Call it what you want, just don’t call it free. (Social media marketing that is…)

I always love a good demonstration of the measurability of social media – any marketing really. So when I came across the video “Social Media ROI: Socialnomics”, I settled in for 4 minutes and 15 seconds of fascinating social media ROI statistic goodness.

Then, I came upon about the 30 second mark. (*Gasp*) According to the video, Gary Vaynerchuk found 1,800 new customers for his family-owned business on Twitter for $0. (Compared to the 200 for $15,000 via direct mail and the 300 for $7,500 via a billboard.)

Free? Are you sure about that?

Yes. $0 for those Twitter customers. Really? Free customers? Really?

There are a lot of great points in this video, demonstrating successful social media initiatives from companies both big and small.

But this one, suggesting social media is free, I can’t get behind. (Maybe I’m inferring too much. But particularly with the above point, the video does seem to at least loosely refer to social media as an outlet for free or incredibly cheap customer acquisition, leads, etc.)

Read the fine print. It’s not free.

I’ll continue following the Gary Vaynerchuk example. Sure, Twitter is free. But there are several factors that impacted his success with Twitter, some monetary, some not.

When considering costs, there is Vaynerchuk’s time. While the Twitter account is free, it takes time to consistently update an account with good, useful content.
What else could he have been doing with that time if he weren’t using it for social media?
Also, if a company doesn’t have a capable, credible, and trustworthy advocate like Vaynerchuk, they’ll have to go hire a marketing company. This company, of course, won’t work for free.

Aside from paying someone to update a social media account (directly or indirectly), there are several other investments to consider that impact the cost of a successful social media campaign. These costs aren’t necessarily monetary, but I think they’re important.

Again with the Gary Vaynerchuk example, lest we forget two very unique things he brings to the table – his personality and his product.

Sometimes informative, sometimes funny, sometimes irreverent, and just about everything in between, there’s one thing you can always expect from Vaynerchuk’s Wine Library TV episodes – that you never really know what to expect.
Not everyone has this personality that will keep visitors wondering and coming back for more. Whether in writing or in video, a compelling personality can go a long way in creating a following.

Then there’s the product. Wine Library TV’s tagline is: Changing the Wine World. They describe the movement as seeking “to break down the barriers, stereotypes, and misperceptions that otherwise prevent people from exploring and enjoying the exciting and rewarding world of wine.”
These stereotypes are there because this movement is something new. There was an untapped market for this casual approach to enjoying wine. Vaynerchuk had a good story to tell: something easy to relate to, useful, and innovative.

For most companies who aren’t fortunate enough to have a great story at the center of their business and/or who aren’t fortunate enough to have a dedicated and interesting personality on their team, they need to think about more.
They may need to rethink who they hire. (More about my thoughts on that here.)
They may need to rethink how they do business, creating a new story (product, marketing angle, etc.) that really gives people something to talk about.

Who gave people this crazy idea anyway?

I think this post – “Have kool-aid drinkers totally screwed the social media space?” – sums up a lot of great points about the problem of people thinking social media is free. As the author states, some points in the article might be controversial. But I definitely think there’s some truth to the idea that the very people that are now trying to convince people that social media isn’t free and easy are the same people that once said it was free and easy:
“Up till a year or two ago, many of us said something similar to this [social media is free/cheap and easy], because we were trying to make companies understand the potential of these amazing tools.

Now they get it. But the problem is, they assume social media is cheap, or FREE. Because that’s what we told them.”

Don’t get me wrong.

I think this Socialnomics video has great evidence that social media can be an effective marketing tool for improving ROI. And I agree. It is a tool for increasing ROI.

But I also think we have a long way to go before we can be too careful or too consistent in avoiding discussions about social media as cheap and easy. People often hear what they want to hear, and if they have the idea that social media is free and easy in their heads, it’s going to take more than a casual mention to change that.