After the seminar yesterday a few things occurred to me that make sense to append to my list from yesterday.

1) Be patient. Social media is not a quick fix to a marketing problem. It also won’t help you to start getting into social spaces when you are on the verge of or in the middle of a crisis. Those relationships need to already be in place to help you through tough times, and to celebrate good times.  If you are a useful, helpful, and well known brand in the community over time, your supporters will show it by loving your new product launch, or defending you against a scathing news report. They say the best time to look for a job is when you already have one – likewise the best time to get involved is when you don’t need to.

2) Be realistic. Especially for small businesses without a dedicated marketing staff, there may not be time to really leverage social media. It takes consistency, desire, and interest in the right communities to make an impression, and you might not even want to spend your time there.

3) Distinguish your tactics. Just because something is online doesn’t make it social media. Search engine optimization, websites, banner ads, even advertising in social spaces like Facebook, are not social media marketing. Blogs, wikis, forums, community environments and so forth make up the ‘social media’ space for marketing.

5) Be consistent.  Brand consistency across marketing tactics is just as important online as it is in more traditional marketing – don’t’ confuse your target markets. Also, realize that social media marketing is no substitute or fix for not having a marketing plan or a brand. Jumping into communities without a coherent and consistent brand won’t get you far.