Social media success stories are a rare breed – at least they are, according to the broadcast marketers and financially-obsessed “give me a money-only ROI” agency types looking to get on board with meaningful social media engagement.

So, to have a social media success story which ticks, for me, all the boxes happening this week is too good not to be shared here.

It’s a simple story. The anatomy of a social media success story. And the story starts right here:

This is a picture I took over a year ago, of Gwithian Sands in Cornwall. Glorious, isn’t it?

I love beaches, and take pictures of them at every opportunity – mainly as a reminder of visiting them, of enjoying them, and of remembering them later.

And, every day of last year, I shared them. One beach picture per day, posted onto my Facebook Wall for all to enjoy. The comments were plentiful, they were shared, and social media engagement levels increased as a result.

But the biggest success from sharing on social media came to light this week. I’ve always been a firm advocate of open, transparent and real-life-based social media engagement. Anything to combat the rising tide of sterile, anodyne, corporate social broadcasting.

A contact of mine on Facebook lives in South Africa, and had enjoyed the beach pictures consistently. One of her professional network contacts – based in London – was looking for advice and assistance on social media consultancy and blogging outreach.

My South African-based contact – liking my beach pictures and real-life social media engagement – passed on my details. Contact was made, information passed, telephone conversation last week, and signing of Contract this week. Paid consultancy work commenced today.

This anatomy of a social media success story has a strikingly simple message.

Whether it is on a social media platform or face-to-face, people in business still make most purchasing decisions based on whether they like, trust and respect the supplier. Positive recommendations from a trusted contact also clearly helped in the example above.

To be honest, I didn’t post and share these incredible, beautiful, gorgeous beach pictures to win business – I simply shared them because I could, and because I felt it would benefit and enrich my audiences’ lives on a regular basis. It wasn’t about ROI.

But the pictures delivered three key things for effective social media engagement: interest, attention and share-ability.

From this, a number of useful ROI-based benefits can be achieved from social media marketing. It’s simply about people.

It’s been a brilliant example of how social media can connect – in literal, transactional, and meaningful ways.

My point is this – how much of the real you do you give and share freely? If you open up and highlight yourself to your audience in this way, just imagine the possibilities.

For social media engagement.

For social media attention.

And for social media ROI.

What’s stopping you?

Social media myths tend to be common fallacies held by traditional marketers, old-school PRs, and those wary of social media marketing, often as a form of self-protection to prevent them from moving into new, different, and challenging areas of marketing.

Harsh? Perhaps. But when you’re in the business of delivering proven social media consultancy and effective blogging outreach, such as myself, the myths/reasons for not getting on board with effective social media marketing tend to be commonly heard as barriers to engagement,  as a way of not getting on board online, and highlighting that current marketing techniques could usually do with an overhaul.

And – to be fair – it’s not the job of a proven social media consultant to try and convince people and businesses to jump headlong into social media marketing, in my opinion, but rather to highlight and educate the multiple benefits of smart, savvy social usage. You can lead a horse to water, and all that.

So here, in no particular order, are my top six social media myths – and how to dispel them:

* There’s no financial ROI in social media

This is a common objection, and a social media myth which seems to stick in the minds of the traditionalists. I’ve seen examples of where social media marketing has delivered an incredible financial return  – such as here and here. But you’ve got to be in it to win it. I had a meeting with a Bristol-based agency director about nine weeks ago. His biggest objection to getting professional social media consultancy on board? He needed to see “a guaranteed tenfold financial return on social media marketing” before considering it. My response? “Can you name any marketing activity delivering this return?” I’m still waiting for his answer.

* Social media marketing is too time-consuming

This myth raises its head often, too, and given that any marketing activity demands a time investment, it’s an understandable one – particularly coming from a novice to the foray of social media platforms, microblogging sites and blogging outreach. My biggest time-saver (for myself and clients) is using the social media content scheduling platform Hootsuite, to plan, schedule, and monitor all social media content. It’s staggeringly simple to use, cheap, effective  – and means that six hours a week delivers amazing results across multiple platforms and a highly-visible blog platform for a client. Time is no longer a barrier to social media usage.

