• It's not just about traffic anymore - numbers are easy to manipulate.
• The best SEO in the world can get you 1000s of hits but it won't help your visitors stay.
• For people to buy or invest with you they have to find you AND spend time with you (your brand).
• "Build it and they will come" does not apply in the world of internet marketing.
• Raw hits, etc. don't mean anything unless they stay, buy in, sign up, subscribe, dig in to your content - otherwise it's a bounce - like someone flipping channels.
• It's about conversions - converting someone from a visitor to a follower.
• Friends, followers, subscribers, sign ups are all votes for your brand - an indication of interest.
• Brand equity today is measure by the number of people that are opting in to your brand - how many friends, followers, subscribers, members, sign ups, etc. does your brand have?

Social web design, social media optimization, search engine optimization, social networking, SMO, SEO, SMM, SEM, PR 2.0,etc - Most professions have specialized vocabularies but in the world of  "social media" it's still taking shape.  What's unique about this new language is that it's not just limited to a single profession - it's linked to the way all human beings connected to the internet are now starting to communicate.

As I converse with business leaders trying to make sense of not only the terminology and the technology but how it applies to them and how to harness things like social networking to do good things for their businesses  there is clearly a lot of confusion.  My advice: Adhere to the K.I.S.S. Principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). I could write an extensive diatribe expounding upon the complexities of the new communication landscape and detail ad nauseum the statistics of various social networking platforms but in a world of information overload (especially when it comes to social media) I just want to present one take away.

"Markets Are Conversations" (from The Cluetrain Manifesto, a must read before embarking on any endeavor into the realm of social media.)

It's not about the technology, it's about the people and how you interact with them. If social media marketing seems a little to ephemeral then just try calling it "Conversation Marketing", because that is the essence of what all the above technologies are trying to facilitate.

Our intial forays into consulting for businesses and helping them formulate a social media strategy revealed some interesting things.

1. The "Push Marketing" mentality of the mass media era is hard to let go of.  Old habits really do die hard.

2. The exitement level about implementing all this "new" technology and the brand new, shiny things that come with it is extreme in the beginning, almost addictive - and that's what people fixate on.

3. Once the technology is in place and reality starts to set in about the amount of conscious effort that actually goes into making it work that excitement level begins to fade.  Sales and marketing people (no offense if you're one of the few who "gets it") don't seem too comfortable with conversing (two-way dialogue). They seem to prefer extolling the benefits of their respective product or service.

So before you embark on the journey pick a destination (set goals), get a map (do some research), plot your course (create a strategy), gather your supplies (identify technologies that make sense for your journey), prepare for the journey (educate your staff), get plenty of rest before departing (create a realistic, manageable work flow), and once under way check the map to maintain your course (review metrics used to guage success and make sure they're relevant to your overall strategy).

But most importantly don't forget about the destination (your goals). Everyone will have different goals but if you "get it" (It's all about the conversation) they will  hopefully include some variation of "Creating authentic dialogue with my customers/clients/prospects in order to form trust based relationships".  While the immediate impact on your bottom line may not be evident most people I know ultimately would rather do business with someone they like and trust. And we tend to like and trust people more as we converse with them more.

This is a question I think we fail to ask ourselves often enough.  With all the hard work we put into designing, maintaining, and marketing our online presence it's one we should be asking ourselves every day.  This list is by no means comprehensive and one that will be different for everybody but here are some suggestions to get started.

Why does your business/company have a website?

• To communicate with existing customers/clients/investors.
• As an online brochure to explain what you do.
• To sell products and services.
• To get more clients/customers/investors.
• To keep your existing clients/customers/investors.
• To build trust and credibility with existing clients, customers and investors.
• To build trust and credibility with potential clients, customers and investors.
• To build brand awareness.
• The more somebody knows about your company and the people running it the more they trust your company.
• The more they trust your company the more likely they are to do business/invest with you.

How can my company implement social media?

• The future of marketing is about acting how you want to be perceived rather than talking about it. Social media gives you this possibility by creating experience.
• Create branded content to be distributed across the global social media platforms. Consumers are doing it; well-resourced brands have no excuse.
• Develop widgets, applications, services and platforms that create a genuine consumer benefit and drives engagement. Provide consumers with tools to manage their personal brands online.
• Be inventive in connecting with consumers. Integrate it with offline communications and use social media as link or as a story to communicate.

What are the benefits of implementing a corporate social media strategy?

• Improve reputation of your business.
• Improve brand awareness.
• Drive customers/investor awareness of your business.
• Get your message in front of your target audience faster.