The realities of Social Media marketing – it’s not so simple

Everyone from Ashton Kutcher to the average Joe is looking to utilize Social Media as part of a personal or brand marketing strategy. Social media programs have become legitimate marketing tools, providing an effective communications channel. The problem is that these strategies require a great deal of resources to maintain. It’s also very difficult (without a trained Social Media Specialist) to find the ROI in a world so intangible.

Creating corporate blogs, Twitter accounts, and Facebook implementation programs are a few of the many possibilities, and even still there are many more options for marketing teams looking for new bang from their PR buck, but there is no magical formula that consistently works – nor is running a viral marketing campaign as easy as some may think.

I came across these “Five Things You Need to Know About Social Media Marketing and PR” over at the PageOne PR blog; I think the beauty is in its simplicity:

1. Social media requires a willingness and readiness to engage
2. Your audience might not naturally pay attention
3. Social media never stops
4. Social media requires A LOT of planning
5. Social media is everyone's responsibility