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.