So, as we wind down our series on social media, I feel like there's one more thing that needs to be addressed. There's a growing perception, especially among those who perhaps chafe under the rigorous output requirements of content marketing strategies, that social media marketing is simple and easy. If you listen to some folks, social media is the true future of online marketing.
Well, maybe it will be and maybe it won't, but one thing is certain: Social media is not the Field of Dreams, and if you build it, they will not necessarily come. Engaging in social media and making it successful is hard work, at least equivalent to other advertising methods, and anyone who tells you otherwise is, well, probably selling you something.
The Challenges of Social Media
If you're looking to transition into social media, there are some very specific challenges involved in it that you need to be aware of. Most of these require time, dedication, and patience to overcome. Even if it may not cost much, it can still end up being quite costly in terms of time investments.
I. Huge networks of followers take a long time to build.
Unless you're a mega-brand like Coke or Nike, you're not going to get thousands of social followers overnight. They're only going to trickle in at first: a few a week, maybe a couple dozen a month if you're lucky. You can help encourage people to follow you by pushing your social updates on your website, but fundamentally, it takes awhile. You'll be looking at many months, if not years, until it truly starts paying off.
Until you hit that "critical mass" where your audience becomes large enough to start truly getting engaged and evangelizing on your behalf, your social activities could actually start feeling like a waste of time. Yet, that is the point when you have to rededicate yourself and keep working because social media marketing done halfway is basically useless.
II. The industry is changing at a ridiculously fast pace.
With social sites in general being the hot new thing in online trends, everyone wants to jump onboard, and those already onboard have to keep innovating to remain relevant. Facebook seems to release major new features every few weeks, as does Google and many of the others. In the meantime, dozens of new startups are appearing, giving it their all, and trying to make an impact.
To be effective with social media, you must always follow the latest news and trends. Effective Facebook strategies from only a year ago may be totally antiquated by now. You - or whoever manages your social sites - have to be willing to invest some time and energy simply keeping up with what's new this week.
III. You must constantly monitor it.
Social media is the polar opposite of "fire and forget." For it to be effective, you need to be constantly monitoring the social sphere for discussions of your company, as well as watching for and responding to comments addressed directly to you. Those companies that do best in social media are those who are constantly working at it.
Now, this whole situation leads many companies to consider hiring a marketing firm to handle their social strategies, but then you end up virtually eliminating the cost benefits of social media. If you have to pay someone thousands of dollars to do it for you, it suddenly becomes a major investment.
Basically, social media has a lot of great features, but you need to be realistic about it. It's not a magic bullet for your Internet marketing needs.
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