* You can’t control the message on social media

This myth is favoured by traditional PRs and media relations agencies – and it’s an objection which is extremely outdated, and shouldn’t be entertained if you hear it as a business-owner with a traditional PR provider in place. Ditch their retainer fee, and source a contemporary marketer for your business, please. The important thing to remember here is this: audiences are paying less and less attention to broadcast-based marketing than ever before. They want to be engaged, heard, a part of the mix. Social media engagement enables two-way conversation, the collation of powerful marketing information, and much more.

* Social media is just a new fad anyway

This objection is being heard less and less, now that social media platforms are being viewed as the powerhouse platforms they truly are. The basic requirement of marketing is to connect and engage with current and potential customers, in the places they hang out, and promote useful services and products in a way which is so irresistible, they’ll want to make purchasing decisions.  Social media engagement helps you to create traction, pull customers to you online, generate profitable leads, gather marketing information for future product and service launches, as well as creating an army of loyal fans who sell on your behalf for free.

* Social media is unmeasurable white noise

One of the more common myths and objections in recent months is this one. With so many more people and businesses engaging on social media platforms, how to be heard, seen, noticed? With so much white noise, standing out and getting a message out there can seem like an impossible task. Not so: social media monitoring has developed into a sub-sector in its own right, with companies providing excellent monitoring and measurement of social media engagement. In fact, social media marketing is one of the most measurable marketing mediums currently available. With measurement also comes improvement and refinement.

* Social media changes so fast, why bother

The final main objection against social media engagement is the simple fact that new social media platforms are springing up, tempting and confusing us in equal measure. Why bother investing time, energy and marketing cash on it in the first place? My response to this is simple: there are solid foundation social media platforms where large, relevant, and attentive target audiences are hanging out. It’s better to have a solid, well-defined, professional presence on a few social media platforms, rather than a weak, inconsistent series of diluted profiles on many platforms. Find out where your ideal clients are, and start engaging there.

What’s your biggest social media myth – and what are doing to overcome it?

Defining successful social media engagement can be incredibly difficult. We all want to see some kind of return on our time, energy and efforts online, although many of us have different definitions of what constitutes a beneficial result from social media marketing.

For me, there are six key definitions of successful social media engagement – all are affordable, achievable and available.

Seeing as the best social media marketing is experiential, I’m going to highlight the six definitions from real-life, recent examples to demonstrate how, why, and where successful social media engagement can occur:

* Financial

The first – and for some, most important – definition of success on social media is a financial return on their social media marketing. I’d agree, but it needs to be recognised that all marketing takes a relevant and appropriate investment to see a healthy financial return. I worked with a digital marketing agency outside Birmingham a couple of years ago, delivering them a financial return of £250,000 in social media services sales through their corporate client base in 12 weeks. An excellent financial ROI.

* Emotional

The second definition of successful social media engagement is more intangible. A positive emotional return on social media marketing activities can be delivered over time, providing you give, give, give. Positive audience comments, sharing, liking, passing it on. This article I posted on www.socialmediatoday.com in October was retweeted more than 1,000 times within three days of going live. The emotional return on that piece of social media engagement, for me, was hugely rewarding.

* Literal

The third definition centres upon pure experience – on what is seen to be delivered through social media marketing. I was talking to a long-standing client today, and we discussed a 25% increase in the number of followers of their company’s Facebook page within a week. This literal return of investment on social media, for them, was a big bonus and gave them a literal ROI. Plus, of course, I was really pleased to see one of my clients getting yet another positive result from social media engagement.

* Measurable

The fourth definition of social media success is one usually grabbed by the marketing departments handling social media activities: the ability to measure everything. I had an example at the start of the week which fits here: a Facebook contact recommended me to a contact. Details passed on, phone conversation ensued, high likelihood of transactional business to follow very soon. My ability to directly measure this social media ROI makes, for me, social media marketing incredibly powerful.

* Repeatable

The fifth definition of social media marketing in positive action focuses upon the ability online to repeat successful marketing techniques and tools to deliver a brilliant return. This, in essence, is the sticking point for many with social media – it takes time, effort, consistency and dogged determination at times. A good blog, for example, needs to be maintained, nurtured and updated with fresh social media content regularly. Minimum once per week – not three new posts in one month, then nothing for six.

