The deserted town on the high plains with tumbleweed blowing through is a staple of western genre movies…
…and the cyber-equivalent seems to be cropping up in social-media land…
This wonderful cartoon from the great “marketoonist” Tom Fishburne says it all.
One of the downsides of social media for small businesses is…
…the sheer amount of work involved in maintaining the sites. Believe me, it’s hard work and involves a significant amount of time and resources to do it properly.
Outsourcing is not necessarily the answer either.
That’s because your social media sites are a DIRECT point of contact with your clients and prospective clients. It’s essential that your communication is professional and accurately reflects your business and what you can do for clients and prospects.
You’re simply not going to get the quality of communication needed by hiring someone cheaply from elance or guru.com.
I’ve seen a number of clients go down this path and they’ve often ended up having to completely rewrite material themselves.
Yes, there are social media specialists you can hire, but the good ones are not cheap (nor should they be, they’re providing a valuable service).
So, all too often, companies set up a social media presence and then, after an initial rush of enthusiasm, the site is neglected.
For a further discussion on this, read Tom’s article here…
Ironically, this problem seems to affect big companies to a similar extent as small companies. This is actually one area where big companies should have a big edge because the costs of maintaining a social media site are pretty much the same whatever the size of company. If you have a big marketing budget it’s pretty much chump change for a big company.
The point for smaller companies is this. Is the investment in a social media presence going to help you reach your marketing and business objectives in a more cost-effective way than more conventional alternatives?
If the answer is “Yes”, that’s great. If not, why are you doing it?
In yesterday’s post “Marketing In 2011 – Thoughts On The Year Ahead”…
…I mentioned Frank Kern’s “State Of The Internet Address 2011”.
In that video, Frank emphasises the importance of the business basics, that is to say to be successful you need to…
1. Attract large numbers of prospective clients
2. Convert those leads into paying clients
3. Make repeat sales to those (happy) clients
That’s it. Do that and you’ve done most of what you need to have a successful business (tedious though it can be, there is another important 10% you need to take care of ).
The objective of your marketing is simply to get results in one of these 3 areas. If social media can help, all well and good. But it’s merely a means to an end. Too many companies seem to be getting involved in social media simply because it’s fashionable and they feel they have to be involved.
Again, let me clarify I’m not “anti” social media. It exists, it’s not going away and it can be very powerful when used properly. One of the best guys for advice in this area that I’ve come across is Don Crowther. Worth checking out his blog at www.DonCrowther.com.
But get the basics right first and then decide on what’s going to give you the biggest bang for the buck to reach your marketing objectives.
UPDATE (5 JAN 2011):
Coincidentally, just got off a webinar with internet marketing expert Jim Edwards. The topic was “How To Create Your Own Highly Effective Marketing Calendar” and in passing Jim mentioned the use of social media (primarily Twitter, Digg and Facebook).
“Don’t depend on it (social media) too much”…
…is Jim’s view, and 15 minutes a day is the most he suggests devoting to updating social media profiles and sites UNLESS you have very clear evidence that it’s producing big returns for you.
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