How to Sell Social Media to Clients, CEOs, and other Skeptics

A while back (exactly 3 months ago) I posted an entry called Your Clients Want Social Media, which linked to a study that revealed that despite what you may think, most companies want to break into social media, they just don’t know how.

While this may be all great and true, I’m sure you’re still coming across clients, and even bosses, who are snubbing social media. If you’re like me, you’ve heard responses [from those who shall remain nameless] from friends, family, and business partners such as:

“Twitter? Why would I want to tell everyone what I’m doing? Why would anyone even care?”
“Blogs? Aren’t those just written by 20 year old men that still live at home with their parents?”
“Social media? I’m too old for that internet stuff…”

… and more.

So what is one to do when hearing that? Truth be told, sometimes convincing someone to go all out and try social media can be just as hard as trying to convince someone to melt peanut butter on top of their popcorn (note: it may sound strange/sticky/icky but it’s delicious!). It’s hard, it’s tiring, and it can be frustrating (especially when you know that you’re right!).

If you strongly believe that a client/family member/insert name of company here should be using social media, don’t get frustrated. I found this GREAT blog post that provides links to TONS of resources on how to sell social media, how to measure it, how to convince your boss to use social media and why you can’t ignore social media (I never thought I’d use the term “social media” that many times in one paragraph). It opens:

“Trying to make the case to someone on the benefits of using social media? Maybe a boss or a client or a co-worker who’s a little resistant? Maybe a lot resistant? Here’s an arsenal of articles with solid advice, data, and tips to help you think through your sales strategy and put together some convincing arguments.”

Too lazy to click the above link or read the post? Here are my 5 favorite resources they provide: