Why we charge money for stuff that’s free.

I heard a comment from someone the other day which basically suggested anyone offering social media services was a jerk because they’re charging money to do something that anybody can do themselves. For free.

I take offense to that because as a service provider, everything I bill for can theoretically be done by the people who send me their hard-earned money every month. For free.

Do I feel bad about this?

No.

Why?

Well I’m not just some arsehole, so let’s take a look at this.

People hire landscaping companies to do stuff they could do themselves. Some people are just too busy to keep their yards maintained.

There are countless people offering snow removal services in PEI. Last time I looked, shoveling your own snow was free.

People pay for bottled water.

I send my daughter to a day care center even though I could look after her myself.

I also hire someone to clean my rental unit in between tenants, even though I am perfectly capable of wielding a mop.

Moving companies exist because not everyone wants to schlep all their belongings from their old home to their new one.

It’s true that Facebook, Hootsuite, Twitter, and YouTube are all free to use. But there are many reasons why people hire us to handle their social media profiles for them:

• We’re more familiar with the world of social media marketing than the average bear
• We know the rules
• We are very creative and come up with some pretty fun marketing campaigns
• People are busy and don’t have the time sometimes that it takes to commit to their social media  marketing
• Beyond that, I’m not really sure.

But anyway, I digress. It hurts our Manley Mann feelings when we hear that people think we’re ripping people off because we’re not.

We’re two of the most ethical chicks you will ever encounter, and we take our business seriously.

All this reminds me of a post I wrote a couple of years back. Take a look!

Thoughts?