Don’t Sell Twitter! Show Clients the Benefits of Social Media

The old saying “don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle” is important to remember as more businesses want to jump on the social media bandwagon.

The headlines that declared Dell produced $1 million in revenue using Twitter was enough to get the attention of people who thought social media was a fad.  More companies are braving the wild west that is social media marketing.  But that doesn’t mean every business should use Twitter.

Twitter is a tool, one of the many tools that can be useful when a business use social media as a platform to communicate.

Don’t Sell the Steak, Sell the Sizzle

The phrase “don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle” first appeared in 1936 when Elmer Wheeler declared:

It is the sizzle that sells the steak and not the cow, although the cow is, of course, mighty important.

The sizzle is the benefit. People buy benefits, not products or services. Because everyone wants to know what’s in it for them!  Especially in this economy.

But don’t promise clients magic results or make outlandish claims about what social media will do!  Shelly and I go to enough meetings already where we are in the position of telling clients the real story after another “social media expert” has over-promised and not delivered.