Sure, anyone can sign up for a free social media account. But who is going to post regular updates and monitor replies? Who is going track click-throughs? Who is going to come up with content to post? So now you have to provide a resource to do all that. Free just went out the window.
More often than not clients sign up for these accounts with the intention and motivation to get into social marketing. A few posts are made on Facebook and Twitter, but no tangible sales are made so they give up. No immediate satisfaction. You can find hundreds of Facebook and Twitter accounts that are stale and dated. The owners have given up.
When working with our clients we tell them that social media is work, it takes a strategy, a plan, and resources. Social media isn't about selling your product directly, although you can sell your products or services through them. It's about creating a conversation with your audience. Asking them questions and answering theirs. Sure, you're going to start you Facebook page with zero friends, but over time, with good posts and link bait, people will friend you and get into the conversation.
Of course this is no passive event, even as I write this article I'm brainstorming my next article. It is a continuous process that takes resources and time. Take this article for example. I'm writing it because it is within my industry, I'm a professional in it, and I believe it is of value to someone in my audience.
Think of social media as part of content marketing. You should be writing for your blog, right? So now you can leverage that blog article over to a Tweet and a post on your Facebook page. Hey, now we're leveraging. This is part of the strategy of not just social media, but your overall marketing plan. Leverage where you can.
This is the way you build an audience, one at a time with great content. So no, social media isn't free, it does take time and resources, but the conversations you build with your audience will pay huge dividends down the road.
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