5 Reasons Social Media Isn’t Right For You

There are brands and companies that, even before social media existed, were involved in engaging and delighting their customers. For them, social media became yet another avenue to extend their commitment to people. Today, it seems like an appropriate next step for all brand managers to explore social media. Not so quick though. Here are some points that are worth some consideration:

1. Your product or service is of little value
   This is probably the number one reason you will not see results with social media. Offline or on, if an experience is worth talking about,it will happen. Evaluating objectively and clearly whether your offering will enhance the lives of people who use it, is a great exercise to undertake before anything else.




2. You wish “someone” would take care of it
   Given the nature of social media there is no single department that can handle the entire process. Its implementation is a collaborative effort. The involvement of top management is another factor that tremendously aids the relationship-building process. A combined voice provides a wide spectrum of content and perspectives for the community to enjoy and associate with. Zappos’ employee Twitter stream is a classic example of such open and engaging communication from employees.




3. Relationship-building is not really a priority
   Since social media sounds like the “it” thing, you’d like a presence on it, but you’re not really interested in building genuine relationships with your community. Well, the trouble here is that social media is ALL about relationships. To be effective, it’s efforts and outreach have to be rooted in a culture of openness, honesty and the genuine desire to involve its customers. People can smell fakes online. For instance Belkin suffered from the backlash when the online community discovered it had paid to get positive reviews.




4. You’re inflexible
   It is difficult to ascertain at the onset which social media plans will click and which won’t. Most marketers have learnt and re-invented strategies with time. So flexibility and if I may, a sense of adventure, are key in moving into this emerging space.




5. You want the magic without the commitment
   Just like all engagements, social media marketing requires commitment. All efforts need a consistent amount of time and energy input. If you?re looking for results quickly, then this is the wrong place to be. Building trust, loyalty and a sense of belongingness to your brand is a slow process. Bailing early will mean your efforts will never see the light of day.

So, that’s my 5. You got any points to add? The comment box awaits

Image Credit: Grundlepuck, Flickr

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