Based on some valuable feedback, comments and conversations that stemmed from my previous post, How to talk to your boss about social media, so she’ll approve the budget, I am exploring this topic further. Today’s post is the first of a series that will dig deeper into each bulleted item in my previous post.

boss-social-mediaSo why should you and your organization leverage social media to build your business? Big question. To get closer to an answer, let’s start with how social media differs from more traditional marketing methods such as trade shows, direct mail, print advertising and cold calling.

The difference between social media marketing and traditional media marketing is a bit like the difference between talking with people at a business conference and talking to yourself in the mirror. At the conference you’re going to engage in discussions and gain fresh perspectives from new contacts. The person in the mirror will agree with everything you say, whether you’re right or wrong and whether you have all the facts or not. Very little is gained in the latter exchange. That’s not to say that daily self-affirmations aren’t valuable; Jack Handey and his Deep Thoughts serve a purpose. They simply don’t accomplish the same things as conversations with other people do.

The recent social media boom has changed the way people seek and consume information in a huge way. Yesterday, my business partner, Al Krueger, and I hosted Brian Halligan and Mike Volpe of Hubspot on the Comet Branding Radio Show.

Those guys really know their stuff and shared a lot of insights into the many benefits of what they call Inbound Marketing, or marketing tactics that focus on helping companies get found on the Internet by their target customers and convert those leads to sales. AS they explain it, inbound marketing takes place largely through search engines, social media and the blogosphere.

Some of the insights the Hubspot guys shared make a very compelling argument for social media. My jaw nearly hit the floor when they shared that inbound marketing strategies were shown to result in a 61% lower cost per lead than outbound (or traditional media) marketing. Talk about an ROI argument! Your boss is gonna eat it up!

People of all ages are turning to Web-based resources to gather information relevant to virtually every aspect of their lives. The Internet is also changing how people interact with each other and with the products and services they want and need. It only makes sense that you get into the game.

I’m not delusional. I’m painfully aware that convincing senior management to approve your plan is not always going to be easy. But to get you started, here is a list of strategic reasons why you should include social media in your marketing mix. You’ll help your case a bit if you do your homework and compile some supporting materials and examples of each of the following as they pertain to your company and your industry.

1. Social media is very measurable. Even more so than some traditional media marketing. So much so that it’s possible to adjust and improve upon your approach based on nearly real-time response rates. And many interactions can be tracked all the way from initial touchpoint to close of a sale. It doesn’t get any better than that.

2. Social media is flexible and customizable. Your brand can take on as many customer touchpoints as your company is able to manage effectively. Social media is useful for multiple people within an organization, not just marketing and PR. Product managers, customer service, senior executives and junior staff can all play a strategic part.

3. It’s possible to deploy many social media-based strategies for *less money and better results (*Hubspot) than traditional media strategies.

4. Social media allows you to expand your customer base and establish deeper connections with your existing customers, increasing loyalty and building an army of brand ambassadors. This is accomplished through the use of personality and storytelling in lieu of hard-selling and one-way information pushes.

5. Your competition may already be using social media, shaping the industry discussion or possibly even telling your story for you- in a way you would not necessarily appreciate.

6. Your employees are already using social media, maybe even on your behalf, without your oversight or knowledge. It is possible to leverage their knowledge, their personal and professional networks and their savvy to increase your company’s reach in a positive way. Just ask any Zappos.com employee. Nuff said.

7. Your customers are definitely online and many are actively using social media, searching for information and support. They need someone to give it to them. Add value to their search, and they’ll become advocates, not just customers.

We believe that people prefer to interact with other people, rather than with faceless brands and companies. True, a strong brand can offer the promise of certain human traits or aspirations, attributed to the brand by both advocates and critics. But only a select few brands have been successful at establishing a sustainable, personal connection with their audiences. Social media makes this possible in ways other media forms only wish they could. You just have to be ready to share your brand’s story in an engaging way and listen + respond to what people have to say about it.

In an upcoming post, I’ll explore some of the questions you can ask of yourself and your organization to determine whether you’re really ready to take on social media as well as the steps to take to prepare for the best possible outcomes. Stay tuned.