26 Apr Why You Need to Pay for Facebook

Remember when your grandmother said, “You get what you pay for?” Even the Internet doesn’t change some truths. While Facebook makes the claim, “It’s Free, and always will be,” getting a return from social media requires an investment. Sure, use of the site is free. But using the site for effective social marketing strategies means you need people who know what to do and those people need the right tools in order to do their jobs. In respect to getting something productive done on Facebook, you get what you pay for.
Here are some Facebook marketing tips for effective use of Facebook.
1. Pay Staff
2. Buy Monitoring Software
3. Manage Conversions
4. Develop Content
5. Buy Advertising
Go on Craigslist and you’ll see lots of businesses trying to entice “interns” to come and set-up their social marketing. Save yourself the trouble, and potentially a lot of money, and avoid the temptation to use “interns.” First, you’re not going to find the next Mark Zuckerberg this way. What you’ll find is one of two types of people. First, someone ignorant enough to work for free, or second, someone smart enough to make you pay later. It’s almost impossible to use interns outside of an academic program and at the same time not run afoul of the law.
Anyone who knows how to use social marketing strategies, and that means getting results that involve more business, will not only demand to be paid, but demand that you spend money on the tools needed to do the job. Free reporting tools leave out the most useful information. You’ll need to supply monitoring software that gives real and valuable visitor statistics.
When you do get business through Facebook marketing strategies keep that customer on your good side. Tools which allow businesses to quickly address customer service issues cost money. They have systems that make sure no one falls through the cracks, like ticketing systems. As you get results from social media marketing you’re going to need to hire more people to take care of customer service.
Everything free gets over done. Your social media marketing strategy needs to “wow” users, and that means paying for development or production of good content. And to get people in the door you’ll need to pay for advertising. Utilizing paid advertising is an expertise all by itself. If you don’t know how to analyze CPC and do A/B split testing, find someone who does. Doing all of the above will make sure you get a return on your investment in social media.
Social Media Today wrote an excellent article on why social media isn’t for free.  They also provide additional strategies so it’s worth the read.