5 Truths the Boss Needs to Know About Social Media Marketing

For those of us who eat and breathe social media for a living, it is a no-brainer.

What about the skeptical company head who just doesn’t quite get social media? Can he or she be swayed to adopting a social media campaign for their business, a program that could lead to both increased brand exposure and better return on investment (ROI)?

As many social media professionals and those employees who are in-house and wish their company was more social can point out, selling the top individual at the business can be challenging at times.

The biggest snafu in instituting a social media campaign is oftentimes that the person in charge of the company reports they can’t see any clear ROI with such efforts, therefore, why waste the time in the first place?

If you have found resistance to getting a social media campaign off the ground either at your company or with businesses you have reached out to in order to provide such services, there are some things in your favor.

Be sure to note:

Truth #1. Social Media is Here to Stay

Although some will claim that social media is a fad that will go the way of Beanie Babies and New Coke, all indications are SM is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Given that today’s world revolves around the Internet for countless people, not having a social media game plan at one’s business is like starting a touchdown behind in a football game before the kickoff.

The old adage of those who snooze lose couldn’t be truer when it comes to social media;

Truth #2. We Have a Game Plan

Another area of resistance from some regarding social media is they do not know how to go about instituting a SM game plan.

Should I use Twitter? Facebook? Google+? LinkedIn? Should I do social media on a daily basis, a few days a week or every other week?

If you go to a company leader with a plan to employ social media in their daily business dealings, be sure you know what the goals are and how you can measure the goals (see below);

Truth #3. Social Media Can be Measured

One of the biggest areas of reluctance to social media by those in charge is that they feel they cannot see qualitative social media metrics.

Are we deploying social media correctly? Are we getting any ROI back for our efforts? Is social media bringing me new customer leads?

With the right analytical plan in place, you or the person in charge of a social media campaign at their respective business can successfully measure who is taking part in the social media campaign;

Truth #4. Time is of the Essence

Most individuals in charge of companies revolve around two things – time spent on doing a project and how much it will cost.

The cool thing with your social media campaigns, especially those done in-house, is that they cost relatively little other than time and effort. In many cases, the marketing team or Public relations head or staff will oversee social media efforts.

If you’re outsourcing such campaigns, while you will obviously pay an expense for such services, you are turning the program over to someone who hopefully is well versed in this area, thereby taking it off of your hands and that of your in-house team;

Truth #5. Numbers Don’t Lie

Facebook and Twitter are two of the top social media mediums and the numbers prove it. The two combined have in the area of 1 billion users.

Now imagine if you were getting your company name out in front of even just a few millions of those folks. Can you say big-time exposure?

Just having a company account/presence on those two sites alone can open the door to a ton of new customers. Even if the head of the company thinks social media is a waste of time, he or she can’t deny that exposing the business to millions of eyes can only help.

Whether you are a social media expert or you’re just an employee in-house who works for a company that has little or no social media exposure, pointing out the benefits of SM to those in charge of the business is a no-brainer.

At the end of the day, companies who prove not to be social stand a good chance of also being companies who end up being labeled anti-social by consumers.

Guest Author: Dave Thomas, who covers among other items starting a small business, writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

More Reading

• 10 Key Steps to a Successful Social Media Marketing Strategy
• 3 Essential Social Media Tools For The CEO
• When A CEO Should Fire The Marketing Manager
• Social Media and The CEO – Video Interview With Greg Savage CEO of Firebrand Talent
• 6 Questions To Ask The CEO When He Says Social Media Won’t Work For His Company
• 10 Simple Questions To Assess Your CEO’s Marketing IQ

Image by Leo Reynolds