Get over your fear of social media already!

You hear it all the time— "You NEED to use social media in your marketing mix," but it's just one more thing to do in your already overwhelmed task list, right? Well my question is, what are you really afraid of?

We all say we are too busy, we say we don't understand it, but in truth, we are terrified of the responsibility and commitment. I mean, how can we stay interesting... forever?

Here are a few reasons to get into the game, without feeling like you're giving birth to a child who will live at home, and talk back to you, forever.

1) You can't beat free.
We are all feeling the pinch of the economy... Many of our clients must cut costs, and your marketing budget has taken a serious hit, if not obliterated completely. While it can't be argued that face-to-face isn't best (after all, cornering that donor with your winning smile is a proven tool), many potential donors and corporations have cut out attendance at these events completely.

2) If it's a disaster, delete it!
Launch a blog or Facebook page with a time limit. Think of it as a campaign: do it for 6 months and then take it down. If it's a disaster, delete it. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

3) Use it as an ad.
Who would ever refuse a free ad? Think of it purely as a tool to drive to your website. Block all the commenting features you can and use it as an ad. People will stumble across it in their online research and go to your website.

4) Stop worrying about comments already!
The #1 fear is that someone will say something bad. Are you really that horrible? I doubt it. Ignorance of what people are saying about you may make your job easier but it doesn't help your company. There are tons of controls built in, and people don't really comment anyways. Take it from us, plenty of people read our blog and barely anyone comments. And again, if it's a
disaster, delete it.

5) Its a GREAT opportunity for good PR.
Enough of the long press releases that no one reads. Get your PR people to work on creating exciting content. When in doubt, link to someone else's interesting article. People are online doing research. They will like you because you help them solve their problems, not because of how amazing you say you are.

6) Get used to imperfection.
Not everyone can see everything all the time. Computers are different. That's just the way it is. Cousin Larry will call you (and isn't it always cousin Larry?) and complain that the video didn't play for him. Distract him with a funny story about your granddaughter.

7) Interns interns interns.
No time to set it all up? Just grab an 18 year old and in 3 days they will have you fully functioning.

–Jennifer Zapf, Art Director