Social Media Marketing seems to be the most recent buzz word for anybody planning to increase their online presence and sales, but is Social Media Marketing (SMM) all it is cracked up to be?
S.M.M business are now springing up all over the place these days and they are telling anyone that will listen about how extremely essential social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your service but, for the typical small to medium sized company, does marketing to social networks truly live up to all the buzz? Is investing a small fortune on hiring a SMM business really worth it? And has anyone really done their research on this prior to they hired somebody to set up there Facebook organisation page? Some SMM companies are establishing things like Facebook service pages (which are free) for $600 to $1,000 or more and informing their clients that they don't require a website since Facebook is the most significant social media on the planet and everyone has a Facebook account. Now while it may hold true that Facebook is the largest social network in the world and yes, Facebook's members are prospective consumers, the real concern is are they actually purchasing? Social media marketing business are all too pleased to point out the positives of social media like how many people use Facebook or how many tweets were sent out in 2015 and the number of people enjoy YouTube videos etc. but are you getting the complete picture? I when sat beside a SMM "expert" at a service workshop who was spruiking to anyone who came within earshot about the incredible advantages of setting up a Facebook service page for small company (with him obviously) and selling on Facebook. So, interested by the aforementioned "professionals" recommendations I looked him up on Facebook only to find he had just 11 Facebook good friends (not a good start). So being the research nut that I am, I decided to take a great check out SMM in regard to selling to see if it actually worked, who did it work for and if it did why did Social Media Marketing work for them? And should organisation rely so heavily on social media networks for sales?
As a web developer I was constantly (and now increasingly) confronted with numerous social networking challenges when possible customers would say that having a website sounds good however they had a Facebook business page and had been informed by numerous sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that social networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their requirements it became rather clear that those possible customers didn't actually know why they required socials media or SMM to create online sales, They simply wanted it. For medium and small sized business I constantly suggested developing a quality website over any kind of social network, why? Well it's easy really since social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not organisation media and business networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). I understand that sounds basic but it's true and the statistics back it up. The reality is that social media marketing fails to tell you that Facebook is a social media not a search engine and in spite of the variety of Facebook users and Google users being around the same, individuals don't use Facebook in the same way that they utilize a search engine like Google (which has around half the search engine market), Yahoo and Bing to look for business or items. They use it to keep in touch with family and friends or for news and entertainment. In a current research study done by the IBM Institute for Service Value around 55% of all social media users mentioned that they do not engage with brands over social media at all and only around 23% in fact actively use social media Logan Williams SEO to communicate with brands. Now from all individuals who do use social media and who do communicate with brand names whether actively or not, the bulk (66%) state they need to feel a company is interacting honestly before they will connect.
So how do you utilize social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well first of all I would say that having actually a well enhanced site is still going to bring you far more service that social media in the majority of cases specifically if you are a little to medium sized local company due to the fact that far more people are going to type in "hair stylist Port Macquarie" into a search engine like Google, Yahoo and Bing than they ever will on any Social Media Website and if you don't have a website you're missing out on out on all of that possible service. In spite of all the (not so great) stats I still think it is still a great concept for business to utilize social media simply not in the exact same method that a lot of SMM experts are today, Why? Is it in a Social Media Marketing business's best interest to talk social networks up?
One of the greatest issues service face with social networks and SMM is understanding. The main factor many people provide for communicating with brands or company on social media is to receive discounts, yet the brands and business themselves believe the primary factor people communicate with them on social media is to learn about new items. The majority of services believe social media will increase advocacy, but only 38 % of consumers agree.
There were some great initiatives revealed in the IBM research study of companies that had gotten some sort of a manage on how to utilize social media to their benefit, keeping in mind that when asked what they do when they interact with businesses or brand names via social media, consumers note "getting discount rates or discount coupons" and "purchasing items and services" as the leading two activities, respectively an U.S ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery provided discounts on their products on their Facebook page. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the advantage is clearly in the favour of the prospective consumer & the fantastic trick to social media marketing is to offer without trying to offer (or looking like your selling) unfortunately most social media marketing is focused the incorrect method.
Constructing a concrete buyer to customer relationship via social media is difficult and most likely the most benefit to organisation' utilizing social media to boost their websites Google rankings. However business' need to comprehend that you can't just setup a Facebook company page and expect the very best. SMM requires effort and possible customers need to see worth in what you need to offer through your social media efforts give them something worth their social interaction and time and after that you might get better outcomes.
Now just as a footnote Facebook shares have dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their original price ... and the suits are flying
As a web designer I was continuously (and now increasingly) faced with numerous social networking obstacles when possible customers would state that having a website sounds excellent but they had a Facebook company page and had actually been told by various sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that social networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their needs it became quite clear that those prospective customers didn't actually understand why they needed social networks or SMM to generate online sales, They simply desired it. Well it's basic really since social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not business media and company networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a recent research study done by the IBM Institute for Organisation Value around 55% of all social media users specified that they do not engage with brands over social media at all and just around 23% in fact purposefully use social media to engage with brand names. Well initially of all I would say that having a well optimized website is still going to bring you far more organisation that social media in many cases particularly if you are a little to medium sized local company since far more individuals are going to type in "hairdresser Port Macquarie" into a search engine like Google, Yahoo and Bing than they ever will on any Social Media Website and if you don't have a site you're missing out on out on all of that possible business. The main factor most people offer for communicating with brand names or company on social media is to get discounts, yet the brands and company themselves think the main reason individuals interact with them on social media is to discover about new items.