There have been diagrams and blogs written that chart the actual costs required to have an effective social media program in place, and yet I still hear businesses all the time say, “Social media is free! Facebook is free, Twitter is free, yay! We don’t need to spend money on stuff that’s free!”
I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Websites are free, too. They are built with HTML, PHP, Javascript, CSS and other various types of code, and it’s all free. You can host it yourself, and all you’ll pay for is the internet connection and the computer it’s hosted on. You can even give your site a name for free through some services, so you don’t have to pay for the DNS, if you don’t mind having a less- than-flashy name. So don’t worry about buying a website, since it’s free. Just go learn some script, and you’ll be selling online in no time.
In fact, there are pages online that will teach you how to code in HTML, for free. There are lots of sites that will tell you how to build websites, and use all of these different styles of coding to create effective websites. They are written by web developers that are more than willing to share their knowledge, so that other web developers who become a little stuck at times can fix their problems.
Now that I’ve shared this little secret, am I worried about being out of a job? Um, no.
When you buy a website from a professional web designer, you aren’t paying for the materials. You are paying for the knowledge of how to create a visually pleasing, information-sharing site that can increase business for your company.
The same is true for social media. Although Facebook, Twitter, etc. are all free, there is still a knowledge base that is required to make these tools effective. There are websites and books written that attempt to teach readers how to effectively market to these channels. And, the same as your website, you can give it a go all by yourself, for free.
But I wouldn’t recommend it.
Social media requires a hands-on approach, and if you want to be successful with it, you need people that are devoted to it. If you want an employee or group of employees to be in charge of your social media programs, that’s a great way to go. I always believe that in-house monitoring of these types of channels is most effective. The caveat is that these staff members must be trained to be effective at their job. They need to be trained by someone who knows how to make the most of these tools.
A couple of examples, just to drive my point home: If I give you some paint brushes, some paint, and a ladder, all for free, can you paint my ceiling to match the Sistine Chapel’s? Or if I give you a pile of wood, and some building materials, can you figure out how to build me a new house? It’s free!
You can pay to have someone else run your social media for your company. You can pay to be trained on how to best use social media for your company. Or you can continue to think it’s free, and SPEND several hours mismanaging a campaign that does not create any additional sales, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and brand awareness. No matter what, you’re paying.