The Inevitable Pros and Cons of Social Media Marketing (Part 2)

In our previous post, we discussed a selection of the biggest advantages of an investment in social media marketing. With more people spending more time connected to social networks than ever, there has never been a better time to promote your business through social channels.

However, there are several inescapable disadvantages to social media marketing that must be acknowledged and understood, before launching a campaign. These are all things your SMM provider should discuss openly and objectively, as opposed to pretending they don’t exist.

Here’s how a social media marketing campaign can also bring a few additional challenges along for the ride:

1. Content marketing on social media is resource-intensive

The key to success on any social network lies in producing and publishing a continuous stream of premium quality content.

From stunning imagery to professional quality video clips, insightful infographics and beyond; trust us when we say, you can’t pull quality content out of nowhere at a moment’s notice.

Instead, quality content marketing on social media is an exceptionally resource-heavy responsibility that takes time, effort and experience to master.

This is why most digital marketers advise outsourcing at least some aspect of your social strategy. Unless, of course, you have the resources available to handle things in-house.

Under no circumstances should social media marketing be misinterpreted as an easy ride.

2. Quarrels and confrontations cannot be avoided

They say ‘airing your dirty laundry in public’ is never a good idea. And yet, this is pretty much exactly what you do when addressing complaints and criticisms on social media.

Dealing professionally, proactively and publicly with dissatisfied customers shows others just how committed you are to their satisfaction. But at the same time, it provides an open forum for those wishing to broadcast their dissatisfaction to the world.

This again heightens the resource intensiveness of the social media marketing; you need to ensure that complaints and criticisms are responded to appropriately as quickly as possible.

The longer it takes for you to respond to those dissatisfied few, the more it looks like you don’t care. And of course, there is no way of eliminating the risk of trolls along the way; those who simply set out to wreck your reputation without significant provocation.

3. It takes time for SMM to produce quantifiable results

Lastly, there is nothing you or anyone else can do to speed things up or force results on social media.

Even if you make a relatively heavy investment in paid ads, these kinds of tactics are more about quick fixes. When you’re building an audience of engaged followers and establishing your authority on a social network, don’t expect instant success.

You’re in this for the long game.

It’s not uncommon to feel like you’re wasting your time and money during the early stages of your campaign. Particularly if you are investing heavily in the creation of quality content, you may begin to wonder whether it is worth it. 

Nevertheless, perseverance is essential for any business looking to leverage the potential benefits of social media marketing.

Irrespective of your objectives for your SMM campaign, you are guaranteed to enjoy a more attractive and consistent ROI with the right help on board. Whether starting from scratch or looking to take your existing SMM strategy to the next level, outsourcing at the right time can and often does make all the difference.