WHAT THE *%$8 IS SMAD?

Social Media Anxiety Disorder! Oh my, is there really such a condition? What kind of credentials must the diagnosing party have to label it as such? Does the sufferer shake and cough when they are tossed offline or only when they have to execute an integrated social media component into a marketing plan?

How many of you have been bucking the trend towards social media usage whether on a personal or a professional basis?

Social media has fast become the only growth media there is…with over 66% of marketers saying they'll be throwing more of their budget into social media, it appears its time is here!

But, does the learning curve with juggling it and all the prospective optimized cross links you can create through it give you the same shakes you suffered during vows to your FIRST spouse? Does the idea of having the public be the conversation starters AND controllers about your brand or product make you consider medical or psychological intervention? Do the viral videos, survey monkeys, quizzes, rating systems, and blog commentaries induce crippling anxiety?

Sounds to me like a clear cut case of SMAD!

To be clear, SMAD is a bit different from what psychiatrists have defined as Social Anxiety Disorder. According to the DSM IV, the guidebook to all things mental, SAD is "a persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people or to possible scrutiny by others" (eg; "Life").

SMAD, on the other hand, is caused by stress from the pressures of social media: the constant management, requests, writing, invitations, posting, tweeting, commentary, networking, profile writing, page development, and blogging to name a few. If the constant chatter among customers, potential customers, and angry past customers alone is enough to make you run from your office screaming, you are suffering from SMAD.

Now, there are multiple ways to relieve yourself of the acronym, not the least of which is to dig a hole and stick your head in it. But, a more productive manner of coping might start with a strategic plan and some time management techniques.

Social Media is an amazingly responsive and seriously effective way to drive traffic to your website, increase exposure of your brand in and beyond your “marketplace” and create BUZZ about whatever it is you or your company represents.

There is nothing to be fearful about! I repeat, there is nothing to fear! There is moderation meets a keen strategy with conversion goals (goals for how you want to measure your success – based on sales, traffic, comments, tweets, forwarded links, a combination of all of them, etc.)

Freakin’ Genius Marketing are pros at working with you to develop a strategy that integrates into your existing marketing plan so that you can find relief in the ROI you will realize, and kick the SMAD to the curb. Yeah, that’s us…We’re the antidote to SMAD. You’ll find our pricing isn’t a hard pill to swallow either!