1. The Truth About A Look At Why Your Marketing Plans Might Not Need This Trendy Social Network This slideshow is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Please contact the author for additional permissions. All graphics and quotations not created by the author are attributed to their original sources and cited as necessary.

2. There are a lot of marketing gurus out there right now talking about social media. Some of them are quite bright, and know how to use social platforms to reach certain target markets. But a lot of them don’t know what they’re talking about.

3. Social media itself is nothing new. Some marketing professionals even argue that “Word of Mouth” is the original basis for social media in our culture. The hallmarks of social media – sharing, interaction, communication – are no different from having a conversation.

4. Social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and blogs are not remarkable for the information they provide. They’re remarkable for allowing that information to be shared so efficiently.

5. I say all that because it’s important to understand what social media is… …and what it’s not… …to understand why I have reservations about social media marketing.

6. Let’s look at that list describing what social media isn’t about. Social media CAN be about these things… …but understand that they’re a by-product of the medium, not a purpose.

7. When marketers look at any social media platform, they should really think of it in the context of a conversation, because that’s all it is. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the most popular social media options out there.

8. The most popular social network out there right now is Facebook. Facebook has over 600 million active members, 30% of whom are in the US.1 Not all users are real people (there are pages for pets, companies and fictional characters), but most of them are. If you’re considering social media marketing, Facebook is where you need to start. 1Source: Royal Pingdom

9. Youtube doesn’t require registration, but it does track its viewers. Over 2 billion Youtube videos are watched every day.1 Youtube is often the place where viral internet content catches fire. It’s also a commonly-used starting point for searching for information. 1Source: Royal Pingdom

10. There’s not one universal blogging platform. But there are 152 million blogs on the Internet.1 While blogging is waning in popularity, it’s one of the most important and visible forms of social networking beyond Facebook. Popular bloggers are considered often a credible source for product reviews. 1Source: BlogPulse via Royal Pingdom

11. Twitter is a micro-blogging site where users can post updates in 140 characters or less. In 2010, 25 billion tweets were sent by over 175 million users.1 Twitter is a darling of the media and techies But it also has some drawbacks… 1Source: Royal Pingdom

12. According to a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project study, only 8% of American adults who use the Internet use Twitter. Only 2% use the service on a typical day. Even among the 18-29 crowd, only 14% of internet users are Twitter users. Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project

13. Aside from young adults, Twitter is most popular amongst African-American and Latino users, and Urban users. Only 53% of users check the site at least once a week for new content. 21% say they never check the site for updates. This means that Twitter has a very limited reach in terms of marketing. Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project

14. Twitter has an enormous number of fake or fictional accounts. Consider, for the example, the dozens of accounts attributed the Incredible Hulk. Many fake accounts are spoofs of fictional characters, brands or celebrities.

15. Does this mean that Twitter is bad? Not at all. Twitter can be very useful. For example, I use it as a feed to promote my various blog articles. One update to Twitter updates several of my social media profiles.

16. But when you consider how few people are actually tweeting… …or how trivial some of the content is… ...or how difficult the site is for newcomers to navigate… …or how hard it is to follow conversations without special software…

17. …well, let’s just say Twitter’s not where most companies need to invest their marketing resources. With that said… …it’s also not wise to ignore Twitter.

18. If you’re a marketing manager, it’s a good idea to search for your brand periodically. If someone expresses a concern, you can easily contact them via Twitter. Sometimes, you can even answer a new question or fix the problem.

19. It’s also a good idea to have a Twitter account that’s officially tied to your brand. Monitor it with email alerts just in case someone sends you a direct message. This can help you detect potential problems early.

20. But in the end, remember that Twitter is just one corner of a vast conversation that’s going on. And you’ve got to pay attention to as much of it as possible. Fortunately, there are some free tools that make like a lot easier.

21. Free Social Media Monitoring Tools