Social Marketing: Engage with your community for success, says Peggy Fitzpatrick

What are the most important social media marketing skills that graduating college students need to understand?

Peggy Fitzpatrick

I’m asking three questions of some leaders in the field of social marketing and this is what I learned. This is No. 28 in the series (see the links below for other posts in the series).

Today: Peggy Fitzpatrick, Director of Marketing and Social Media Manager for Kreussler Inc., the Brand Sparker at re:DESIGN and a writer and Managing Partner at 12 Most. She is on Twitter as @PegFitzpatrick:

Engaging with your community is very important for social marketing success, says Fitzpatrick.

"If you don't enjoy being social with people, this is not the venue for you," she says. "I genuinely love hearing from people who follow me or that I follow, they brighten my day."

"Being social is one thing that many overlook.

"Basic social skills such as saying thank you and greeting friends/fans goes a long way," Fitzpatrick says.

"Dropping the social from social media turns you into a broadcaster and the fast track to going nowhere," she says.

"Being unique is also a crucial point. If you like someone else's post, tweet or comment, don't be tempted to steal it just because it's easy.

"Sharing, with credit to the source, builds a relationship with the person you shared from," she says, "and builds trust from your followers as they see you are generous and a person of integrity."

Hard work is what separates a successful social marketer from others, Fitzpatrick says.

"There is no short cut or cut to the head of the class pass," she says. "You need to be consistently good."

And, just how important is social marketing as part of the marketing mix?

"I think that soon social marketing won't even be considered part of the mix, it will be fully incorporated," Fitzpatrick says.

"Traditional marketing is what may be soon overlooked and that would be a mistake.

"Print is here to stay and may be used to promote and extend all newer forms of media," she says.

"It's great to have an online LinkedIn profile but you can't beat a well-designed, professional business card for a post meeting touch point."

So, what do you think? How important is social marketing to the future of marketing and what skills and knowledge MUST graduating students have?

Previous posts:
10 Experts Weigh In On Social Marketing
10 More Experts Weigh In On Social Marketing
Social Marketing: Three distinct kinds of thinking needed, says speaker and author Neal Schaffer
Social Marketing: 'Be yourself' to be successful, says Ted Rubin of ROR fame
Social Marketing: Converse, don't broadcast says Ricoh’s Sandra Zoratti
Social Marketing: 'Be able to communicate well,' says strategist and author Jason Falls