The Cost (and Payoff) of Investing in Social Media

PC World — Twitter grew 3,000 percent in April. Facebook hosted 61.2 million visitors in March. LinkedIn counts 20 million users worldwide.

Social Networking Websites from A to Z
Twitter Bible: Everything You Need To Know About Twitter
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With a potential audience that big, it's no wonder savvy entrepreneurs are looking to unlock the secrets of social media as another way to get the word out about their businesses. Free access to many social media accounts (and potential clients) just adds to the allure.

But is social media right for your business? Could it be a free substitute for a traditional (read: expensive) advertising plan? How much time should be spent in the care and feeding of all those profiles? The answers may surprise you.

"Traditional advertising and marketing is not dead," says Olivier Blanchard, business strategist and principal of The Brand Builder Marketing. Blanchard advocates integrating social media into a more traditional marketing and advertising plan, "so you can have a healthy mix, much like a diversified investment portfolio."

Though the platforms will differ based on the type of business, Sarah Granger, founder of a technology communications strategy firm Public Edge, encourages small organizations to have a solid website, e-mail list and a contact database before venturing into social media.

Blogs: Write Your Way to Success

If you want to build customer loyalty, Kristi Colvin says start blogging now. "Many platforms allow you to blog comfortably," says the chief creative officer at We Heart and Twitterface. She recommends Tumblr for smaller businesses, "because it is customizable, extremely easy to learn to use, and has an additional component that allows you to follow people and re-blog their content easily."

Colvin believes blogging takes disseminating information about a company a step beyond formal press releases, ads, marketing brochures and websites. "That is where the magic happens in social media. A well-managed blog invites peoples' perspectives and provides an opening for real relationships to be formed which is a critical aspect of great customer service, and a good user experience. It can be a stepping stone to brand attachment," she says.

That attachment doesn't have to equal a huge time commitment, but expect to spend an hour or two to knock out a post. The rewards are immediate: Blogs that are refreshed regularly get a boost in search engine rankings. "It also helps to establish you as an authority," says Blanchard who suggests writing during evenings or on weekends to maximize regular working hours.

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