* Enjoyable

The final definition of social media success is the ability to actually enjoy it. This is an intangible, but I’d say it is incredibly important. Let’s face it, social media engagement – well, when it works well at least – is a personal, open, transparent experience, and should be an enjoyable part of the marketing mix. Forget the sterile, anodyne, broadcasting approach.  By giving expertise, insight and experience via social media engagement, you also open yourself up to define your own offer effectively.

So – what’s your definition of successful social media engagement? If it’s only Number One as listed above, you might need a rapid re-think.

Social media success is a relative term, and it means different things to different people.

But, we all want it – at least, in a way which is relative to our own requirements, needs and commercial imperatives.

For some people, like a chap I spoke to recently, social media success for him was seeing a tenfold financial ROI on social media engagement. Have to admit, I think he’s going to find social media engagement a disappointment on that single basis.

For others, like my typical client, social media success is about more subtle – but equally important – metrics to define success online. A natural by-product of successful social media engagement should also be a financial return over time, of course.

So, what’s the recipe for social media success? It’s a simple dish, best served with passion, I’d say.

My ingredients are not difficult to add into your social media mix. They are:

* Little and often

Effective social media engagement is very much like trying your favourite food: it’s most enjoyable when tried little and often. Give your audience regular titbits, useful content, interesting links to information – and be consistent with it. Don’t dump a six-course-meal equivalent on them, then disappear for a week or two. Social media success needs little and often to build trust.

* Tasty treats

Effective social media engagement is very much like your treat meal, too: it should be an absolute savoury delight, filled with the best ingredients, prepared with care, attention to detail, and a loving touch. If you feed your audience garbage, they’ll soon leave your social media platforms for more flavour-some spaces online. Social media success needs to be full of tasty treats for them.

* The vital ingredient – you

Effective social media engagement needs one vital ingredient – you. Many businesses and individuals forget to add their uniqueness into the social media mix, resulting in a poor end recipe for their audiences. Give them the full-fat you, not a diluted, weakened version. Passion is the flavour of the day, and don’t scrimp on the servings for delicious social media success.

The hype surrounding Spielberg’s latest movie Warhorse was certainly giving the impression some useful social media lessons might be gleaned. The hype, however, does not always deliver the goods, as I’ll demonstrate.

A movie centred upon friendship, hope and strong connections – at least according to the trailer – bodes well for highlighting some of the essential qualities needed for successful social media engagement.

Unfortunately, there were a few key elements missing from the movie for it to keep good on its advertised promises.

The film scored poorly on the key points needed for a winning delivery on social media platforms, for me, including:

* Sincerity

The movie wasn’t particularly sincere in its delivery. I didn’t connect with the key characters, the movie was massively over-indulgent at 2.5 hours long, and the ending was so predictable, it was painful. Imagine if you engage on social media in the same way – will your audience stick around for more? Of course not. Give them short, sharp, sincere social media engagement.

* Authenticity

The movie wasn’t particularly authentic in its delivery. I didn’t connect with the good guys or the bad guys, and at times it was tricky to even spot which were which. It just didn’t feel authentic, the actors weren’t giving it their hearts and souls. Imagine if you deliver a less than authentic style on social media – will your audience stick around for more? No, social media needs soul.

* Desirability

The movie wasn’t creating desirability in its delivery. Watching it was chore-like after the first three hammed-up Westcountry accents were presented. It didn’t create, maintain or provide essential levels of desirability needed for a great cinema experience. Imagine if you present a sterile, safe and soundbite-based social media presence – will your audience desire more? No.

What can we learn from Warhorse?

Simple, really – good social media engagement needs to create authentic desire through a sincere message. Audiences online are fickle, time-pressed, and increasingly clear on what they do – and don’t – want to see on social media platforms. Give them the real you, every time.

Oh, and if you’re after an incredible horse movie, try this.

It was interesting to receive an email from a previous client this week – even more so, given the contents of the message and the relevance for all social media users.

I worked with the dynamic Luke Thomas of Spring Consultancy last year, and he’s been blazing a trail with his coaching blog ever since. More importantly, Luke is one of those rare businessmen who engages on social media platforms because he is, fundamentally, interested in people.

Their motivations, behaviours, passions and more. An excellent outlook, given his profession as a leading UK business coach.

