And why it not might not be as good an idea as it seems

easy-way_010815I was reading an article recently by the folks at HootSuite about how easy it is to load and schedule content using their tool.

It’s a great tool. I use it almost everyday. For those who don’t know, it’s a Social Media dashboard, that among a great many other things, allows you to schedule the content you want to post.

In fact it will even scan the Web for you and based on your preferences suggest content you can post.

It’s a great feature actually.

Unless you rely on it.

While tools like these can be incredibly helpful, they can also enable an unfortunate business model that treats Social Media as just another check box on the marketing to-do list. Far too often, as long as things are getting posted, business owners or managers consider the job done.

Especially if it means getting things done cheap.

This is a false and far too easy solution to get attached to. Yes, it’s great to have tools that make a job easier and there are several that do a good job in this arena. But merely regurgitating information that’s already out there, without spending the time and effort it takes to create new and original content, is like eating fast food every night. You can do it every day but eventually it’s going to make you sick.

And in the case of digital marketing it will make your customers and brand champions sick as well.

What’s good for the goose…

Want proof?

HootSuite has it’s own great Blog.  If it was enough to just use their tool in order to cull and disseminate information don’t you think they would?

While success in a digital age has always relied on quality over quantity, most businesses have been slow to embrace the idea; primarily because as we all know quality takes more time and costs more money.

By creating content instead of just spreading it around you will;

  • Provide your customer base with content relevant to their needs and desires
  • Prove your expertise to your customer base
  • Prove your expertise to others in your industry
  • Improve your search engine rankings through content control

Yes, it takes more effort, and yes, it might even cost you more money but I doubt you built your business the fast and easy way, so why start now?