1. Social Media seems to be the big buzz right now and it’s no wonder why.

2. Some of the technology and applications that have and continue to be developed are humbling, exciting, and awe inspiring. It seems that the web has changed forever, right before our eyes (wouldn’t be the first time and won’t be the last). Let’s face it – facebook.com and similar social media is what people want and we want it everywhere all of the time! We want it as our home page on our laptops and desktop, as email notifications, integrated into the blogs and websites we visit, on our cell phones etc.

3. At a macro level, the web has always been a social mechanism. Let’s look at a very simplified example. A user interacts with Google and types what they want into the search bar. Your stuff and everyone else’s stuff appear as the results. The user chooses if and how long he/she wants to interact with you. Make sense? If not, let me use the next couple bullet points to demonstrate further.

4. Let’s go back in time to the days of AOL (America Online). Highly interactive social media such as Instant Messaging was popular back in 1997 and still is today. Still don’t get it? Ok, this next one will do the trick.

5. Email is social media. You use email. You certainly don’t email yourself all the time. Of course not, you initiate emails to and respond to emails from your friends or business relationships and all sorts of people that matter to you. Sometimes, the communication is between just you and 1 other person. Other times, 1 email thread is between you and several other people.

6. Ok, I am on a roll here. One more really simple example to drive the point home. You have a cell phone, right? Sure, the features, buttons, ringtones, and all of the “bells and whistles” are valuable to you and your phone is almost as important as your wallet or purse. Does the average user really care about all of the amazing technology that makes cellular telephony possible? Probably not. The core value to us is the ability for us to communicate. Would you buy a cell phone and pay the monthly service fee if your cell phone provider said, “You are not going to be able to talk with or text anyone anymore but we are releasing some new exciting games and calendar features?” No, you wouldn’t. Because, ultimately, using your cell phone as a social technology tool is the only value.

7. Like ‘everyone’ else, I constantly get caught up in the technology value of everything. How could we not? The newest facebook.com features, HD, cell phone integration features, digital camera features, smart phones, coding/development (API) possibilities, touch screen technology, etc.. I love it all! Its fun and part of the ‘buzz’ to use and get caught up in all of the newest interactive gadgets and social media hype, and be part of the digital revolution! But, make no doubt, interactive social media is not just a big party, all “fun and games,” and a lot of “hype.”

8. So, should you as a CEO, CIO, E-Marketing/E-Com Director, Brand Manager, etc., do Social Media? You already are and always have been “doing” social media. Eliminate the “social” elements of any business and it is bound to fail. Imagine a business without email, the web, or cell phones. Imagine a business with sales reps that don’t interact with your customers, call centers that never answer the phone, retail stores without clerks, restaurants without hosts and waiters, e-commerce without a telephone number, SEO, live chat, reviews, etc. Wouldn’t be much of a business, would it?

9. So, how do you do social media in the case of facebook.com, youtube.com, google.com and niche social media sites that relate to your business/products. First, recognize that this is where your customers are and this is where your customers like to spend their time. These environments are not yours and you do not own them, but if your business relies on customers (show me a business that doesn’t) … This is where your customer is. Look at it like this. Home Depot does not put a store in a location where there are no people. Home Depot embeds a store into a meaningful (not necessarily massive) community. Home Depot owns its store, everything in the store and that store’s real estate property. Home depot does not own the street, town, city or state. So, it is universally agreed upon that Home Depot can do whatever it wants (within the context of the law) in its store or on its property. Home Depot can not spray paint its name on town buildings, tear up roads, divert street traffic to its store, or go to the community park and set up product demonstration booths. But, it is a fact that the Home Depot store needs that community and the community needs Home Depot.

10. The web is no different than the Home Depot analogy. You own your .com(s) and can do whatever you want on your property. You ‘own‘ your SPACE on the major social media platforms such as youtube.com and facebook.com. You also might decide to ‘own‘ space on popular niche social media environments. Niche social media environments/communities can be a very powerful means of reaching and socializing with your core customers. Depending on the quantity and quality of total unique visits, number of registered members, diversity, authenticity, member loyalty, and the relevance of the community to your products and services.

Bottom Line: Social media marketing on the web is not really tough to understand. The key word is SOCIAL. Conduct yourself and ensure that all of your employees represent themselves and your business in the same way they would in the off-line world. It is important to actively engage with various online communities for the same reasons that it’s important for your business to be an active and trusted member of various off-line communities. And, the right way to do social media is really nothing more than common sense. Conduct yourself as you would at any off-line party or social gathering that involved you, your business, and the people within the community of which you conduct business. You wouldn’t show up to a social gathering and start handing out business cards, yelling “look at me and my business” with a bull horn or spray paint your business logo on the walls. You wouldn’t sit in a corner and be anti-social. You would engage in the type of conversations that people enjoy. You would listen and talk. You would not pull out a shoe box of photos and show each and every person every single photo. You certainly wouldn’t make fun of someone else’s business or strive to be the loudest, most obnoxious person in the room. First, you would want to know the rules of the party. It would be important to know if it was a free party you were attending with an open bar, or an invite only party with a cover charge at the door and a pay-per-drink bar. Then, even if you were attending the party for business networking purposes, you would act in a casual manner. You would introduce yourself and engage in mutually meaningful conversation. You wouldn’t walk right up to someone, invade their personal space, and start unloading every sales pitch for every product that you sell. Of course you wouldn’t. You would try to make friends and build new relationships. In fact, what you do for work and the products and services you sell, might be considered politically incorrect and socially unacceptable within the early stages of the conversation. You would socialize, mingle, laugh, share stories, listen to stories, ask people questions, and sincerely try to relate to people and find common threads of understanding.  Then, if and when the time was right, you would introduce “work.” And, as is often the case in the off-line world … a new acquantaince or friend could also become a quality life-long customer. You would conduct yourself in a very diplomatic way, not drawing too much attention to yourself but at the same time not being a wall flower. As the old saying goes, “in order to have good friends, you have to be a good friend.” In the case of social media technology and marketing, it’s not all about you, it’s not all about me … it is all about “We.”