“I Don’t Do Social Media.” Really? In that Case, You Don’t Do Marketing
By Nick Usborne

It’s tempting to look at social media as simply being another alternative medium.

For example, if you are a direct mail copywriter, it’s perfectly reasonable to say, “I don’t do radio commercials.”

Or, if you write print ads, it’s fine to say, “I don’t do direct mail.”

So how come it isn’t OK to say, “I don’t do social media”?

Because social media is not a separate, alternative medium for marketing. It’s an integrated medium. It’s a connector and facilitator for every other medium. It’s also a standalone business platform.

As an example, The X Factor is a TV show, but it is tightly integrated with a strong presence on YouTube. Its YouTube video clips have been viewed over 34 million times. The show also has a following of nearly 3.5 million people on Facebook. And it has over 300,000 followers on Twitter.

The X Factor isn’t using social media as an advertising platform; it is using it as a means to bring the experience of the show to millions of people 24 hours a day.

As another example of how social media is more than simply a marketing channel, consider how Comcast uses Twitter. It used to be that Comcast handled all of its customer service by phone, and it had one of the worst customer care reputations on the planet.

Today, Comcast handles much of its customer care through Twitter at @ComcastCares.

Over 50,000 customers follow @ComcastCares, and the company now has one of the very highest ratings in customer care.

In this example, while their Twitter presence certainly helps support their brand and reputation, it has almost nothing to do with marketing. They don’t use their Twitter stream to promote their products and services; they use it to take care of their customers.

Now let’s look at another reason why you can’t simply opt out of “doing” social media as part of your freelance career.

The majority of companies have already integrated social media into their communications and business strategies.

Over 71% of US companies are active on Facebook.
Over 86% of B2B companies in the US use Facebook.
59% of companies in the US have Twitter accounts.

Some companies, like UPS, use social media as a way both to engage with their current business customers and to attract new prospects.

Other companies, like Frito Lay, use social media – and YouTube in particular – to ask their customers to create TV commercials for their products.

Some, like 1-800-Flowers and Delta, enable the direct purchase of their products and services through their Facebook pages.

And, of course, it isn’t only the big companies that are using social media.

Restaurants, coffee shops, spas, book shops, bars, and community centers also use social media to attract new customers and engage with those they already have.

By now, I hope you are getting a sense of how ubiquitous social media has become. The majority of companies are using it in one way or another, or even in several different ways.

Finally, social media is king because that’s where the people are.

There are over 800 million people on Facebook alone. That’s one out of every 13 people on the planet.

Almost 700,000 new updates appear on Facebook every 60 seconds.

Almost 100,000 new tweets appear on Twitter every 60 seconds.

48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every 60 seconds.

Overall, billions of hours a day are spent on social media sites.

Companies, large and small, cannot afford to ignore social media sites because those sites are where their customers are spending their time.

So where does this leave you?

It doesn’t matter what your freelance specialty is. It doesn’t matter whether you work with B2C companies or B2B companies.

It doesn’t matter if your thing is direct mail, radio, or websites.

What matters is that you understand that your clients, today and in the future, are already plugged into social media. They may not even want to be. But they have to be.

In other words, it’s no longer an option simply to say, “I don’t do social media.”

To say that is tantamount to saying, “I don’t do marketing, I don’t do business, and I don’t do copywriting.”

To keep up with the needs of your clients, you have to know more about social media than they do. You have to be able to answer their questions.

In other words, as of now, you have to know and do social media.

So where do you start? It could take years to learn all this on your own.

Let me help you.

I’ve put together a program, How to Make Money as a Social Media Expert, based on my years of experience studying and working in this field.

It puts together all you need to know to start offering this service to clients and thrive as a go-to social media freelancer. You could work exclusively in this niche. Or start offering your copywriting clients this service for additional fees.

How to Make Money as a Social Media Expert

Within two years, your freelance business will be dead or dying if you don’t have a solid social media presence. Find out how you can become a social media expert and thrive in the new economy. Until May 11th: Save $100, plus get 10 hours of additional bonus material – FREE! Learn More »

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Published: October 17, 2011

1 Response to ““I Don’t Do Social Media.” Really? In that Case, You Don’t Do Marketing”

Yes I know that's where the people are and I would like to be able to take part, but just don't know how on my own.
I also know to engage someone to show me will cost money...which they would be entitled to...

Winfieldsbest – October 20, 2011 at 9:04 pm

“I Don’t Do Social Media.” Really? In that Case, You Don’t Do Marketing By Nick Usborne