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This post originally appeared on my 2 cents. Reprinted with the author’s permission.
A recent Wall Street Journal story discusses how entrepreneurs are questioning the value of social media.
We hear stories of “overnight success” thanks to the internet and social media, and there’s the natural temptation to jump right in. If a small retailer of folding kayaks can succeed via good reviews in blog posts, then what’s to stop every other small retailer or service provider from trying to engage customers via social media, hoping for that magic-bullet post or review that will send sales soaring?
Unfortunately, the kayak seller is the exception—not the rule, says The Journal. The story quotes a marketing professor at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business (my MBA alma mater) who says, “The hype right now exceeds the reality.”
The lesson for marketers, large or small, is to have both patience and media diversity. Don’t yield to the temptation fueled by stories about overnight millionaires thanks to selling online and through use of social media.
For sure, social media should be a part of the marketing mix for many businesses. But the key word here is “mix.” Social media can be very tempting because it can be low- or no-cost. But it can also be quite time-consuming if done properly. And it can divert time and attention away from other tools that should be considered.
For the smaller business, social media can help create a presence that might be prohibitively expensive via other media. It can build credibility for a business, but that process almost always takes time. There is no quick fix—at least, not for most businesses.
The Wall Street Journal article tells of one online clothing retailer who is now realizing sales from social media seeds sown some two years ago. Social media for him has been “a patient investment.”
Those hoping for the quick fix through social media will likely be disappointed. Building a business takes patience and careful and consistent use of a wide range of marketing tools—from the basic person-to-person networking to publicity, blogs and, in some cases, direct marketing and advertising.
There’s no simple template that works for all. You have to get a good idea of who your customers are, what motivates them and how to effectively reach them. That mix of tools that’s right for your business may—or may not—include social media. You are the best person to make that decision.
David Reich, a 35-year public relations agency veteran, is head of Reich Communications, a boutique agency in New York City.
