This comment has often been made by clients when the topic of social media is introduced. In a previous posting, I presented a few objections that senior-level managers commonly state about social media, but this post is about some common concerns I regularly hear from the frontline marketers who are potentially responsible for the implementation of such a program. Here are a few:
- “Nobody really cares about what I do” or “My life is just not that interesting” – this is often one of the earliest objections made about social media. Most of my contacts who have shared this sentiment have only been exposed to purely personal social media content. Frankly, I often silently share this opinion, which is why I attempt to focus my online messages on business-related topics. †The fact that I found a great new summer brew might be exciting to me, but it won’t likely generate much interest among my clients and colleagues. †When clients share this concern, I direct their attention to the many sources of useful, professional online content, such as Chris Brogan’s post on 8 Marketing Bloggers to Watch in 2009. Another favorite response, which takes some preparation, is to share some of the social media activity in which some of our client’s competitors are involved. †If there aren’t good examples, I often defer to consumer product examples that are easy for clients to relate to their respective industry. †Either way, almost every client that uses this objection to social media is easily swayed when presented with good examples of B2B social media efforts.
- “Where do they find the time?” – Another common misperception is that social media requires an enormous time commitment. †According to a recent whitepaper on social media in higher education, most marketing communications directors at colleges and universities estimate that someone on their staff spends 1-10 hours per week on social media. †This is obviously a broad range, but most of the clients that I speak with are under the impression that each posting on every different social media site must be different. A scenario that I share involves establishing a blog on WordPress, which includes a Twitter plugin and which is also integrated into a LinkedIn profile. †Once new content is posted on the blog, a tweet is sent and an update with a link appears on the person’s LinkedIn homepage. †If the person also wants to use a site such as Facebook, a simple notice that there is a new update on their blog with a corresponding link is all that is required. †So, one blog post and a message on Facebook can essentially create new content on 4 different social media sites. †Suddenly, it doesn’t seem so overwhelming.
- “There’s too much junk out there.” – Even USA Today†agrees with this statement. Fortunately, this means that really good content that deals with topics that are meaningful to our client’s target audiences can readily stand out. †In a meeting this past week, a quick Google search of a key phrase for one of our clients resulted in an array of results, none of which was created by our client’s competitors. †What a great opportunity for our client to seize control of this topic online. †Once he saw it, he agreed and began to understand the powerful possibilities that exist.
These are a few of the common concerns that I hear. †Do anymore come to mind?
Mike
