Social media is changing every day.  The use of social media tools and tactics is becoming more prevalent.  According to research conducted by Econsultancy, 86% of companies are planning to increase their social media marketing budgets in 2010.  Companies now see the value in sharing their brands with their consumers.  Although, there are some concerns in certain industries like health care and pharmaceuticals, most places are increasing their budgets.

One of the best ways to stay current on social media trends is constant research.  I probably spend 2-5 hours per week reading white papers, blogs, news resources, and books, to keep current on the industry.  This is an advantage to ABC Creative Group’s clients because I am able to keep current and then use the knowledge to recommend new tactics for our clients.

If you don’t have anyone to manage the social media presence for your company, then you should.  They key is, do you hire someone to do it or do you hire an agency to do it?  That is the big question I get at many a conference at which I speak.  I always suggest that we talk about the company’s social media strategy to decide what is actually needed and what the best practices are to be considered when communicating and marketing on different social media tools.  In most cases, it may be more cost effective for your company to hire an agency to help you manage your social media presence, rather than having a dedicated internal staff member to do it.

According to the 2009 PRSA Digital Readiness Report, 48% of all organizations are considering adding dedicated staff to specialize in social media (diagram below).  You may want to consider an agency before you hire an additional employee.

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What are your difficulties in planning your company’s social media strategy for 2010?  How do you plan to make sure that all your profiles are kept current?