By Alan Graner
Social media is free…as long as you do everything yourself.
But suppose you bill your time at $100 an hour and it takes you two hours to write your blog. That’s $200 of your time. Plus you just lost two billable hours because you weren’t doing your job. So add another $200 for a total of $400.
Then there’s keyword research optimization and SEO. Add another $100.
And of course you need to publicize your blog. After all, few people will find it on their own. You must invest time in announcing each new blog on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, your website and other channels. You might even want to email your blog to selected prospects, customers and influencers. Add a couple of hundred dollars more.
It adds up to perhaps $700. And that’s cheap.
What about using professionals?
If you’re a large company you can easily afford to hire the expertise you need.
For smaller companies social media professionals can be quite expensive. If you don’t believe me, get costs for professional, marketers, SEO experts, writers, designers, analysts, advisors. We’re talking big bucks here.
Of course there’s always Louie, your third cousin twice removed, who’ll do it for a free meal. But that could end up being the most expensive meal you’ll ever buy.
Welcome to reality. Sucks, doesn’t it?
The fact is, social media isn’t free. So before you even begin, determine your hidden costs…because they won’t stay hidden for long.
What’s been your experience?
Image: CC0 Public Domain license via Pixabay
Alan Graner is Chief Creative Officer at Daly-Swartz Public Relations, an Orange County, CA business marketing content and distribution firm. For content that makes you stick out from the crowd, email Jeffrey Swartz at jeffreyswartz@dsprel.com. Or visit www.dsprel.com.
