Is Social Media Wasting Time or Money?

I have regular conversations with people about marketing, whether about their current business/organization, something that a friend/acquaintance runs, or a new brand that they’re looking to launch.

One of the most common statements that I hear is, “yeah, we have (or will have) social media” or, “oh yeah, we have Instagram.” And that’s the end of the conversation, or at least the end of that portion of the conversation. It’s almost treated as a mic-drop moment, BUT IT’S NOT. Social media can be a great tool (see “Internal vs. External Blog”) but is only a SINGLE PIECE of the puzzle. It’s not THE puzzle. And as most know, if you only have a piece of the puzzle, your puzzle looks a little wonky… Or, barely looks like a puzzle at all.

Right now, culturally, social media is a generally great way to appeal to, get in front of, and attract current and potential customers. Or at least, it can be, if your ideal customer is even on social media. In some cases, that’s not where the IDEAL CUSTOMER is even at. And you can end up missing out on the easiest sales because you’re only focusing on one piece of the puzzle instead of the bigger puzzle.

Now if you’re asking, “is social media even useful?” my answer is “YES.” Well, let’s go with “maybe… or, it can be.” But it will be far more effective if leveraged as a tool instead of treating it as the finish line.

As you’ve moved into 2022 and if you’ve found yourself in this spot, or a similar spot, I would implore you to create an ideal customer profile for your company or organization. If you haven’t done it in the last calendar year, it’s worth doing again because things may have shifted. Design your new year’s, 2022, strategy around that profile and around the goals that your company has set!

Then, if social media fits into what you’re doing and it’s actually useful for you, then GO FOR IT! And if it’s only partially useful based on your strategy, then determine what steps need to be taken IN ADDITION so that you don’t just set 2022 goals, but you actually hit them! 

Let’s make 2022 our most effective year for the use of marketing dollars! Because our purpose is not to spend them for the sake of spending, but to get them back, PLUS MORE DOLLARS!