Social Marketing: It’s OK to Start Small

As we talk to more and more clients about incorporating social media into their marketing mix, we encounter a fair amount of anxiety – a lot of, “We know we should, but we’re just not ready.”

Some clients are concerned about getting started, setting up pages and profiles in a meaningful, effective fashion. Others are worried about staffing and the need to hire dedicated personnel to feed and filter social content across multiple platforms – in a flat/shrinking budget environment. Still others are afraid of putting themselves out there and not attracting any participation, essentially talking to themselves. These are all, indeed, valid concerns.

But we are quick to point out that very, very few organizations are marketing through social media brilliantly. This landscape is shifting so rapidly – there are few fixed rules of success, and customer/constituent expectations are still wide open.

The upshot: it’s OK to start small. To crawl, then walk, then run or even dance. Start with what is most comfortable – be it a Twitter PR feed or a Facebook fan page for your most active constituents – and expand from there. If resources are a challenge, talk to us about our cost-effective products for managing your social presence… or at least getting it off the ground. And don’t be afraid if your social presence is a little quiet at first; this marketing space is all about trying, tweaking and constantly adapting… to find what works best for your business.

What you don’t want to do is simply wait until everything is “perfect,” which may be innately impossible in this mighty morphin’ medium. Conversations are starting, habits are forming, and relationships are being built. Put aside your anxieties, and join the party.