
Posted by Sabrina Siracusa, San Diego, California | Oct 28, 2011

Great article! I have Tweeted it forward. The irony! :)
Posted by Nando Caban-Mendez, Austin, Texas | Oct 28, 2011

Whoa, "top 5 on Google and Yahoo under our key work in the natural listings" is really good. No reason a re-model would hurt that, but I understand the hesitation to "fix" something that's not quite "broken".
Posted by Nancy Meadows, Kirkland, Washington | Oct 28, 2011

Julie, thank you for your article. I think most people understand that social media is not expected to bring direct sales, but serve as another way to "put us out there." Hopefully, we engage people enough to visit our websites.

Marc, you were just plain rude and offensive. What you wrote appeared more like an attack on Julie and that's not right, even if you disagree. Shame on you.

Kevin, you seem to pop up on any article having to do with social media. By now, we understand you're not a fan, so why not move on. You're not changing anyone's mind. I also have to wonder, if time is money, how are you finding the time to keep giving us your opinion?

Again, thanks Julie. I appreciate your sharing.

www.nancymeadowsdesigns.com
Posted by Julie Cole, Jefferson, Ohio | Oct 29, 2011

Thank you to all for the comments good and bad (even you Marc :) It is always good to get a fresh pair of eyes on one anothers business. I have visited some of your great websites and met some people that have offered to help me where I need it and possibly generate some sales for themselves as well . Now that is good interaction on a social business network like Biznik. Thanks all.
Posted by Alex James, Los Angeles, California | Nov 11, 2011

It is true that social media is important for all businesses. But how you engage it is ever so crucial. Don't just jump in right away because everyone is doing it. Take the time to learn what works and what does not. Make sure you have a clear plan and that your voice stays authentic. People hate pushy sells marketing. Build relationships first and add value.

Alex