Social Media is Not Free

By Beth J. Bates, New Media Special Correspondent

I repeat, social media is not free. Yes, most social media tools are offered at no charge, but a successful social media campaign takes time and resources. And that costs money.

Like any successful marketing campaign, social media is really a full-time endeavor. Without tending to your community and engaging its members, a social media campaign will stagnate and die. Instead of planning for social media, many companies implement the tools without really knowing where the resources will come from. Instead of including a line item in the budget for social media marketing, they “borrow” time and resources from other departments to compensate.

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