Photo credit: Rick Harrison (Flickr)
“Your uniqueness is your greatest strength, not how well you emulate others” – Simon S. Tam
According to a recent study conducted by Manta, more than 60% of small businesses see no ROI from their social media activities. Venuelabs also reports that 86% of consumer feedback online is being missed by brands big and small.
You may find these numbers surprising, but I don’t. After being involved in social time full time for the last four years, I have seen and heard pretty much everything.
For example: ”I’ll offer a discount to customers in exchange for testimonials on my LinkedIn profile.”
Or: “My 18-year-old niece has a knack for finding awesome pictures of cats and babies. Plus, she is on Twitter and Facebook all day. So, she’ll do a great job with our social media accounts.”
In 2013, too many entrepreneurs and small businesses still do not take social media seriously. More often than not, they just try to cut corners or game the system. Their reason? No time or money.
Success does not happen overnight. It is the result of a solid investment in your vision and brand, hard work, commitment, and patience.
Had I let my small wallet or tight schedule rule my world, I would not be where I am today. And had I listened to the self-proclaimed experts and gurus who flaunt their Klout Score and number of Twitter followers as proofs of success, my audience would certainly not trust me the way they do.
Shortcuts are a myth. However, mediocrity is not.
You are responsible for your own success in social media. Period.
social media success
This article by Cendrine Marrouat is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
