Managing, building, growing, and maintaining a social media page is a lot — especially if you’re a small business with plenty to do already. And we all know one channel isn’t enough, so you also have to create a vertical cross-posting strategy to reach customers on multiple platforms.

Social media marketing is a lot of work, and it will only be worth it if you can give it 110%.

So if you’re at a stage where you’re weighing the pros and cons of social media marketing, this one’s dedicated to you.

Now, as a social media marketer myself, I can boast about how social media is an effective tool for building your brand to try and sell you — but I won’t. There is a lot of consistency and effort needed for growth in social media.

I’m only going to give you reasons why implementing social media marketing is a TERRIBLE path for you to take.

Once you get the ball rolling, things start piling on and on. The social media marketing disadvantages are still hidden behind the likes and comments you’re getting. You think you’re in the clear, but it takes some serious consistency and effort to actually see results.

I’ve used this frustration of growth to fuel me long ago, and now I do it for a living. (Social media marketing, not frustration)

I’ve observed and advised many new businesses, and there are a few signs signaling to avoid social media that are frequently overlooked. Here are my orange flags (not red) where you should give your entry into social media marketing some reconsideration:

#1. Limited Target Audience

Sometimes, your audience just isn’t on social media.

It may not be the best place to reach them, there may not be enough of them, or there are plenty of other alternatives. This is completely fine!

Your first step to determining whether social media marketing is worth it is understanding your audience and their behaviors. Take a few steps back and develop some customer profiles to help you see who you’re working with. If your ideal customer likely won't interact with you via social media, so be it.

Plan your marketing communications around the strengths of your audience.

#2. Lack of Resources

Forcing yourself into social media will do more harm than good. It may do your operations more harm than good when you try to squeeze in social media into your busy agenda.

At first, it may look like you ‘just have to take three minutes to post a picture’ — but there’s so much more to it than just that. I can go on and on, so here’s a quick summary of the tasks involved with social media marketing:

• Creating a Content Calendar

• Developing a Strategy

• Brainstorming Creative Ideas

• Capturing and Editing Content

• Responding to Comments and Engaging

• Managing Direct Messages

• Engaging with the Community

• Analysis of Insights

• Tracking Metrics

And there’s plenty more if you really want to dig deep.

The time adds up but if you have the resources financially, you may want to allocate a social media marketing budget and hire a freelance digital marketer that focuses on growing small businesses — like myself!

Suggested: The Reason You’re Not Getting Followers on Social Media Isn’t Your Content Quality

#3. Negative Reputation

A bit of a rarity, but it happens sometimes.

If your business has a negative reputation with customers and you are trying to improve it, social media may not be the best place to do so.

It’s commonly known that social media and digital platforms see much more bullying and hate than in-person interactions. The lack of accountability and anonymity of being online makes bullies feel like they’re invincible.

Placing a business with a negative reputation on social media is just giving those haters a platform to hate. No need to make it easy for them, I encourage remedying a negative reputation through other ways.

#4. Lack of Return on Investment

In order for social media to be profitable, whether your expenses are only for a social media manager or you’re spending on paid advertising, you need to be tracking the return on investment.

It can be difficult to track things like brand awareness and customer perceived value, so it will take time and resources to be cognizant of it.

If you’re concerned about if the benefits of social media marketing outweigh the disadvantages, you may want to take some more time to decide if it's worth it for you. This applies both financially, and your return via other investments like time.

Suggested: How to Determine the Right KPI (for Beginners)

#5. Risk of Brand Damage

Even if you have the time and resources to maintain an active presence on social media, you still need to ensure you’re focusing on portraying yourself correctly.

The difference between social media presence and in-person presence is that what you say and do stays on the internet forever. There are risks of brand damage through social media marketing.

One small slip-up can be a big risk to your brand and reputation.

Focusing on these mistakes that can ruin your reputation can be stressful and time-consuming, especially if you’re new and inexperienced. You may rethink your caption a hundred times and still not be sure if it follows the common practices of social media.

You don’t want to damage your brand through one miscommunicated tweet or post. Be mindful of your tone and language.

#6. Lack of Expertise

This last point is pretty simple. If you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, don’t risk it.

There is a level of expertise required for successful social media marketing. However, you can get started on building that knowledge yourself today.

Take some time to get on a platform yourself, learn the ins and outs, and establish a basis of common practices. You don’t want your first run on a social media platform to be as a business. Try to manage and maintain a personal profile first to not impact anything crucial like your source of income.

There have been plenty of campaign slip-ups by big brands like McDonald’s or Pepsi. Pepsi infamously ran a campaign with Kendall Jenner that was deemed a mockery by a majority of its followers. But a company of that size has the financial power to handle those situations. A smaller brand doesn’t have that scale of trust with its consumers yet and can easily be dropped.

It takes some practice to familiarize yourself with a social media platform before taking on the challenge of building a community on it. There are many, many little details to each platform that you should learn before building out a strategy.

Suggested: 1 Word That Links Every Successful Brand

Takeaway

While social media marketing can be a powerful tool for businesses to connect with their target audience and promote their products or services, it is not always the right choice. Factors such as a limited target audience, lack of resources, negative reputation, lack of return on investment, risk of brand damage, and lack of expertise, can all contribute to a business deciding not to start a social media marketing campaign.

However, for those businesses that do decide to move forward with social media marketing, having a clear strategy, measurable goals and metrics, and the necessary resources in place will be key to a successful campaign. Businesses should carefully weigh the pros and cons of social media marketing before making a decision.

Some businesses looking at social media marketing outsource the work to an agency that fits their size. For example, my agency focuses on smaller clients and helps them define their vision and get started on social media.

If you found this article helpful, please consider buying me a coffee as a token of your appreciation. It helps keep me fueled and inspired to continue creating content for you!