The True Cost of Social Media
One of the first things that people mention when I tell them about creating a social media marketing effort is that they cannot afford the costs, either in cash or in time.
And it’s funny, because really social media doesn’t cost any more than any other type of marketing. Sure, you might pay consulting fees, or maybe you pay an employee to manage your social media presence, but how is that any different than hiring an ad guy or a salesman?
And if you aren’t paying for marketing, then I have to wonder…do you really have a business at all?
Not only is the cost far less than other marketing efforts, but the benefit is often 2-3x more than what you can get with banner ads, yellow pages ads, PPC, or newspaper ads. If you spend your time right, you will create customers that evangelize for you, which means free advertising and instant social proof.
Saving Dollars with Social Media
If it’s cost that you are concerned about, then there’s nothing wrong with learning what you can on your own and building a solid social media plan based on that information. From there, you can always pay to access higher levels of knowledge or experience. And that’s a good model because I think it helps to have your own understanding so that you have a base from which to judge a consultant or employee’s efforts. Otherwise, you are just writing a blank check.
And even if you do hire someone to help out, you still aren’t paying any more than you would with traditional marketing efforts. Sure, you might pay consulting fees, or an employee to manage your social media presence, but how is that any different than hiring an ad guy or a salesman?
I guarantee you that if you spend even half as much on social media marketing as you do on ads, PPC, or sales efforts, then you see a marked difference in the types of leads an referrals you can generate. With social media marketing, you are bringing in warm leads, which are the type that make the best customers.
Saving Time
If it’s time that you are worried about, then you need to understand that getting started with Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or blogging is an essential part of doing business in the 21st century. If you aren’t creating social profiles for your business or products, then you are leaving a huge gap for your competition to take advantage of.
You can do social media in less than 20 minutes per day. And thanks to a variety of automated tools and combining them with concentrated effort rather…you can get more done than you think.
It only takes 10 minutes per day to respond to customers or leads on Twitter, and Facebook is nearly the same. Blogging might take a bit of extra time, but then again there are consultant like me that can help you skip the process of creating content so that you can focus on the actions that make you money.
Here’s the truth…
I’m not going to lie and say that social media effort comes without a price, because it does. But show me any business and I can show you wasted dollars and wasted minutes that you could re-purpose for social media marketing. It’s true that you might get away without it for now, but don’t complain to me in a few years when it’s too late and your competition has put you out of business.
So what’s the true cost?
It’s the life of your business.
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