15 Reasons You Shouldn't Bother With Social Media Marketing

Fifteen reasons you shouldn't bother with social media marketing - that is a fairly in-your-face headline, but let's clarify for a moment. Social media marketing can be hugely beneficial. It can increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, and, crucially, generate sales and increase profit.

Can you feel it? There is a "but" coming, and it's a big one: Not every business can do it, so not every business should use social media marketing.

One of the quirks of social media marketing is that most "experts" pontificate a similar message: Your business should be on it.

These so-called experts don't say the same about other marketing channels though. They don't say every business should use Google AdWords, or advertise on television, or run events. Social media is no different than any other form of marketing - it works for some businesses, but for others, it is a complete waste of time and money.

So let's start cutting through the social media evangelizing crap and look at some reasons why you shouldn't get involved. We have 15. After reading them, you might think social media marketing actually is worth it, but at least your decision will be an informed one.

1. You don't own the platform.

When you use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or any other platform, you have to play by their rules. They write the rules and can change them at any time and without notice. The worst case scenario is that you spend time, money, and effort building up a presence on social media only for the rules to change, rendering that presence essentially useless. It's more of a possibility than many people realize.

2. Social media platforms don't care about you.

Social media platforms care about their users. They care about nothing else. They don't care about your business, your page on their platform, or the advertising money you spend. All they care about is their users. This is what makes them successful and creates such marketing potential, but it can be incredibly frustrating - and costly.

3. You don't create engaging content.

If you plan to post boring content about your products and company, you might as well forget about it. People won't interact with this content, and you will get nowhere. Social media only works if you are prepared to invest in content.

4. You don't post often or regularly enough.

It doesn't work either if you post sporadically. You need consistency, which requires long-term planning and follow through, even during periods when your business is busy.

5. Your industry is not a good fit.

Some industries are simply not a good fit for social media. It doesn't even matter if your customers use social media - maybe they do. Do they really want to read content about your industry though? A good example to illustrate this point is a plumber whose main customers are homeowners. That usually means the woman of the household, who you could assume uses a social media platform like Facebook. What would make that woman want to like a plumber's Facebook page though, and what sort of content about plumbing would that woman want to read on a regular basis? If you can't answer those questions, social media is not right for you.

6. The sell is too soft.

Social media is a soft selling tool. It's about building relationships over time and increasing brand awareness. Calls to action rarely work. If this doesn't fit with your business model, you're better devoting your energy to other marketing strategies.

7. You don't have time to allocate to make it work.

Social media takes time and effort over the medium to long term to make it work. If you can't or won't devote this time to it, you should consider not doing it at all.

8. You like to have more control.

This is connected to an earlier point about not having ownership of the page: You also face a number of restrictions on how you can use the various platforms. This can apply to social media ads you buy and regular content you post to your page. If you don't like relinquishing control in this way, social media might not be right for your business.

9. You don't have a clear strategy.

Your social media marketing efforts will only be as good as the strategy you use. If you don't have a strategy yet, you should draft one. This includes having clear objectives and a map for getting there. Don't start social media marketing without this.

10. You're not willing to spend money.

Social media is not free - it really is as simple as that. If you want to get results, you will have to pay. That can take many forms (paying for content creation, paying for ads, etc.), but you will have to pay.

11. Your plan is to let a junior staff member or intern look after your accounts.

Don't, just don't. It is too important for that, and the potential for error and reputational damage is too great. If this is your plan, stop and do something different.

12. Your customers don't use social media.

This is a simple one - if your customers don't use social media, you shouldn't either.

13. Other digital marketing strategies get better results.

This is all about return on investment. If you get a better ROI from other digital marketing strategies, why bother with social media? Improve and ramp up on the strategies that work instead.

14. You have privacy concerns.

Not everyone will be concerned about this, but many do dislike the way some social media platforms treat privacy issues.

15. You don't understand social media marketing.

This is another legitimate reason, but it is one many people are reluctant to admit to. The reality is that most people in business don't understand social media marketing. If you don't, you either have to learn or do something different that you do understand.

Ignoring the points on this list can result in you spending lots of money and time without any benefit to your business. The best advice with social media, therefore, is to tread carefully.