According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, the big corporations are seriously pouring money into professional management of their “social” media activities.
Despite what everyone says about social media being social, real, interactive, not sell-y – about how users should listen and not tell – about how the whole energy of social media is a different animal than marketing – the bottom line is, corporations use it for business. And the purpose of business is to sell and make money. And if social media helps to do that, then it makes sense to for a business to spend some money to insure that social media is handled with as much deliberate care as every other marketing activity. And that’s what’s happening – the big companies are hiring social media specialists, in droves.
This should tip off smaller business owners that social media is not for fun, at least where their businesses are concerned. Which means that business owners shouldn’t kid around with it or be too casual or passive in their activities, because if they are, they’re going to fall behind their competition.
What does this mean for you? Either buckle down and take courses, read ebooks, attend webinars, create an integrated plan, and set and keep schedules for your activities – or assign these tasks to a staff member and monitor her activity. Or, consider bringing in some professional assistance, just as you do for advertising, marketing, and selling.