Social Media: Understanding the Myths

Its growing. It is definitely important. And, for good reason, its everywhere. But, is social media marketing a line-item in your 2010 budget? Isn’t it free? Trouble is, many business owners know little about social media so planning and budget management is a real business challenge.

To many the processes are confusing, complicated and the results frustrating. Is that you? Let’s consider a few myths of social media.

One: Social Media is Free

Yes, you can quickly create a presence on the top three social media sites – Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. And, you can create accounts on other sites such as Blogger, YouTube, Flickr and Digg. That too is almost free but incorporating the tools into a business marketing system that produces meaningful results requires time, marketing savvy and money. Social media marketing is far from free.

Two: Social media profiles are brief bios or short company descriptions

You don’t need to spend much time on your social media profiles or bios; right? Unfortunately, that’s far from the case. Those that understand the strategy and importance of social media profiles are obtaining far better results than those that don’t. Profiles are very important and need to match your business goals and objectives.

Three: Anyone can do it in-house

Ask yourself, do you have the experience? Are you using the most appropriate strategies and the right tools? Fact is, few businesses have in-house teams with the experience required to launch an effective social media marketing campaign. And, many lack the resolve to allocate the necessary resources needed to obtain meaningful results.

Social media marketing is a fundamental shift in the way individuals network, organize information and communicate. Today, businesses are leveraging technology in more ways than you can possibly imagine. Ask your SCORE advisor for assistance developing a plan for your business if you need help.

Please leave a comment below if you have specific questions about social media. Anything to tell us with respect to the lessons you learned last year with social media marketing? 

Greg Magnus, Richmond SCORE
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