How and why do you use social media?
Promoting your company and services may be your top reason and that is fine; however, how you approach this promotion is an all-important consideration in overall marketing effectiveness.
If you simply want to advertise your company, take out an ad. YouTube is filled with mini-videos of companies that merely talk about what they do and how they do it. Similarly, thousands upon thousands of blogs and twitters seem to be nothing more than ego-strokes or lame advertorials.
As we have always recommended, when communicating to potential customers and referral sources, it is vital to provide content with meaning—discourse or information that is truly useful and insightful—to this audience; thoughts for how they can conduct their respective businesses more effectively. At the same time, when done correctly, you can provide them with a look at how you think and operate (and, in turn, why they should consider working with you at some point).
It’s not about shameless promotion. To be sure, Web 2.0 should not be about you—not even on YouTube.