Social media marketing companies are popping up all over, with various tools and various price ranges. You get what you pay for in this world and the social media industry is no different. There are so many social media gurus and social media experts today selling a variety of social media marketing services, for all sorts of cheap prices and special package deals. So how do you sort through them all? Are these inexpensive social media marketing services worthwhile?
You may be thinking that there is no harm in engaging with a company that is inexperienced or inexpensive. You may quantify the loss as simply your lost time or a few lost dollars. Unfortunately in social media, and online marketing in general, the effects can be devastating.
It’s true.
An online reputation is something that you cannot play around with. Put up a profile that is unpolished, unfinished or simply unprofessional and you have risked your reputation just to save a few bucks. Don’t believe me? What if you went online to check out a used car dealer? What if their website looked to be about 20 years old and had pictures of beat up vehicles? Would you trust them? Of course not. Sure a modern, slick and shiny website says absolutely nothing about a company’s reputation besides that the hired a good web developer, but psychologically, you feel better seeing a modern website.
Let’s say you are approached by a social media expert who guarantees you 1500 likes in 90 days. They won’t give you any background on how they engage followers, but are willing to give you a money back guarantee. Sounds like a good plan right? Either way you’ll either get 1500 followers or you money back. WRONG! Pull back the veil and you may see 1500 fake profiles, profiles in far off places in China, basically profiles that do absolutely nothing for you or your business. So what have you gained? Nothing. What have you lost? Well that is a good question…
Did you know that Facebook uses an algorithm to show you wall posts in your news feed? Did you know that the algorithm takes into account how many followers you have and how often they interact with you in order to weight your news? So guess what happens when you have 1500 followers from China or who aren’t real people that never engage with you… exactly, your news will never get shown. In fact, it will actually dilute your news from your other followers, making it increasingly difficult for you to get your message out.
Having second thoughts now?
Whatever you do, remember that social media marketing should be treated like traditional marketing. Cutting corners and looking for the most inexpensive plan won’t just waste you money, it can have a lasting effect on your online marketing.
