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There are positive, negative and even in-between answers when independent manufacturers’ representatives are asked whether social media is for them or if they’ve found ways to use it to their or their agency’s benefit.

On the positive side, agents report the marketing benefits of keeping their agency’s name and brand in front of principals, customers and prospects through regular use of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. One agency in the Southwest reports success in announcing weekly and monthly specials on its Facebook page. A Midwest agency describes gaining attention through regularly posting Twitter communications of its agency’s activities and a third agency says LinkedIn has allowed him to locate profitable customers.

On the negative side of social media one agency notes that “The last thing I want on my computer screen are reports on where someone went on vacation or what their favorite book is.”

Finding a Way to Use Social Media

Then there are those located firmly in the middle. That position was aptly described by one agent who said, “I’m all loaded up with social media accounts but truth be told, I don’t know what to do with them. I haven’t found a use for them that fits the needs of my agency. The last thing I want to do is spend time on something that won’t bring a positive return to my agency.”

Hopefully bringing a bit of clarity to the social media discussion is Jay Izso in his book Got Social Mediology? Using Psychology to Master Social Media for Your Business Without Spending a Dime. (InterAction Press, 2015, 290 pp., $19.95) Any book with a title that long had better deliver on its promise and Izso does a good job.

He stresses, “The limited success of traditional marketing techniques within social media platforms is due to the fact that social media is a two-way interactive culture. Unlike TV, radio or print, which offer one-way messages, due to broadcasting, social media is a two-way environment where a broadcasted message has less meaning to the potential consumer. It’s about the conversation, the interaction, the authenticity and the building of real relationships between people that lead to real business.”

Focusing on Relationships

Rather than engaging in paid-for, broadcast-style advertising, Izso explains the importance of understanding the psychology of the user, respecting the cultural nuances of each social media platform, and focusing on creating authentic relationships. Through this simple approach to conducting social media, prospective practitioners will receive the knowledge and tools to grow any business on social media, far faster than ever before and without emptying their marketing budget in the process.

According to the author, “As virtual as social media is, it’s in fact made up of real people with real emotions, trying to make a connection with others. In order for any person or business to be successful within these environments, or as I prefer to call them cultures, it becomes important to understand those unwritten rules, norms, expectations and even language that each platform has built as a result of the people using it.”

Izso leverages practical business examples and up-to-date research to provide everything needed to succeed on social media, including:

• Psychological techniques for building a brand and attracting clients.
• Hands-on exercises for transforming into a social media pro.
• A customizable, daily checklist to manage social media efforts so they don’t manage you.

Among the more interesting and useful (to independent representatives) chapters in the book is the one that debunks myths associated with social media. Included in Izso’s observations in this area are:

• Social media is not a passing fad — Thanks to mobile devices such as Smartphones and tablets, there has been an increase in the number of people using it as well as how often people use it.
• People of every generation, culture, subculture and socioeconomic status are using social media — including the wealthy. Your current clients are there and so are your future clients.
• Social media does take some time; however, it does not have to take all of your time to pay dividends for business. Start with 10 minutes a day and see where it takes you. Consistency is key: check in, connect and check out.
• Social media is not a silver bullet that will automatically make your business succeed. It does require consistency and commitment. However, social media has been demonstrated to help grow businesses and make them successful when implemented as part of a larger business strategy.
• You do not need to be on every social media platform. Instead, find out which platforms your clients use and what they like to post and do there, and you will have a playbook for where your company should be on social media.

Near the end of his book, Izso notes that “…social media is more than a space for teens to chat or for grandmas to get family photo updates. Social media has a very real place in the American business landscape. That doesn’t mean that we always need to act corporate while communicating on social media. In fact, that’s discouraged on platforms like Facebook. Yet social media provides some extraordinary benefits for the small and growing business.”

Included in those benefits are the following:

• Social media can expand your personal and professional network. It opens up the number of people you can get connected to, whether potential clients for the future or those in a position to send you referrals.
• Social media can provide a quick, easy, and no- to low-cost means of branding yourself and your business online.
• Social media allows you to follow up with more business leads and clients in less time than you ever could by picking up the phone or sending personal e-mails.
• Social media allows you to connect to clients as multifaceted business owners or leaders, revealing the human you (Facebook); the professional you (LinkedIn); the savvy you (Twitter); and the living, breathing you in three dimensions (YouTube).

“And the list of benefits goes on and on, including that social media allows you to showcase your credibility and thought leadership as well as to create relationships that lead to referrals.”