December 22nd, 2008
by Lorrie Thomas
Social Media Overwhelm Can Hurt Your Marketing Strategy
A shiny new year is in our future. As we try to get through the stress of the holidays, it’s also important to try to let go of unhealthy marketing habits to be calm, clear and focused for the new year…
One common diagnosis we are seeing pop up in droves is SOCIAL MEDIA OVERWHELM.
Social Media Overwhelm is when you see all the tempting accessories (see image icon overload left) that you can try, then get overwhelmed (where do I start? How do I have time for all this stuff?), then all social media marketing stops altogether. Shoot, I get dizzy looking at the icons in this blog post and I live, eat and breathe this stuff!
You gotta pull yourself together in time for the new year so you tap the power of social media marketing w/o getting Social Media stunned…it’s all a little ADD-esque if you ask me! Yes, there are a lot of great social media options out there, but before you run screaming off the ledge, here is a healthy dose of web marketing therapy to help you get underwhelmed with all the social media marketing options out there.
How to avoid Social Media Overwhelm and Use the Power of Social Media to Win BIG:
1. Go back to marketing 101 - who is your target market, what is your marketing strategy? I personally love FriendFeed, and I recommend it to some of my solo-entrepreneur clients who mix their personal and professional passions, but I wouldn’t suggest it to a business to business (B2B) client. You have to THINK FIRST BEFORE YOU DRINK THE SOCIAL MEDIA KOOL-AID. Ask youself if a particular social media outlet will help you reach your current and prospective customers so you can connect and serve them better, if not, move on!
2. Use social media streamlining tools like HelloTxt so you can do one message and hit ALL your social media set-ups.
3. Prioritize. Put your energy where it counts. If Facebook work equals more friend bombardment than client connection, BREAK UP WITH IT AND SEE OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA. Put your energy where it counts. All marketing has to be tested, optimized and re-evaluated. Respect your time and put your energy where it counts.
4. Be ready to commit to social media. It does take work, I’m not going to deny that. Think of social media marketing as a lifestyle. Just like exercise and eating right, you want to engage in social media as part of your marketing mix…add it to your routine and it will become part of your routine.
5. Use social media marketing to give your existing work legs. So many marketing patients don’t realize how connected all the web marketing tools are (that IS why we call it the world-wide-web you know!). You do email blasts, that same content can also live on your site. You do a great educational blog post, then that can get messaged out to your readers via tools like twitter. When marketers look at all the web marketing options as separate, unconnected tools, you better believe that overwhelm will hit!! Use all your web marketing in unison for web marketing maximization!
Social Media can be an amazingly valuable marketing tool…if you keep your mind in a place of calm, quiet focus and invest in tools that matter and support one another.
Here’s to a great new year, I think social media marketing will end up on your New Year’s Resolution List 
Web Marketing Therapy Related Links:
- Streamline your Social Media Marketing - Get Hellotxt
- Use Social Media to Store Your Business Card Contacts
- Social Media Networking: What Does Ashton Kutcher’s Twitter-Triumph Over CNN Mean For Your Business?
- Social Media Experiment: Will Social Media Make You Thin?!
Categories: Blog Babe Tips, Free Therapy Advice, Marketing Interventions, Obsessions, On the Couch, Small Business, Social Media, Technologies, Tough Love, Web Marketing Best Practices, Web Marketing Tips
Tags: friendfeed, healthy web marketing, hellotxt, marketing intervention, Social Media, social media overwhelm, social media tips, twitter
Web Marketing Therapy » Blog Archive » The Marketing Therapist on BEST Business Radio
(March 24th, 2009 at 6:37 pm)
[...] a weblebrity, how to use the web to boost your business, how to use Facebook, Twitter, deal with Social Media Overwhelm and [...]
Tom
(March 25th, 2009 at 5:41 pm)
Lorrie,
A great post, very wise and witty - which I just shared with Peter Young, instructor of our evening 2.0 class!
Best to you! Tom
Lorrie Thomas
(March 25th, 2009 at 5:54 pm)
thanks Tom!!! I;m so glad you are reading the Wild Web Woman blog!! I hope Peter Young shares this with his class!
Web Marketing Therapy » Blog Archive » Web Marketing Confession Session: I abandoned my blog :(
(June 8th, 2009 at 5:43 pm)
[...] the pros can fall victim to social media overwhelm. I have been traveling, teaching, speaking, running the agency, dealing with random external life [...]