Have you ever walked into the middle of a conversation and suddenly had the awkward feeling that everyone was talking about you?

Motrin has. About a year ago, they became a trending topic on Twitter when Moms, one of their key customer groups, were talking about the insensitivity the company displayed in a recent ad campaign. The consumers summed up Motrin and its use of social media this way: “They don’t get it.”

One year later, we see Motrin exerting an active presence on Twitter and other social media sites and doggedly determined to become “Part of the Conversation” rather than the “Topic of It.” But just “Being” on social media does not necessarily mean you are “Doing it Right.”

The Green Buzz Agency Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people   If you have insight on Marketing to share with our audience, contact us about being a Guest GBA Blogger. Or learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!

As someone who helps companies wade into the social media waters, but do it in a way that is authentic and in alignment with their brand, I have picked up on a few red flags that I would like to pass along. I call it:

The 5 Ways to Know if You’re Using Social Media Wrong

1) Your Twitter page reads like the CNN ticker. Social media is NOT the place to post your newsfeed! That has become a staple of many homepages, where it is ideal for SEO bots that are scouring the web for updates and new content. But social media is about interaction and one-to-one contact. Nothing says “impersonal faceless corporate entity” like following your favorite brand on Twitter and receiving the Tweet “Thanks for following us. For more information, visit our website.”

2) Your company Facebook friends are also your kids’ Facebook friends. Like any marketing initiative, social media campaigns should be targeting Quality over Quantity. With more than 370 million users, chances are that you have actual customers on Facebook. A simple step many companies overlook is the proactive promotion of their social media sites to gain targeted customers and build relationships with them. Do not let it become a web-based popularity contest where every fan, follower and contact is weighted equally.

3) Your Social Media Marketing is something you’ve assigned to the Interns. Successful marketing campaigns always stem from being integrated across the company. That requires buy-in from the top down! I get very nervous when an executive tells me the company is already on “MyFace” or “SpaceBook.” Too many execs think that new technology is beneath them and refuse to take the initiative in learning what it can do for their business.

4) It Doesn’t Seem Like Your Social Media Profile is “Doing Anything.” Although social media functions in areas like SEO and PR, it is, at heart, a marketing device. And somewhere along the lines, people have forgotten that marketing’s job is to create sales. Which means that social media should be attached to business objectives! That actually generate revenue! A strong advantage of social media over traditional marketing vehicles is its built-in trackability. There are great tools out there to set goals and determine ROI on any social media marketing efforts.

5) You tried social media and it didn’t work for you. I have heard more than my share of marketers explaining, “It detracted from our messaging” or “It’s not a good fit for us.” 9 out of 9 times, what they’re really saying is they didn’t like it or understand it, they didn’t integrate it into an overall marketing campaign and they got tired or bored of it after a few half-hearted attempts. My favorite is when I later find out that the boss’ 16-year-old niece put them on Facebook. I’ll be the first to admit that for many companies, a Facebook Fanpage makes zero sense–so don’t waste your time. But you are missing valuable customer insight if you are not monitoring these powerful online conversations. Effective use of social media, like traditional media campaigns, requires an intelligent strategy tied to real world objectives, executed consistently over a long period of time.

If these all made perfect sense to you, congratulations, you are among those who “Get it” in the new media environment. If any of these sound like you or your company, I would encourage you to re-evaluate what you are doing or who you’ve put in charge of it. Like so much in life, there is more to success than just “being there.”

Shawn Butler is a campaign strategist at Relevant Social Media based in Atlanta. You can contact him at Shawn@RelevantSocialMedia.com.

Learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!

The GBA Blog provides insight for Marketing Decision Makers and other fun people

by Deborah Brody

Ralph Waldo Emerson is often quoted as saying:  “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”  Note that Emerson refers to foolish consistency.  Smart consistency, on the other hand, should be adored by smart marketers and businesspeople everywhere. Smart consistency strengthens your brand and improves your marketing efforts.

With so many marketing platforms available, it’s easy for marketers to lose track of the message and image in their communications efforts. But consistency really is the key to effective marketing, making it a priority to be able control the message.

The most famous brands (think Coca-Cola) always are consistent. Their logo always looks the same, the tag line is the same and the general look and feel always follows the brand’s rules. Great brands enforce consistency.

Less established brands, especially struggling businesses, tend to do the exact opposite. They change up the logo, don’t respect or even have set colors or tag lines or fonts. One ad tells you one thing about the company and makes that a “brand attribute” while another touts something completely different.

Some businesses are experimenting with their marketing or simply don’t have the budget to hire a professional to caretake their branding efforts. A busy business-owner is probably too caught up in his/her other responsibilities to pay close attention to the marketing communications.

Marketing communications aim to shape perception. As a marketer, you want the public to come to accept and believe the image that you want to project. And what does an inconsistent message/look communicate? If it succeeds in communicating at all, inconsistent marketing shows a lack of direction, and in some cases, carelessness. Inconsistency can also communicate confusion and that muddles your branding.

How do you create and enforce consistency?

1)     Make consistency a priority!

2)     Name a point person to be the final authority on all communications. That person would ensure style and message are in sync with all other marketing efforts.

3)     Create an organizational marketing style guide, and refer to it every single time you are putting out a message.

4)     Train your people on your message. This is doubly important if several people handle your message, and especially on social media platforms like Twitter.

Yes, consistency will take enforcement and effort, but the result will be a stronger brand.

Deborah Brody established Deborah Brody Marketing Communications (www.deborahbrody.com) in 2002 to provide writing, blogging and strategic communications consulting services to small and medium sized businesses and nonprofits. After moving to Washington, DC from Miami nearly five years ago, she still misses Cuban coffee and random conversations in Spanish. Follow Deborah on twitter @DBMC

Learn more about GBA and our video production prowess!