1.     Why should I? I don’t need to. Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t mean I have to.

a.      Getting involved in social media allows you to be more engaged with the public.  The word “transparency” was probably 2009′s most cliched word used to describe social media, but it’s true.  Social media allows agencies to have a voice and to show the public that our agency is willing to listen and garner unsolicited feedback.  Social media also allows our agency to provide that extra customer service option outside of the traditional email and phone outlets.

2.     Fear of change; I’m going to stick to what works for our business; we’ve been fine without it.

a.      I won’t quote the 100′s of statistics and studies that prove social media isn’t just a fad.  Instead, the best way to argue against this is to consider it.  If you don’t give social media a chance, aren’t you afraid of the missed opportunity in lead generation or cost savings social media can offer?  The public sector world continues to evolve and many government agencies are re-inventing themselves as innovative by their usage of social media.

3.     It costs too much

a.      Contrary to popular belief, social media is NOT free.  There is time investment involved and you will not see the impact social media will have on your company right away.  However, it’s important to consider that the investment should be viewed as equally as cost savings. 

4.     It will require too many resources within our agency

a.      Just like any other marketing campaign, social media will require resources.  In order to debunk this objection, you have to look at the reasons why social media benefits your agency – missed opportunity, cost savings, lead generation, etc.  Focus your social media strategy on what you want to accomplish through goals, objectives, and success metrics.

5.     I’m worried about the legal ramifications/regulatory issues

a.      This objection can be overcome by drafting a social media policy that clearly outlines the responsibility of using social media as it relates to legal and regulatory issues.

6.     It’s too risky; we’re better off doing nothing

a.      The only risk that I see is the risk of doing nothing.  Do you really want to risk letting your competitors take over the opportunities you are missing?  Do you not care what the public are saying about you online?  Monitor and engage to offset that risk.

7.     You can’t measure it; social media results are not easily visible to non-users

a.      We all love the term ROI.  Social media ROI involves more in depth analysis than traditional stats.

8.     We won’t make any ROI potential; it will take too long to pay off

a.      I’ll be the first to say, from personal experience, that social media will not have an immediate financial impact, but it will have an immediate impact on brand recognition.  Social media takes time and energy, but what successful venture doesn’t require time and energy?  Look at the traffic your website is getting due to your social media efforts.  Are you noticing more positive mentions?  It’s all part of the benefits of social media.

9.     We can’t control the message

a.      Social media is the voice of the public and a channel that is influenced by the public.  By taking part in social media, you can start to monitor conversations about your agency.  People will say whatever they want about your agency whether you like it or not, but isn’t it better to know what they are saying rather than standing on the sidelines and not knowing?  It feels like a common sense to monitor, engage, and understand the situation.  In reality, social media actually gives you MORE control over the message.  An example: someone starts badmouthing your agency because of outdated information on a website.  [Scenario 1]-not participating in social media results in you never knowing so this bad testimonial spreads (which you don’t know about).  [Scenario 2]-by participating in social media, you can reach out to the dissatisfied customer, ask where they got the information, correct the issue with IT due to this customer’s feedback, and explain the situation to the customer.  More likely than not, that person will thank you for the correction, correcting any negative misconceptions about the company.

10.   We want to control the message

a.      What you can control is your engagement with the public and how you respond to comments.  What you can’t control is what is being said about your agency.  Participating in social media gives you more control.

11.   It will take too long to implement

a.      Social media does not take long to implement, however, it’s important to spend time creating a social media strategy to understand goals, objectives, success metrics, and plan of action.  Social media is a time investment and you will not see results overnight.  It takes time and commitment.  If you tackle social media half-assed, you are wasting your time.

12.   It’s just a blog, Twitter and Facebook- What’s that going to do?

a.      Social media does the following: SEO, increase in traffic, lead generation, increased customer service satisfaction, brand management, customer engagement, acts as a focus group, cost savings, on and on and on and on…

For more, check with us next week for the last 13 questions you should be able to answer regarding Social media in your organization.