SUMMARY: Two-thirds of marketers who work for organizations that have not used any form of social media marketing or PR consider themselves “very knowledgeable” or “somewhat knowledgeable” about this emerging strategy. Their overconfidence in unproven ability can doom social media initiatives to failure.
The chart and the summary help us understand that the difference of having a profile on Facebook or tweeting on Twitter and having expertise in social media marketing are very different things.
Exposure to social media doesn’t mean expertise in social media marketing. “This was confirmed in Marketing Sherpa’s Social Media Marketing and PR study where we found that the “lack of knowledgeable staff” was the most significant barrier to social media adoption.”
The study found that a better approach to adopting social media was to work with people who specialize in social media strategies and who understand what works and doesn’t work in social media. Also according to Marketing Sherpa, “They can help you plan an effective strategy, train your internal resources and supplement your staff with the specialized skills needed to execute social media programs successfully. When it comes to social media marketing, an investment in expertise will insure a rapid return.”
Good advice.
