Using Unpaid Interns For Marketing Is Why You Can’t afford To Pay Them

Social media is free to use, right?

Emails cost nothing to send.

“Great! We can keep our costs low by getting an intern to do this online promotion stuff for us.”

This mindset is extremely common among small businesses.

A few months later…

“We’re not really seeing results from all this social media stuff. What do you mean we should spend more on it?”

What’s wrong with this picture?

This Plan Will Do Nothing For Your Company

Nothing good, anyway.

Online marketing through social media and email is your brand and reputation. Do you really want to leave your reputation in the hands of someone that’s only getting college credit?

This is like giving up the keys to your car, and saying “bring it home with a full tank of gas” to someone who doesn’t know how to drive a car.

Your unpaid intern knows how to use social media as a user, and does not necessarily have any experience with marketing.

Your marketing is what brings your customers, it’s your reputation. This is what makes you money! Why give that to someone you don’t trust and don’t train and don’t pay!?

I’ve seen a lot of business owners trying to find someone to manage the social media so they don’t have to deal with it. Without input from you, how will this unmonitored, unpaid worker create any new business for you?

Finding someone with basic knowledge to “manage” your online presence will not bring any return.

Stop Managing, Start Marketing

That doesn’t mean post a link to your sales page with every post.

But having a marketing mindset is absolutely necessary to create GROWTH in your company. Whether that’s more sales, donations, or phone calls.

And the only thing that creates that is providing VALUE to your audience.

The biggest overall mistake I see organization make with online marketing and social media is that they’re not willing to invest in it.

Investment means putting in time, effort, and money into creating strategies and content.

Looks like social media isn’t free after all… but the return on your investment will be higher.

So if you’re looking to for some help with social media, think twice before finding the nearest tech-savvy youngster.

You’ll find more success finding someone who knows business & marketing even if they don’t know the technology vs. someone who knows the technology but knows nothing about business.

What’s your next step to create more of an impact on social media? Leave a comment below!

Photo: “/doh” by hobvias sudoneighm