Introduction

Why Write This?

When the first edition of The Zen of Social Media Marketing came out in April 2010, I was truly humbled by the amazing response we received. Readers from every walk of life and every corner of the world sent me their stories, their challenges, and their questions. Two years later, I knew the vast world of social media had changed enough to require an updated guide. Although the principles of online marketing and social media remain unchanged, new platforms, opportunities, and tools have emerged that make marketing online more efficient and easier than ever.

Social media is now an integral part of everyday life. Yet many continue to struggle with it.

A while back, I realized the main reason people are struggling with social media marketing: they are going against the natural order of things! The traditional marketing rules cannot be applied to social media because social media is not a marketer’s platform. It belongs to consumers.

For the longest time, marketing consisted of putting out a message about a business or product that was controlled strictly by the business itself. Think about a square peg. The square peg represents the traditional marketing message. Now, imagine square holes. Each hole is a traditional marketing medium—print, radio, and television. The square peg fits the square hole perfectly.

However, here comes social media: multiple online mediums all controlled by the people participating within them—people who are busy having conversations, sharing resources, and forming their own communities. Social media is full of constant activity controlled by no one individual in particular. Unlike radio, television, and print, it isn’t passive—users don’t just receive content; they create it, too. Social media is a circular hole. Yet most marketers are still using a square peg. They are working against the grain. And they’re finding themselves thoroughly stumped and no better off than they were when they started on their journey.

I wanted something I could hand to these frustrated folks, something that could help social media make sense to them. I wanted something that would finally help marketers (and make no mistake—we are all marketers) understand how to utilize social media marketing concepts in a practical and efficient manner. I wanted to help them find the circular peg to fit the circular hole.

I wanted to show them the Zen of social media marketing. Once you truly understand how social media functions, marketing using social media channels becomes effortless.

The Zen of What?

Yes, I know. Spending hours on social media sites only to be disappointed by a zero return on your investment doesn’t put you in a Zen-like state. But that happens only if you are doing it wrong! If you go with the flow, you can rake in the profits and have fun. Imagine that!

The Zen of Social Media Marketing is about understanding the mind-set of people who are using social media and then using it to your advantage.

Do you remember the famous scene from The Matrix where Neo bends the spoon? It went like this:

Spoon boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead . . . only try to realize the truth.

Neo: What truth?

Spoon boy: There is no spoon.

Neo: There is no spoon?

Spoon boy: Then you’ll see that it is not the spoon that bends; it is only yourself.

Social media is like that spoon. If you try to bend it, it won’t bend. If, instead, you bend—if you alter your own attitude and how you market—you win. Have you ever wondered how some people rack up friends and followers, cultivate fans, and just seem to be everywhere at once? These people are true Zen marketers. They may not even realize they’re doing anything special; they just go with the flow. They make it look effortless because so much of it is effortless.

Now, if you are thinking this book is just going to tell you to breathe deeply and use the force, think again. Like every good Zen master, you need some tools in your arsenal. In the following pages, I will share with you all the tools and techniques you need to become the ideal social media marketer—the guy or gal people want to be friends with and whose business gets talked about constantly.

A Personal Story

I launched my online marketing firm, The Marketing Zen Group, right out of graduate school, on my own with no resources. Today, we have a full-time team of thirty and a global clientele. And 100 percent of our clients came to us from our online marketing efforts, specifically our social media marketing efforts. Today, we are recognized as one of the leading digital marketing companies in the world.

I continued to hire the best people to help grow our team until we became a truly full-service web agency. Whatever our clients needed online, we could provide. Soon, the business fueled its own growth. Word spread quickly; that’s the nature of online marketing! I started receiving invitations to speak at top industry conferences, earned interviews with television media, and we had to start turning away more clients than we were taking on. As the business grew, so did my personal brand. I am humbled by and grateful for our growth.

My company is living proof that, when done right, social media marketing works for businesses. And it works, albeit slightly differently, for businesses of all sizes and types. I know this because we have worked with clients at all stages—from start-ups to Fortune 500s—to leverage social media. It is my sincerest intention to share with you the same wisdom that helped our company and our clients’ companies grow. Throughout this book, you will find the stories of businesses from a variety of industries that are successfully marketing through social platforms. If they can do it, so can you!

Who Is This Guide a Perfect Fit For?

If you are responsible for marketing in any shape or form, this guide is written for you. Perhaps you are a small business owner responsible for attracting your own customers or clientele, or the CEO of an Inc. 5000 company that wants to solidify its online reputation. Or perhaps you’re a CMO looking to constantly generate inbound leads. Maybe you want to get the word out about your nonprofit. It doesn’t matter; the principles are all the same. This book will show you exactly how to leverage social media to accomplish your goals.

What does matter is that you are

•committed to marketing or promoting your service/product/ blog/organization in an ethical and unassuming manner;

•willing to listen, communicate, and share (the building blocks of social media marketing); and

•okay with doing things the easy way and don’t insist on going against the grain.

Social media marketing does not have to be a struggle.

Who Is This Guide Not a Good Fit For?

This guide is not for those who want to become overnight millionaires, internet marketers looking to turn a quick buck, or those looking to grow their Facebook friend count so they can spam those friends. Sorry to disappoint you! The strategies and techniques I lay out in this book are for legitimate businesses that will apply them with consistency and commitment—two necessary elements for social media success.

What Will You Learn?

Where social media marketing fits in the bigger scheme of things

How to make your website or blog the hub of your online marketing efforts

How to use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for online marketing in an ethical manner

How to drive traffic to your sites

How to use Google+—and Google’s other growing tools

How to leverage social advertising—including group-buying websites

How to build credibility and establish expertise

How to generate leads

How to build your own community of fans

How to build your e-zine/newsletter list

How to measure your social media marketing efforts

How to pitch bloggers and engage in Digital PR

How to find and create strategic joint venture relationships using social media

How to leverage your past success to gain future customers and clients

How to get speaking engagements

What you must have before you start social media marketing

The #1 reason people fail at social media marketing and how to avoid that mistake

Case Studies and Profiles

In addition to the case studies peppered throughout the book, you will find a group of profiles at the end. These profiles present real people and businesses using social media marketing to achieve their goals. They aren’t all marketers by profession but are marketing and promoting their causes successfully nonetheless.

Here’s to you—a future Zen master of social media marketing! Let the journey begin.