Social Media Marketing is like eating bugs. Here’s why.

One of my most memorable meals during the time I lived in Thailand wasn’t really a meal at all. I was stuffing my face at random cart vendors at the Chiang Mai night market, sampling steamed buns and a variety of meats on a stick, and my companions ushered me to a vender stirring a hot wok full of something that smelled deliciously fried.

The reveal: Grasshoppers.

Initial reaction? More questions than answers. Did I try them? Absolutely.

I was reminded of this story because there are a lot of parallels between eating bugs and launching a social media campaign, and it’s more than just the fun story you get to share on Facebook.

The Fun Story You Get To Share On Facebook.

Yes, it’s more than this, but social media is (ahem) Social Media. Sharing your adventures, both in business and as a human, are what draw people together and what draw–and keep–customers close. When I worked as a leasing consultant for an apartment community in my former life, my manager once told me that my prospects were less interested in what I was selling and more interested in how I made them feel. She was right.

And this is exactly what social media does. When done correctly, it humanizes a brand and invites customers on a shared journey. I can tell you my story about eating bugs, but I don’t need to convince you to join me at the table. At this point, you may just happy to be entertained and to know someone crazy enough to swallow a (crunchy and a little sweet) grasshopper and live to tell the tale. And maybe, just maybe, you find the story enjoyable enough that you’ll share it with someone else you know.

And so it begins.

Whatever you do, do enthusiastically.

This is true in life and in social media, and it is especially true when you are about to shove a handful of leggy grasshoppers in your mouth.

As Beth says of social media, “Success is about the wizard, and not the wand.” It’s true. While some platforms are better for some clients than others, the truth of the matter is that the one you engage in more enthusiastically and authentically is the one that will likely have greater success. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest–the wands are there and at the ready, but only you can write the spell to entice, enchant, and engage. Pick your experience and commit to it, find your voice and write with it, engage your fans and run with it. Even if it ends up being not what you expected, now you know.

Bugs are remarkably good for you.

So it turns out that grasshoppers have an extraordinary amount of fat and protein in them. About the same amount as a chicken breast (if piled proportionally). They are the reason families can survive droughts and famines in suffering countries around the world, and why enthusiastic tourists like myself can feel good about trying them at least once.

Like bugs, social media can be surprisingly good for your company, but perhaps not for the reasons you may expect. Social media is your grasshopper in a data famine. It is your source of information when you are struggling to identify and meet your company’s nutritional needs–the needs of your current or next demographic. It has the potential to teach you more about your customer than any focus group report could

possibly provide. It tells you what it takes to get them to take action, when they are most likely to see and respond, what content they love, what products they admire, and what they are willing to do to get something for free. It does it almost instantly and fairly constantly.

The goal of your social media campaign is to get and keep your fans engaged and excited about you, at least enough to keep you in their feeds, because the longer they do, the more they’ll tell you about themselves, their pain points, and how you can best market and deliver to them.

If that’s not protein and fat for your business, I don’t know what is.

Start slow, take a deep breath, and open wide.

And, most importantly, remember that you don’t have to eat all the bugs. One is enough to start.

Starting with social media is as overwhelming and intense as you make it, so start with one platform and build from there. You may find that one is all you need. Or you may find that you like the taste of one so much that you wouldn’t mind trying another, and then another. And before you know it you’re pinning and regramming like the bug-eating social media maven you were always meant to be.

Bon appetite!