Social media marketing comes with risks and rewards.  Like anything in life, it requires balance and evaluation.  Balancing expectations at the beginning based on your understanding of the pros and cons will help you develop a strategy that adds value to your company and helps achieve your goals.

Social Media Marketing: Risks and Rewards

Pros:

• Considerably low-cost compared to traditional marketing like print, television, outdoor, etc.
• Relatively quick feedback from clients.
• Allows for deeper engagements with customers/strategic alliances/prospects.
• Similar to great brand marketing and customer service, the benefits of doing social media right can last for years.
• Every client/employee is a potential media outlet: social media is word of mouth on digital endorphins.
• Previously, businesses that had the most money to spend on marketing often won. Today, it’s the business that produces great products and experiences for their clients.
• Social media takes time and effort similar to getting business in Asia. In China, business people think of long-term relationships rather than one – night stands.  Many businesses aren’t willing to do this, hence those companies that put forth the extra effort will stand out.
• If you are a progressive forward-thinking innovative practice, you can use social media tools to effectively recruit new talent.

Cons:

• Often, the many benefits of social media are seen in the months to come rather than immediately.
• Tools can quickly change
• There’s a lot of hidden soft costs; it takes time to develop relationships with customers. In the offline world, developing relationships takes time and effort – the same holds true within social media.
• May reduce the amount of face-to-face communication we have with one another, diminishing interpersonal communication skills.
• If the client feels they haven’t been treated appropriately, they have powerful tools at their disposal (YouTube, Twitter, etc.) to express their side of the story and negatively impact the firm.