As marketers and new media lovers, we spend an abundance of time trying to sell our clients on the idea social media, why they need it, and the best ways to implement it. Because of this, and also due to recent trends and boosts in how we use social media, countless businesses are using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and other networks tools to get their message(s) out there.
Some businesses do it well. Some businesses do it poorly. Some businesses don’t do it all.
This begs the question: Do all businesses NEED social media? And in today’s rapidly moving marketing environment, if you aren’t taking advantage of social media, is there a cut off point? At what point does it become too late to invest in a newborn social media strategy?
There isn’t a clear answer to this. The truth is that some businesses don’t need social media; businesses that won’t use social media correctly especially shouldn’t use social media. If you’re not producing your own content, and don’t intend on producing your own content then social media will be nothing more than an exercise in regurgitation for your company. While I don’t believe there is a cut-off point making it, “too late,” to utilize new forms of media, I do believe businesses run the risk of being left in the dust.
If a company has never used social media in their business plan, and is committed to creating (with guidance) original, interesting and significant content then they are the perfect candidates for new and social media. And I would like to meet them.
