• TIME
• More TIME
• And an increasingly complex knowledge of how to convert, which only comes from an obnoxious amount of testing and research.

The first point is why most people fail when using social media to market their business.  In fact, the first point is also why most people fail using the Web to market their business in general.  Even when business owners have the time, they’ll most likely not put it into social media.

I’ve been working with social media for marketing from the beginning, and I’ve hated it ever since.  That doesn’t mean that part of me doesn’t love it too.

I LOVE Social Media when:

• I’m doing business on the mainland, and a Tsunami is supposedly distorting my home.  Reports on mainland News channels covering Hawaii were drastically different from the reality found on Twitter by our neighbors.
• After MUCH time on the web, and many discussions with local social media guru’s #mauiSMUG, I find that my life can be a little less complicated and more efficient with the use of social media.  Using Twitter among other aggregating networks, I can get all of my news in 1 place, directly from the sources, without wasting time looking for it.  This saves me time and effort, contrary to what social media does for most people.
• I build unique relationships with very interesting, web-savy people through a filtered, controlled medium.  There’s sort of a secret society of people that are active socially on the web (and I’m not talking about Facebook.)  People that think similarly tend to gravitate towards each other and then meet “In Real Life”= IRL ( I hate that I just wrote that, but it’s relevant.
• I share something fun and get a bigger reaction than I expected.
• Using social media share buttons on my sites boost traffic, exposure, and a little you-know-what with the search engines.

What most business owners do incorrectly:

• Set up a blog and never post.  Everyone thinks they’ll blog, but unless you like to write, you’re not going to use it.  It’s useless if not used.
• Use Twitter to promote your product without building relationships or sharing anything of value.  I don’t care about your weight lose drug; STOP PUSHING IT ON ME!  No one is listening anyway with your 3 followers.
• Setting up multiple profiles on all networks and leaving them blank with a default avatar.  This is similar to the first point.  It’s like buying a bunch of blank billboards.  NO ONE CARES.
• Highering a “Social Media Expert”.  Personally, I think there are only really 4-5 social media experts/coaches that actually make a living doing it.  There’s too much time needed to go into it, where I believe the only way to get an even ROI is by doing it yourself.  You have to love sharing and writing to really get involved and make it work.  You’ll need some serious budgets if you want to see an “expert” actually function in any capacity that will elevate your brand on a regular basis.  It’s just too time-consuming for most people to get a positive ROI.
• Use social media buttons on their sites to direct traffic to their social business pages.  Why send traffic away from your site?  Aren’t those profiles supposed to bring traffic to you?  There’s a better use of those buttons.

Oh, by the way, you should follow our social profiles at Facebook and Twitter!  Haha, I know, a bit hypocritical, but you gotta do what you gotta do…

Yes, Hawaii Web Group has acquired the Twitter Handle @Maui!  So now you can follow us at this easy address:

http://twitter.com/maui

This falls along the lines of our ongoing effort to secure the highest quality visitors by being the most visible.  Simplicity is also our goal here.  We’ll still be using @MauiHawaiiInfo for our business here at Hawaii Web Group.  Follow @Maui for updates on the island.

The Client: Hawaii Web Group LLC

Project Description: This is one of our favorite websites ever made.  We think our visitors are going to love the Flash interactive map on the home page.  Each location and activity page has a Twitter feed for each subject, video, photos, local tips, and detailed information.

Feel free to poke around and enjoy the site.  We’ve spent a lot of time to make it great.  Mahalo!

Visit Website: Maui Map