One of the blogs that I read regularly is IncSlingers, they usually have great posts and their topics hit home. The post today discussed the true cost of social media and asked that companies start to consider how they are using these tools. The point to the article was to consider the methods that you choose to deploy when using social media – and that you should avoid the ‘silo’ approach of just forcing out content without thinking about the end user. While the overall point was good, I think he missed a very important piece of the puzzle – the actual cost associated with social media management.

He included one line about the true cost: “The truth is, good Social Media, like any other form of Marketing Communication is not free, nor is it particularly cheap”. And while this point was right on, I didn’t think the article expanded on it enough, and I wanted to add some of my own thoughts on the matter.

I would start by changing that line to:

“The truth is, good Social Media, is among the most expensive form of Marketing Communications, and incorrect usage can cost your company more than any other medium”.

And then add on:

“While things like mailings, commercials and print advertisements can all be supremely expensive, the likelihood of one of them being passed around as much as a tweet or a blog post is slim. People share content that is easy to share. Which means if a company were to fail to represent itself well through a tweet, or worse, say something inappropriate in a tweet, that would travel much faster than a poorly done print ad.

Secondly, with mediums like twitter and blogging, once you hit tweet or publish, it’s there for the world to see. There is no reviewing, no drafts, no back and forth with copywriters, designers and print teams. There is so much more of a margin for error with social media, and devaluing it’s power is extremely dangerous. I can not count the number of companies who hire young kids with no idea about branding and strategy to manage a twitter account – and then don’t understand why it isn’t successful. Social Media is entirely about branding, and you should be hiring (and paying) someone who understands the proper way to relate to customers while creating a brand. Risking the brand you’ve built to a fresh faced kid with no concern for what happens in the long run? Dangerous any way you look at it. The person you entrust your brand to in social media needs to be experienced, trained and will be expensive.”

What do you think? Is the expense of social media overlooked? Do companies give enough time, credit and money to the tools or are they selling their brand short?