Can’t I just do this social media thing myself?

Yes, sure! Of course! Absolutely.

The real questions are: do you have the time? Do you want to keep up on it consistently, week after week, throwing out ideas, writing things down, and flushing them out into a comprehensive blog with follow up tweets and posts?

Think on it: one of the hardest things to do as a small business owner is decide what tasks you want to outsource and which tasks you want to do yourself. As a small business owner, I ask myself the question: how many hours is it going to take me to do that? If I have the hours to complete it, the next question is: WILL I do it? As a marketing communications professional I can tell you the truth: I always put off my own marketing until last. And I am not alone. Those of us who have businesses know: we always push our needs to the end. I know a fantastic Web designer who is amazingly successful and talented. She has completed countless snazzy, sharp, stylish web sites over the years (including this one, Thank you, Ms. Merz!!) and she still doesn’t have her own Web site up.

Uber Ink now has to rely on the peer pressure of having a regular blog; otherwise, I’d blog for others instead of myself. The fact that others are “reading this” – that’s what keeps me motivated. Also, I have a calendar reminder. However, while writing for clients is my passion; it took me a long time to get my own writing done. It’s just that hard to do stuff for your own business.

So yes, of course you can do your own social media. Totally. But will you? If you have doubts, I’d suggest going to the next level of questioning: is there someone on your staff that has a talent or a love for social media? Because, let’s face it; social media is NOT rocket science. And like anything else, the more you do it – the more you learn. What it takes is an interest and a commitment to make it work. If you have an admin assistant with a passion for it, why not give that as a task to them? You can really get a strong, consistent platform for just a few hours a week. Then you’re giving an employee the chance to grow, and in not completely out-sourcing your needs.
If you don’t have someone in-house, consider a consultant. People like me are out there, small businesses and big alike, with teams ready to hit the ground running. Social Medians are talented at grabbing topics, coming up with ideas, and writing them out consistently to highlight your business. They are less encumbered than you; they have just one focus: setting your business alight via social media.