Social Media Webinars

It frustrates me -- no matter what the title of the webinar, no matter how intriguing, exciting, or complex it sounds, it all comes down to an intro-to-social-media presentation. It begins with statistics about how many people are using social media. It then tells you how your competitors are using social media. Then they tell you how people hate traditional advertising and don't pay attention to it. Finally, they tell you how easy it is to create a social media strategy by following their 5 easy steps.

It's hard to find someone that does more than regurgitate facts and gives me more than "5 steps to success that are proven to work for your business." Social media strategies need to be focused on your particular genre, audience, etc. There needs to be a strategy that is more than generalities, something that focuses on an effective social media campaign for higher education, for shoe sales, for Q-tips. People cannot take these intro seminars as the final word.

I guess what it comes down to is the fact that these webinars all claim to be the authority, hosted by social media experts or gurus. No one is an expert in social media -- it changes every day! The best way to keep up on the new facts is to read articles online, be interactive in social media, and most of all -- trial and error. It's easy to watch what other people have done with social media, but it's almost impossible to repeat it. Social media is all about innovation.