Reasons to not go social

No, I’m not one of those you-must-be-in-social-media-or-your-business-will-die guys. I don’t believe there’s a single communication medium out there in which that is entirely true. Even email could be done without in some industries.

Sometimes, social media engagement just doesn’t make sense for your organization or even your industry. For example, if your product is primarily for retired people and their children have no influence on the purchase decision, you probably don’t need to be in social media. (Detractors will cite how many 60+ customers are now on Facebook, but they’ll forget that those customers are primarily on the site to see pictures of their grandchildren, not much else.)

That said, I do believe that most businesses (99% or more) can benefit from a comprehensive social media strategy. Yet, the timing might not be right for you right now. Here are some reasons to not go social …

1. You don’t have any resources available to do it. If you can’t put any resources toward your social efforts to monitor the page every day, post new content regularly and respond to customers, you should not go social. In addition, you shouldn’t go social unless you’re committed to providing something of value to customers there. You don’t need a lot of resources, but you have to put some toward it for it to be successful. Look at it this way: you couldn’t start a magazine tomorrow with no money and expect 100,000 readers by the end of the week. You need to put effort and money into it for it to be successful.
2. You don’t believe there will be any return on investment. Let’s not kid ourselves. Nearly every time we have tried to convince ourselves that something was going to work that we truly didn’t believe would work, we found out we were right. Not because we were right but because we only acknowledged the negatives of the experiment.  If you don’t believe in it, don’t do it and keep researching until you see the real benefit.  In most cases, there is one out there and once you find it, you’ll be able to create an effective strategy for it.
3. Your customers aren’t using social media to engage with you or your product and are telling you they won’t. As odd as this sounds, it is really true in some industries. There is, however, something to be said about customers not knowing what they don’t know. In other words, you don’t have a social media page up, so your customers don’t know what value it can actually bring to them. You have to be careful with this reason. Make sure there isn’t any value in it and that your customers won’t use it before you assume they know for certain they wouldn’t. You don’t know what you don’t know either.

These are three basic reasons why you shouldn’t be in social media. Personally, I believe companies with these reasons are few and far between. So, don’t take this as an excuse for you not being more social. Really consider what branding opportunities you might be missing by not being in social media. And read my reasons for going social.

If you need help determining whether social media is right for your organization, contact Jakel Communications, a Denver PR firm. We can help you make the right decision and start moving in the right direction.