In April, I experimented with Constant Contact's new Social Media Campaign product. The plan was to write about the outcome the next month. OK, so I'm a little late. But here goes.

The Results

Social media marketing--whether done through Constant Contact or any other process--is the same as all marketing in one significant regard. You've got to have a plan. I didn't.

I successfully created and sent an email. It took several hours and a lot of calls to Constant Contact. The stats: I got six new Facebook Fans from the effort and one new subscriber to Web Words. Two kind folks shared my campaign with their Facebook friends. Add a zero after these numbers and it might have been worth the effort.

My "likes" total 82, but I have no idea who my "fans" are as Facebook no longer allows you to see the names of your followers. This is a little like going to a networking event where everyone is wearing a mask.

Success Factors

For as long as I can remember, marketing professionals have said don't even bother if you don't have a plan. This means understand your offering, know your target market and your competition and develop a campaign that offers what your audience is looking for.

If you include social media in your plan, success requires effort--perhaps a dedicated young staff person who can focus on this full time. If you're a nonprofit, maybe a volunteer. If you're a small business, maybe an intern. I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that this whole social media wave is generationally driven. Most older folks just don't get it.

Many Web Words readers are--like me--providers of brain cycles, sellers of services. It's really tricky to find a compelling offer that makes sense for these kinds of businesses. If you run a restaurant, you offer a discount or a free dessert; if you're a retailer, present a product special. The obvious offer for a consultant is a white paper or other information. But that's challenging because there's already so much good information available online.

My advice--before you even think about social media marketing, get your act together. And spend every spare brain cycle thinking about a compelling offer that will, indeed, drive traffic to your door. And when you find it, let me know. I'd love to publish a success story about social media. 

I have no choice about my land-line phone service provider, and I wish I did. But mostly today we have too many choices. Just figuring out which free online service to sign up for can take days.

Will and I hosted a house party for a political candidate. (Web Words is non-political, so I won't say who, but keep reading.  There's a link below.) I wanted to share the photos so, naively as it turns out, I edited them on Picasa, and sent them on their way. Half the recipients couldn't open the link. In spite of investing more time than it was worth, I still don't know why the link failed, but I suspect that only people who have a Google account could see them. I don't like that.

Research

I queried Hidden-Tech, my first line of defense when the world of the Web gets overwhelming. As always, I got speedy, informative responses. But my problem wasn't solved. In fact, when I checked out one of the recommendations, the Web site announced that the service was shutting down at the end of August.

Determined to find a good photo-sharing service and share the results with you without devoting my life to the process, I searched online. Eureka! I found this Web page "2012 Best Photo Sharing Service Comparisons and Reviews." Their number one pick was Photobuket. They reviewed the paid version, but a  friend had recommended the free version of the product. I love it when there's consensus.

But could the product do what I wanted? A trip to their Web site didn't provide the information, so I sent an email query. This was a test to see if they would respond, especially since I hadn't yet signed up. It took them a while, but I did get an answer. And yes, the system provides a link that I can email for viewing without the recipient having to sign up for anything.

Implementation

More about the actual product in Web Tips, but Photobucket passed my personal test. Intuitive, simple, obvious, at least for the basics. I was able to upload photos, title them and include a description. I figured out the albums--sort of. At first I couldn't make the slideshow work. I emailed and learned they had a problem which, by this writing, is fixed.

The whole process took less than an hour, and I immediately got positive feedback from the people who couldn't view my original Picasa file. You can see the photos here.

For now I'm going with Photobucket, though one recommendation was for Google+. When I decide to spend the day figuring out that product, I'll check it out. But for now, I'm spending my time taking photos, not researching how to share them.