To Learn Social Media Marketing – Differentiate!

I read a fantastic quote this week by 17th-century educator John Amos Comenius.  He wrote…

“To teach means scarcely anything more than to show how things differ from one another in their different purposes, forms, and origins. . . . Therefore, he who differentiates well – teaches well.”

So true.  To really learn anything, a key ingredient is knowing and understanding the differences. 

So let’s apply this to Internet Marketing, especially Social Media Marketing.  There are differences between the various forms of Internet Marketing, such as SEO, PPC, Social.  Within Social Media Marketing, there are differences between Facebook and Twitter, etc.

Knowing and understanding those differences enable a business owner or marketer to spend his time more wisely and efficiently.  It also instills confidence so that they can work harder without looking back and wondering if they are “doing it right”.

These are some of the other differences that became apparent when Brandon and I taught our first Charlotte Social Media Marketing class last week…

The difference between the outcome you desire…

• Branding
• Relationship building
• Advocacy
• Customer relations
• Engagement
• Sales, etc.

The differences between…

• Developing a Social Media Marketing strategy
• Developing a Social Media Marketing plan

The various forms of Social Media…

• Blogging
• Microblogging
• Bookmarking/Voting
• Networking sites
• etc

The various Facebook components…

• Profiles
• Pages
• Groups
• Events

The various twitter tools…

The various content you can microblog about…

The various ways of determining ROI…

                            …and the list goes on and on.

Brandon and I spent two days in a classroom with 8 other students.  And by the end of it, after reviewing everything we taught and hearing the feedback from the various students, I feel like we now know how to teach this stuff.

The key is knowing the differences. 

Differentiation is learned through practice and experience.  But it is also learned through watching the reaction on faces and hearing the expressions from those that have learned from us in the past.

The same could be applied to learning most anything.  Learn the differences and you’re on your way to greater understanding and wisdom (applied learning).

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