There are a lot of social media experts out there who claim to know – but so far has anyone nailed it. I sure haven’t. After 5o+ years of television advertising, hundred + years of print advertising do marketers have those mediums figured out? No. If they did there wouldn’t be so much ineffective advertising in traditional media. Social media has been around for a couple of years and there are already rules for effective use? Doubtful. So what if a company has less than 500 followers? I’d rather have 500 followers who care about my brand than have 5,000 who are following me with the hopes of me following them back only to increase their “stature” on Twitter by having a bigger following and could care less about what I am saying. How does someone follow 5,000 people anyway? Not closely is the only thing I can come up with. I could care less about people on Twitter who do nothing but try to sell me ideas and products to gain followers or social media marketing systems. If they want to follow me? Fine. But I have no interest in following them. And if I only have something to say once a day or 10 times a day is my business – for my business. Not because some “rule” says I have to. I’d rather Tweet original thoughts than cruise through the internet pushing out articles like a news service 20x a day. That makes me a robot – not a brand. We don’t need people to do that – technology could do it for us. Just because I send out links to articles in some relevant online pub that makes my marketing effort stronger? Prove it. And not with followers, etc. The only proof I’m looking for is increased sales. And for those people who have written me telling me to limit my brand specific messages about price discounts or new offerings because it’s not the way to use Twitter? Mind your own business and I’ll mind mine. That’s why Twitter has a button to “unfollow” me or anyone else. I respect the ideas identified in this post. And I will try to apply those that seem most appropriate and actionable for my business. But what I’m really waiting for is information and specific research that clearly identifies the best ways to reach and motivate someone to buy via social media. And just because everyone else is doing it isn’t a very good reason. And doing it in a way that everyone else is doing it isn’t a good reason, either.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by twitt3rnews: Is your company effectively using Twitter? – Source: Grade A Entrepreneurs http://ow.ly/162NNA…

I would add that there needs to be research into identifying where the audience congregates… find the appropriate # Hashtags – and observe …