By Kay Nolan
For WisBusiness
MILWAUKEE — The jury may still be out on whether entrepreneurs can make money for their businesses by using social media, but many seem willing to spend money to try, bringing revenue to social media-for-hire firms.
Two such entrepreneurs told participants at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Conference, held Tuesday and Wednesday in Milwaukee, that clients are paying anywhere from $18,000 to $180,000 a year for help with establishing Facebook and Twitter sites and publishing ongoing content on the sites.
Al Krueger, a partner with Milwaukee-based Comet Branding, a 3-year-old public relations/social media firm, said clients typically agree to a retainer fee ranging from $1,500 to $2,000 per month to as high as $15,000 a month, usually negotiating a year-long plan. For that, Comet will help clients research their potential social media market, plus create and post ongoing content — perhaps including photos and video clips, as well as writing — to reach that market.
Steve Glynn, founder of Spreenkler LLC, a Milwaukee company that hires college students to do social media, design and marketing services for business clients, said his firm’s typical hourly rate is $55. Some clients want Spreenkler to create a comprehensive social media marketing plan for them. Others, he said, simply ask his staff to “just Tweet for us or Facebook for us.” Clients are spending $25,000 to $60,000 a year, he said.
Both firms said their clients tend to be larger businesses accustomed to spending money on marketing and advertising. Krueger listed Marcus Hotels and Verlo Mattress among his clients; Glynn mentioned Milwaukee Public Schools, MillerCoors, and Nicolet Water.
For small entrepreneurs, Glynn suggested hiring college students for perhaps $10 an hour to help get started with social media. At 20 hours a week, the investment can be reasonable, he said.
While the panelists could not offer data on whether their clients made more money by using social media, both had anecdotal tales of companies that attracted new clients or significantly increased the number of hits to their business Web sites after becoming active in social media. Most clients, they said, have extended their services past initial plans, in order to further explore social networking.
Tim Cigelske, who manages social networking communication for Marquette University, said he was told that at least one student chose to enroll because he liked being able to interact online with the school via social networking sites.
Despite a lack of benchmarks, the rate of response from the public when advertising on Twitter or Facebook appears much greater than that generally derived from direct mail, Cigelske said.
Those in the social media/public relations business say the trend has made their companies blossom. “We’re hiring writers, photographers and people who have strong skills in videography,” said Krueger, who said clients frequently request fresh content, photos and videos. “We’ve basically turned into a publishing house or a newsroom.”
Gregory J. Lynch, a Madison attorney in attendance, admitted that he was “tweeting the whole time” during the presentation. His law firm, Michael Best and Friedrich, uses social media for business contacts, he said, but added he was more interested in learning about social media’s potential for his wife, Eileen Schnabel, an aspiring writer of children’s books. “It can be a cost-effective means of tapping into an audience,” he said.
