As social media becomes more and more prevalent, businesses are continuing to turn to social media “experts” and sites like Twitter and Facebook. Although we agree it is important to incorporate social media into your PR strategy, there are a few things social media can’t do that small business owners and entrepreneurs should be aware of.
A little while ago, B.L. Ochman posted a list of Ten Things Social Media Can’t Do. Here are our five favorites:
Social media can’t:
Substitute for marketing strategy.
A Twitter campaign or a Facebook page that announces your weekly specials is not a marketing strategy.
Be viewed as a short-term project.
Social media is not a one-shot deal. It’s a long-term commitment to openness, experimentation and change that requires time to bear fruit.
Produce meaningful, measurable results quickly.
One of the complaints about social media is that it can’t be measured. But there are many things that can be measured, including engagement, sentiment and whether increased traffic leads to sales. Those results can’t be produced or measured in the short term. Like PR, social media marketing often produces its best results in the second and third year.
Guarantee sales or influence.
Unless your effort can pass the “who cares” test — and most simply can’t — your social media efforts will fall flat. And unless you know how to drive traffic to your contest, video, blog, event, etc., you’ll have little more than an expensive field of dreams.
Replace PR.
No matter how great your website, video contest, blog, Twitter strategy, etc., you still need publicity. Or you may end up with a tree falling in the forest and nobody hearing it.
Read the other five things social media can’t do at AdAge.com.