I just read Aaron Walls great article called "Social Media Free for All Pages," and it made me think about something I wanted to put out about social media and how we speak about it.

There seems to be one major thing that is left out of every post I have ever read about social media in the search marketing world, including here on SEOmoz.

The left out "thing" is the people who actually use the sites.

The SEO/SEM world is a tiny, little, iddy bitty community. If MySpace were a swimming pool, the entire SEO/SEM influence wouldn't even fill a drop of water.

I think that as a whole we need to sit back and breathe and remember that the social web does not exist because of us. It exists because of interactions between people that have been happening for a very long time. The reason we should remember this isn't because of "fake profile" controversies, it isn't because of SMM advanced techniques, and it isn't because of viral Facebook applications.

The reason that you should remember that social media is the communication between actual people is because acknowledging that fact will start you on the path of success in the social world.

I am a stupid drunk and I can beat virtually all the "gurus" in SMM because I build things for people. So can you.

I don't see fake social media profiles as a way to get links, not for any moral reasons, but because links are not the goal. The goal is interaction and fake people can't talk.

In Aaron Wall's article, he mentions the motivations behind people's interaction. He asked, "Who is paying them?," and he stated:

It is hard to create a destination, become an icon, or build a brand if you are stuck on a large anonymous network.

These are not goals or motivations that the vast, hugely vast, really really vast majority of people have. They do not want that, they do not care about that.

Has no one met a grumbly old man before? An 80 year old guy who constantly complains about some subject? That old man has complained about that subject his entire life. He doesn't give a rat's ass about creating a destination, becoming an icon, or building a brand. He wants to complain.

If some parent has a child who is diagnosed with some disease, you know what happens? They seek advice and guidance from others facing the same difficulty, and they will interact with that community.

If someone is trying to learn about or become educated in a subject, they will discuss and interact with others doing the same thing.

These are social interactions. These are people.

The motivation behind social media is people interacting. Reaching those people interacting means providing a useful resource for their community or having a part in the conversation itself.

A thought experiment to put yourself in as marketers is this...

Can I market my product better by creating links or communicating with the people using my products?

Actually, let's get more specific. You have 5,000 dollars and want to market your website about college student vacation destinations (I am pulling this scenario out of my butt).

How do you spend the 5,000 bucks?

Is it more valuable to get links than it is to have actual interactions with colleges?

My answer is no.

It is more valuable to have interactions with colleges than it is to have links.

Because the actual interactions are interaction, plus they end up providing links. Plus you see the challenges you face when you actually interact. Plus you learn more about your subject. Plus you get people who know you in areas of influence. Plus you are interacting with the actual people who are your customers. Plus you get to follow the road less traveled, the narrow path of actually taking the time and effort of interacting with people.

If you have a great resource for college students then you might want to spend that 5,000 dollars on gas and hotels and go on a road trip. Visit college campuses and talk to people.

Go to the first college and ask who is in charge of travel. Be a dumbass. Don't pretend you know something you don't know. You are not an expert, you are not a guru, you are simply a dumbass trying to figure something out. People are much more receptive to dumbasses than they are to "experts." Leave pride behind -- pride is dumb and has no place in learning.

The meek will inherit kick ass social media campaigns. Meek rocks!

Go to the college news publication office. Say something like, "I have this resource and I want to expose it college communities but I do not know how because I am new to this." They will offer you a way to run an ad, but more importantly they might say something like "You might want to talk to this person." Go talk to "that" person. Find other "that" persons at other college campuses. Learn about the way it works. Screw links. You won't get enough to beat the current industry leader so you need to do things they are not doing. Get in your car and go do it. If you don't have a car then go Greyhound. If you can't afford Greyhound then get on your local bus and go to your local colleges. Go to community colleges, go to every college in your city. Learn.

It is easier and more effective to create an online brand in today's market through a portfolio approach of both offline and online actions.

If you are not paying attention to offline factors you are behind the curve, and you are offering a crack in your armor to your competitors.

But if you are not the industry leader, guess what? You can be. You just need to learn how to interact with your potential clients or customers better than the current industry leaders are.

Social media is, at its core, people and their reactions to stuff and each other. You have to have "stuff" to have people react to it.

"Stuff" could be a great resource that is valuable to a community.

In fact, many a marketer's frustration is that they have a valuable resource online for a community but the community can't find it or does not use it.

What do you do when you face this scenario?

Think about people. Go offline.

Social media is an online imitation of the interactions that people have offline.

To learn more about social media, learn more and study well how people interact offline in regards to the need your product provides a solution for.

The more you examine and participate in offline communication, the more clearly you will be able to understand how to leverage social interaction and social media for your product or service.

It is really about people.

 

- Patrick Sexton of SEOish.com