Top 3 Pros and Cons of Social Media for Small Business

Social media is becoming a mainstream marketing tactic, but just because it’s a popular initiative (and a successful one for some companies) doesn’t mean it’s necessarily right for your small business.

If you're new to social media, or are in the process of trying to decide if it's right for your organization, hopefully this  list of our top 3 pros and cons will help give you an idea what some of the main benefits and challenges of this marketing channel can be.

Pro 1: Social Media is Free!

• Social media can be an extremely cost effective marketing channel
• With the exception of Facebook and Twitter advertisements you can get most of your social media marketing done with no cost at all

• Social media takes continual time and effort to create a positive, relevant presence
• This can take time away from initiatives that might suit your business better
• If you can’t set aside the time and resources to maintain your social media accounts then it isn’t a worthwhile initiative

• News travels quickly in the social media sphere and this can work to create an engaged audience for your brand
• Social media offers a platform for free publicity for your new products, resources etc.

• News sometimes travels too fast for you to keep up with the reactions (good or bad) from your followers
• Anyone can have a voice and they can use that voice to offer their opinions about your company, with or without your consent

• Social media can help increase purchase frequency of existing customers and cement relationships
• Your customer retention levels can increase based on relationships nurtured through social media

• If your main goal is immediate and quantifiable results for customer acquisitions you may not get the results you’d like

Posted by Amberlie Denny at May 11, 2010 12:15 PM

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