Luke sent me a link to an article which discussed the increase of social media exhaustion – or to put it another way – the seemingly inevitable rise and rise of more social media platforms than the average online user can cope with.

The article is useful, for me, in one key way.

It defines and reiterates the importance of the message. Effective social media engagement comes down to the impact and strength of a useful message.

Social media exhaustion, I think, comes potentially from a lack of effective content and diluted messaging. We’re seeing more businesses and individuals on social media platforms than ever before – but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are using the platforms well, or smartly, or with purpose, drive, giving solid content and powerful messages. There is so, so, so much noise.

Which leads to the next question – how do you avoid, reduce, or completely eliminate this social media noise, without exiting the platforms completely? After all, there are amazing opportunities to gain connections, increase exposure, and win business there.

Here are my top tips for avoiding social media exhaustion on the platforms you’re present – for you and your audience:

* Remember the message

If you forget the simple key message you’re trying to deliver, your social media content will become nothing more than an exercise in shouting online. We all want rapid, focused, up-to-the-minute and relevant content from trusted sources. Are you delivering?

* Remember the audience

If you forget the main reason your social media engagement is taking place – to attract and keep an audience – then it’s likely you’re going to create social media exhaustion. People are interested largely in themselves, so deliver content with them in mind.

* Remember your passions

If you forget yourself, forget trying to maintain effective social media engagement. Conveying your passions, your unique voice, your way of seeing things around you, is highly attractive to an engaged audience. Promote your passions with purpose.

I was pondering the question of the future of social media today, whilst making preparations for a series of social media, blogging and online journalism lectures I’m delivering at UCA in Farnham.

The growth of social media platforms and social media engagement – by businesses, consumers, students and inquisitive individuals – has been well charted and discussed in the last few years.

The growth, apart from a few blips, seems to be consistently on the up across the big players such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the blogosphere.

What role, then, amid this organic growth, does education play in the growth of social media, at Universities such as UCA?

The subjects of education, engagement and empowerment through social media platforms are all, I think, interlinked.

Education isn’t just about what the kids are learning in school, of course. Education should be a lifelong learning process for everyone. Education around social media and blogging should, also, be a lifelong process – either by a business or an individual online.

I’d say the future of social media is rooted in the following types of education:

* Self Education

You’ve got to educate yourself about social media engagement and blogging etiquette before you get online – we’ve seen the broadcasters and hard-sell merchants doing their thing online, and they highlight a distinct lack of self-education.

* Audience Education

You’ve got to educate your audience about what’s on offer. Selling is perfectly acceptable on social media – it’s the form and frequency with which it’s delivered that counts. Educate your audience effectively and you’ll never have to hard sell them.

* Long-term Education

You’ve got to remain teachable, too. The pace of change on social media platforms can be scary, rapid and overwhelming – and all at once. By staying in touch with trends, reading accessible blogs, and observing patterns, your social media presence will benefit.

Back to school?

One of the best ways of keeping up on social media trends and staying on top of the ever-changing nature of life online is to monitor and measure what your output is delivering out there.

Then relay this back to what you’d like to achieve. This form of self-education is powerful, as it highlights where attention, engagement, and lead generation can improve over time.

My favourite way of increasing education around social media is simple: listen to what’s being said online. The answers are there.

I made one New Year’s resolution this year, and it wasn’t directly linked to social media – rather, to experience, embrace and enjoy new things, in all shapes and forms.

And that included an experience today. A visit for the first time to a Chinese acupuncturist to experience it.

Having noticed fluctuating energy levels since before Christmas, and also because it’s that time of the year when January Blues tend to make many people quite sluggish in general, I thought I’d take action around my Resolution. Into the acupuncturist I went.

And, as has been the case from previous offline experiences I’ve shared in the past, valuable lessons about effective social media engagement were learned from the 90 minutes in the Chinese health clinic.

Here’s what I picked up today, and the main things about the acupuncturist which reminded me about best-practice online:

* Be attentive

The first thing that struck me was the level of attentiveness and service. The acupuncturist – a wisened guy who spoke pretty much the same as Mr Mayagi from The Karate Kid movies – was incredibly attentive. He listened. He showed empathy. He demonstrated understanding. This kind of approach with social media engagement is also a winner online.

