Why Social Marketing Won't Work For Some Business

Last week we discussed social marketing in business and canvassed some of its advantages and disadvantages.

Without a doubt social marketing offers some great advantages for business. The good news is that's free. The bad news is that social marketing requires a commitment from people to use it effectively.

We've come to the conclusion that social marketing is a lot like content management system web sites - people go to the time and expense of having one created, but then they never update it!

There are a number of reasons for that:

• It's not my job - business owners and managers aren't really sure who to assign to the job. Is it the role of the boss to update Facebook and Twitter? Should it be a marketing function? What about leaving it to admin person to do between taking calls, making calls, doing the bookkeeping, chasing accounts and providing clerical support?
• It's lovely... now what do I do with it? - Even if the business does have the resource to use social marketing, there is frequently a lack of understanding about how best to make social marketing work.
• I hate writing! - Sure, we were all taught the basics of grammar, syntax and sentence construction in primary school - some may vaguely remember something about nouns, verbs and adverbs. But writing is more than just an assemblage of words - it's about the communication of ideas, concepts and emotions designed to elicit a response. In business, that's about reaching new customers and building relationships with existing customers. Writing a skill that people have to various degrees, but is what you have enough to promote your business?
• I hate deadlines! - Using any type of marketing requires a commitment to deadlines. This ensures consistency of your message. As anyone who has had the role of writing a company newsletter with attest, deadlines can be menacing creatures and can cause untold frustration.
  

That's why we recommend - as with all communication media (web sites, print, TV, radio, social media) - to work with professionals.

Not only with they be faster, more efficient, more cost-effective than using a non-specialist, but they will also be more results driven.

Just one last thing, thanks to one of our close friends:

Q: How many sub-editors does it take to
change a light bulb?
A: Too.