1. Social media overload.  There.  In the middle of the first paragraph.  Did you catch one of the main reasons to hire a marketing professional?  Social media outlets are free and available to you … and ALL business owners on the planet.  Everyone has access to programs like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn; but no reader has the patience to sift through every business owners’ post, feed, blog or status update.  In order to use these sites effectively, you must catch readers’, friends’ and followers’ attentions.  Here’s where your friendly marketing professional comes in handy and is worth every penny.  Experienced social marketing professionals know how to write sticky content, catchy headlines and compelling posts to catch readers’ attentions.   Social media only works if someone actually reads the information!

2. Picking the right social media outlet for your business.  Social marketing campaigns are not one-size-fits-all.  Each social media outlet has a target demographic, a different vibe and a different way of disseminating information.  If your business targets women 55 and over, Twitter probably won’t do you a lot of good.  A marketing professional will immediately point you to Facebook.  If you are selling to men in the Mid-West, you need to make sure a majority of your Twitter followers are men in the Mid-West. 

3. Social marketing is time consuming.  If done correctly, a well-crafted social media campaign is well worth the time.  However, if you’re new to the social media game, you’re probably wasting a lot of time.  Social marketing is a huge time investment.  If you open accounts with different social media outlets, you need to maintain those accounts or risk turning off readers, followers and friends.  Let the marketing professional work on these campaigns so you can spend your time running your business.

4. There are plenty of fish in the sea.  Everyone knows about the “big three,” but what about the literally thousands of other social media outlets on the Internet?  Many of those smaller social marketing sites are niche sites, and that could be exactly what your business needs.  A marketing professional will take the time to research which sites exist and, although they may be small, will effectively market your business. 

Although social media is usually free to start it may end up costing you in the end.  With bland posts, untargeted messages, hundreds of hours (yes, I’m serious) spent writing, and missed ”hidden” social media opportunities, social media may be much more expensive than you realized.  If you’re interested in starting a social media campaign, invest in a marketing professional with social media experience.  She may be able to increase your return on investment and leave you with time to do what you love — run your business. 

If you have any questions about starting a social marketing campaign or helping an existing campaign, contact us!  We’ll be happy to give you tips and information about how best to leverage social media and increase awareness for your business.

The following is a quick breakdown of some of the most popular social media sites.   While you’re reading, think about your business and which channels have the best chances of reaching your target audience.   If you’re working on sites that are less helpful, consider shifting some of your time or hire someone to help manage your social media campaigns.

1. Twitter. Twitter is a micro-blogging site with an estimated 20 million users, many of them have joined the site in the last six months.  The average age of a tweeter is 31 years old.  Thirty-five percent of Twitter users live in urban areas.   The cities with the biggest Twitter populations are New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, San Francisco and Boston.  Fifty-three percent of tweeters are women.

2. Facebook.  With more than 250 million active users, Facebook is probably the most popular social media site at the moment.  Facebook is experiencing incredible increases in users in the 35-65 age demographic.   More than four million more US women 35-44 and nearly three million more US men 35-44 used Facebook in March 2009 compared to September 2008.  The fastest-growing group of users is women over 55.  There are currently 1.5 million active over-55 women users each month.   

3. Youtube.  Youtube users range in age from 18-55, evenly divided between males and females. Fifty-one percent of users go to YouTube weekly or more often, and 52 percent of 18-34 year-olds “often” share videos.  Nearly one-third of users view two-to-five videos during a visit to the site.

4. Linked In.  This “professional” social media site boasts a median user age of 40.  LinkedIn is currently reaching 11 million users in the US.  Of those users, 57 percent of these users are men and 72 percent are over the age of 35. Thirty-seven percent of users have a total household income that exceeds $100k per year.  Most are well educated – 82 percent of Linked In users have a college degree.

So, which sites work for you?  Which sites proably won’t work as well?  How can you manage your “social marketing time” more effectively?