Social Media Fear: Let It Go

Social media use by individuals and business is now commonplace, but companies of all sizes and types continue to fear it. Now that the dust has settled from the mad rush to jump on the bandwagon, it’s now time to let that fear go.

While it’s understandable that a business would be reluctant to consider using social media without knowledge or experience, that time has passed. Let’s look at several reasons why a business may have been reluctant to include social media in their marketing plan. While some are perfectly understandable, most issues can now be overcome:

• Lack of Experience – Every business deals with uncertainty on a daily basis. There has been enough experience generated by business to give companies interested in social media enough information to overcome their shortcomings.
• Lack of Resources – Whether it’s time or money, resources are precious. Arguably though, the cost of initial research is negligible. Speaking with customers and vendors, reading a trade journal , or doing some online research on social media in a company’s industry is not resource intensive.
• Unknown Benefit – Some businesses can directly track the benefit of social media use, but many others can’t. John Wanamaker’s observation “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half” suggests that this isn’t much different than traditional marketing.
• Loss of Control – Frankly, businesses are kidding themselves if they think that they have total control over their message. “Control” is an illusion; they should take some advice from .38 Special: Hold On Loosely
• Fear – As human beings we don’t like uncertainty – that’s only natural. However an unreasonable fear of what could happen can retard progress. You could get hit by a bus the next time you cross the street, but waiting for the street light, using the cross walk and looking both ways will probably get you to the other side safely.

As most might agree, it’s time to stop fearing social media. Businesses of all sizes are gaining experience, which offers the previously reluctant enough information to make more informed decisions. That’s not to say social media is a fit for everyone, but companies that can set their fear aside long enough to perform an honest evaluation will find themselves in a stronger competitive position.

Bill Rowland