Question

Topic: Social Media

Finding Time For Social Media

Posted by margoklein007 on 12/19/2017 at 9:04 AM ET 125 Points
I have setup the usual social media accounts: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. Recently, I spoke with someone from a marketing company that was very into using social media and advised me to keep those accounts active with tweets, posts, shared articles, etc.

I do not have a marketing department (or even person) to tend to all of that. So my questions are:

A. For those with limited marketing time, does social media participation pay off?

B. If so, which platforms provide the best value?

C. And how do you find the time to keep your accounts updated with new content? What tips can you offer to get the largest reach with limited time?

thanks.
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 12/19/2017 at 11:18 AM Member
    The answer is, “it depends.” What social media do your (prospective) customers use? What information will you be sharing (that’s not new/useful)? How will you measure success?
  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 12/19/2017 at 12:13 PM Accepted
    I agree it does depend, but it seems that most companies find it to be beneficial. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn seem to be most common in the US.

    Social media can help you get to new customers, but that often takes a bit of active (paid) participation, unless you have a very effective program which is finding ways to make items go viral. Given you sound like you have time or resource limitations, that likely won't be happening for you.

    But even without an active program to get new customers, social media can be used as a magnifier for your other actions. Every press release you write, announcements for any shows you go to, announcements about new products, new job postings, etc. Basically anything you do that you want to promote you would have built in, free avenues to promote it.

    If it is only time that is your limitation, there are plenty of consultancy firms that could handle that side for you for a fee.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 12/19/2017 at 5:01 PM Moderator
    If you view social media as a vehicle for ongoing market research, you can definitely hire an experienced market research professional to keep you informed based on social media tracking in your industry/product category. You can even request alerts when there are opportunities to contribute your expertise or participate in relevant discussions.

    Let me know if you want a referral to a social-media-savvy market researcher.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 12/19/2017 at 5:10 PM Accepted
    A. It depends.

    B. It depends.

    C. Largest reach with limited time: Hire a content professional and let him/her be your ghost-writer/blogger and social media coach or stand-in. If you are already overloaded, spend your time where you provide the highest value.

    Don't be afraid to hire consultants to do the things that are not in your sweet spot. Often they can deliver very high value because they've plowed the ground several times already. You don't have to pay for them to climb the learning curve.
  • Posted by dubois on 12/19/2017 at 8:55 PM Accepted
    It's risky to turn over social to a third party. B2C social media is so much about your brand personality and the feeling of trusted relationships.

    If you have some budget, you could hire someone local to go through the first month at your side so to speak, showing you the ropes and getting you set up with a scheduled-posting app. Then, if you can set aside time once every week or two to write posts and schedule them out, you won't procrastinate on daily posts. Scheduling 2 weeks of posts will help you get creative about content ideas.

    Once you have a few months into your feeds, a talented third party could step in and mimic that voice for you.
  • Posted by margoklein007 on 12/21/2017 at 4:58 AM Author
    Great tips, thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to review my budget to see what I can make available for a consultant. It sounds like even a month or two would be helpful.
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Social Media)