I do a lot of social media training and strategic consulting to businesses of all sizes.  The funny thing is that most business have the same barriers as to why they are not using social media.  From fortune 500 countries all the way to small business owner, the excuses and barriers are the same.

The reality is that most of these barriers are only in their minds.  They don’t want to use social media because they don’t understand it, so they make excuses.  Deep down, they know that they need to use social media (or they wouldn’t be talking to me), but something in their mindset is holding them back.

The reality is that businesses that invest in learning how to properly harness social media see dramatic results.  All signs show that social media is here to stay.  You can’t afford to ignore it.

Excuse #1 – Social media is a fad

Social media is here to stay.  Social media has mass adoption and continues to grow in popularity. 

  • More people check Facebook every day than read the newspaper or listen to the radio.
  • Facebook has over 500 million users.
  • There are over 30 million blogs in the US (that is about 1 for every 10 people)
  • Twitter has millions of users including most celebrities and politicians.
  • Social Media was listed as a key factor in winning the last US presidency.

Excuse #2 – Social Media is a shiny new object

Social Media isn’t really new when you think about it.  People have been social since forever.  We live in communities.  We talk about things that matter.  We give advice to our friends.  This has all been going on for centuries.

The media part is new.  Technology has allowed us to make social connections in a more powerful and scalable way.  Rather than keeping up with a few people in person we can keep up with many people by checking out their tweets or Facebook updates. 

So really, social media is an age old concept that is transformed by technology.

Excuse #3 – I can’t afford to hire someone to help me

Small business owners who hear me speak approach me afterward and ask me how they can get support to start growing their business with social media marketing.  They often then say that they can’t afford to invest.  That is a losing mindset, because if they are already struggling, they really, they can’t afford not to.

Businesses waste all sorts of money on things that don’t work any more. Yellow pages ads, newspaper ads, direct mail and coupons.  Social media works better than any of these things.  If you want to be successful make the choice to invest in something that will actually grow your business and get you results.

Excuse #4 – I don’t have the time

This is one of the most common barriers.  I don’t have the time.  Do you have about an hour a week?  That is all it takes.  10 minutes, 5 times a week.  If you are disciplined in your social media marketing approach you can manage social media without a lot of time.

Our clients that use the social marketing action program see results with just an hour a week (after  setting everything up).  The key is to use efficiency tools and be strategic in how you spend your time.

Excuse #5 – Social media doesn’t deliver business results

This one is just plain not true.  Businesses of all sizes have seen dramatic results from social media across multiple areas of their business.  Here are just a few examples:

  • Lenovo reduced customer service calls  by 20% with social media.
  • Vista Prints sold $25,000 from twitter alone
  • Golden Tee saved development costs with a free Facebook application.
  • Naked pizza had their best ever sales day from twitter.

These are just a few.  If you make the smart choice to invest in social media you will be on one of these lists one day.

Are there any other myths that you hear?