* Be alert

The acupunturist was alert. He took note of everything – and I mean everything. Each and every detail was observed. It was clear that many, many years of experience were behind this chap in his way of working with people. It impressed me alot. And reminded me that a real, genuine, and giving alertness on social media platforms works in much the same way, with similar benefits.

* Be aware

The acupuncturist was aware. He was aware of my nervousness entering the clinic for the first time. He was aware of my inquisitiveness of the herbal jars for natural health remedies, of my awareness of the gorgeous Chinese music playing in the background, and also my awareness of him as a health professional. Awareness on social media sites is crucial, too.

* Be alive

The wisened Chinese acupuncturist was truly alive. He had that sparkle of life in his eyes, and was a warm, personable attitude. He was clearly enjoying his work, and was alive in the practice of his art. That kind if vitality is truly contagious, and shines through people online, too, who are delivering their passion on blogs, social media platforms, and other online forums.

* Be attractive

The health practice was also attractive – I noticed the walls covered in acupuncture charts, medical diagrams, incredible looking Oriental paintings, a beautiful Bonzai tree in the corner of the room, and a million other small but perfect touches which made the place look, feel, and smell attractive. Similarly, make your social media engagement attractive. Make people want more of it.

* Be amazing

Finally, what the acupuncturist delivered was amazing. Less then 90 minutes after entering, my energy levels had soared. He delivered what he said he would. The needles were painless, the treatment was incredibly soothing, and I would recommend him to anybody. Make your social media experience an amazing one. Be present. Be alive. Be attentive. Be alert. Be attractive. Be you.

Good social media engagement – a needle in a haystack?

It was a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours offline – and the positive benefits and timely reminders it also provided about social media engagement and effective social media marketing were crucial lessons.

Whether social media is brand spanking new to you, or Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging and the myriad of social media platforms have been a part of your overall marketing mix for months, you’re going to come up against some uncomfortable truths online.

These pain barriers will try, test, challenge, and generally cause discomfort on some level at some time. But there is hope.

Here are six uncomfortable truths about social media – and how to deal with them as and when you’re finding life online tough:

* Social media engagement takes time

Despite the myths out there, social media is not a magic bullet. As with any marketing channel, it takes time to develop positive profiles, meaningful audience engagement, and drive relevant traffic back to the destinations required. The world of social media engagement is best delivered over a consistent, relationship-building-based and measurable period of time.

* Social media is not an easy freebie

Whilst some of the high-profile social media platforms are free, your time in making the right impression there certainly is not. As with any marketing activity, delivering social media content takes time. Social media marketing is not free – there is always a cost of some kind. Approaching social media as a sustained, monitored and serious part of your marketing is always best.

* Social media is not direct marketing

Although there are a few sporadic examples of social media being used to drive direct marketing-based techniques, the most successful companies and individuals online are not engaging in direct marketing or selling tactics on social media platforms. Broadcasting on social media sites is the quickest way to switch people off. When they’re gone, they usually stay gone, too.

* Social media will be uncomfortable

Although social media engagement has become one of the most popular forms of online marketing in the last few years, it’s also extremely uncomfortable at times. You’re going to come across people you don’t like. It’s inevitable. Fall-outs will happen. Arguments and spats will happen. I should know, I’ve had a few. Make mistakes, but remember to learn from them. Quickly.

* Social media means listening more

The concept of utilising social media as a listening-based marketing channel is new information to some. The best social media marketers advocate listening first and engaging second. By listening to your target audience online, you increase the chances of gaining and (crucially) keeping their attention. We all want to have our say, but sometimes nobody wants to listen. That’s life.

* Social media is not for everyone

Because of extreme accessibility, social media engagement might seem like the ideal marketing tool for everybody. Not so. There are many, many companies delivering the same old, sterile, broadcasting, corporate speak on social as they do on their other marketing channels. Sometimes, hiring in a social media consultant is highly advisable. What’s the cost of a lost customer?

Next steps forward?

Have you discovered an uncomfortable truth about social media? Is it a struggle on a daily basis? Does it seem pointless? I’ve found that social media engagement works best when the right attitude is brought to it. Open, inclusive, listening and giving.

Now that’s a tough call at times, but the rewards can be truly amazing.

Social media need not be terminally uncomfortable. If it is, try asking why.