By now the business world has figured out that takes more than putting up a Facebook page and opening a twitter account to get social media working for your company.

You need a strategy. No, you need an effective strategy.

You need a deep understanding of how social media marketing works. And you need time, more time than you think you need.

Social media managers are like cars.  You didn’t know that, did you? They all have some basic things in common.  They all have wheels (basic understanding of the main social media outlets), an engine (at least some level of research in social media marketing), and a body (they look good on the outside because they use social media themselves). That’s where the similarities end. Most have nothing more than those basics.  They are the Yugo’s of the social media management world. They are cheap and you get you pay for.  They will put up a basic (emphasis on the word basic) Facebook page for you and they will start a twitter account for you. They will probably sign you up (with or without your knowledge) for some automated services to help you get a bunch of non-targeted followers really fast, but which are not engaged, not customers or clients, and who do nothing for you except boost your numbers of “blue light” followers.

Then you have the Chevy Camaro folks.  They definitely have something powerful under the hood. They have the knowledge and experience you need. They talk with you about strategy. They build your initial online presence the right way. They teach you a few things you need to know to manage it yourself, and the stuff the teach you is really good.  Then they speed off to another customer, leaving you feeling confident…..for a few days, until something doesn’t work like it should or until you become discouraged at the time investment that is required to really get a return on your investment.

It’s the Cadillac that should really capture your attention. It comes fully loaded and isn’t too expensive to maintain, unlike some of its luxury counterparts.  The Cadillac folks are expert, full service social media managers. They will start with helping you develop a strategy that includes performance targets and then design a social media plan to meet those targets.  They can fully set up your social media outlets for you and they can either teach you how to maintain them or you can hire them to do the maintenance for you. They understand that real goal is rarely getting lots of followers, but that it’s about getting a return on your investment and making money for your business (or meeting whatever other goals you have established). They track your online statistics,  coordinate all parts of your online footprint, and modify the strategy based on what’s working and what’s not.  It’s not just about looking good; it’s about real success.