I am no expert on social media, marketing or anything related to the inter-webs. But when an article about social marketing trends appeared in my mailbox today via Exhibitor Magazine I was shocked to read the following quote:

“I’m not sure social media is ever going to become a powerful marketing tool. Blogs have show some promise, as has Facebook, but I frown on people in my department surfing either of those, even in the name of research.” (pg. 25)

Wait, what?

This quote seems out of place, like it was relevant 15 years ago of a naysayer forecasting the demise of the internet, but not in 2010. Think about it, Twitter is growing by the millions each month and Facebook is quickly becoming the largest country in the world. Not to mention how many people watch videos on Youtube. The shear numbers of people surfing the internet or shopping online is crazy to what it was just ten years ago.

In the past 30 days our church launched a new online store which I am in charge of running and marketing. To be honest, I am still trying to figure out the best way to do this. To quote another person from the Social Studies article in Exhibitor Magazine, “For me, the most difficult part of social media is determining how effective it is, and when it becomes just another form of spam.” (pg. 25)

I don’t want Central Resources twitter page to be spam. I don’t want the advertising I am about to do to be pointless. I want to make an impact by helping to equip people with resources that can help them grow spiritually. Central Resources isn’t about making boatloads of money, it is about equipping people to grow deeper in their faith.

I am still just trying to figure out how to do that using all the internet has to offer without becoming just another spammer.