S.M.M companies are now emerging all over the place these days and they are informing anyone that will listen about how incredibly crucial social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your organisation however, for the typical little to medium sized company, does marketing to social media networks really measure up to all the buzz? Is spending a little fortune on working with a SMM business really worth it? And has anybody truly done their research on this prior to they employed someone to establish there Facebook organisation page? Some SMM business are establishing things like Facebook service pages (which are complimentary) for $600 to $1,000 or more and informing their clients that they don't require a website because Facebook is the greatest social media worldwide and everybody has a Facebook account. Now while it may be true that Facebook is the biggest social media on the planet and yes, Facebook's members are potential consumers, the real question is are they in fact purchasing? Social media marketing companies are all too delighted to explain the positives of social media like how many people utilize Facebook or how many tweets were sent out last year and the number of individuals view YouTube videos etc. however are you getting the complete picture? I as soon as sat beside a SMM "specialist" at a business seminar who was spruiking to anyone who came within earshot about the remarkable advantages of setting up a Facebook organisation page for small business (with him obviously) and selling on Facebook. So, interested by the previously mentioned "experts" guidance I looked him up on Facebook only to find he had only 11 Facebook buddies (not a good start). So being the research nut that I am, I chose 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 business rely so greatly on social media networks for sales?
As a web designer I was constantly (and now increasingly) faced with a number of social networking difficulties when prospective clients would say that having a website sounds good however they had a Facebook service page and had been told by numerous sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that social media networks were the important things to do, but after discussing their requirements it became rather clear that those possible clients didn't in fact know why they required social media networks or SMM to generate online sales, They just wanted it. For medium and little sized organisation I constantly advised developing a quality website over any type of social network, why? Well it's basic truly since social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not company media and business networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). I understand that sounds simple however it's true and the data back it up. The reality is that social media marketing cannot tell you that Facebook is a social network not an online search engine and in spite of the variety of Facebook users and Google users being around the very same, people don't utilize Facebook in the same way that they utilize an online search engine like Google (which has around half the search engine market), Yahoo and Bing to search for service or products. They utilize it to stay connected with friends and family or for news and entertainment. In a recent study done by the IBM Institute for Organisation Value around 55% of all social media users specified that they do not engage with brand names over social media at all and only around 23% in fact purposefully utilize social media to engage with brands. Now from all individuals who do use social media and who do connect with brands whether actively or not, the bulk (66%) state they have to feel a company is interacting truthfully before they will communicate.
So how do you use social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well initially of all I would state that having a well optimized website is still going to bring you far more service that social media in the majority of cases especially if you are a small to medium sized local service due to the fact that 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 Site and if you don't have a site you're missing out on out on all of that possible organisation. Despite all the (not so good) stats I still believe it is still an excellent concept for business to use social media just not in the exact same method that a lot of SMM specialists are today, Why? Is it in a Social Media Marketing business's finest interest to talk social networks up?
One of the biggest problems business face with social networks and SMM is perception. The main reason the majority of individuals offer for connecting with brand names or service on social media is to get discount rates, yet the brand names and company themselves think the main reason individuals connect with them on social media is to find out about brand-new items. A lot of services think social media will increase advocacy, however only 38 % of consumers concur.
There were some great efforts revealed in the IBM study of companies that had actually gotten some sort of a deal with on how to use social media to their benefit, keeping in mind that when asked exactly what they do when they engage with companies or brand names through social media, consumers note "getting discount rates or coupons" and "acquiring items and services" as the leading two activities, respectively an USA ice cream company called Cold Stone Creamery offered discounts on their items on their Facebook page. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the advantage is clearly in the favour of the potential consumer & the fantastic trick to social media marketing is to offer without trying to offer (or looking like your selling) sadly most social media marketing is focused the wrong method.
Constructing a tangible buyer to customer relationship through social media is hard and most likely the most benefit to company' utilizing social media to boost their sites Google rankings. Company' need to understand that you cannot just setup a Facebook business page and hope for the finest. SMM requires effort and potential consumers have to see value in exactly what you need to offer by means of your social media efforts provide something worth their social interaction and time and after that you might get better outcomes.
Now just as a footnote Facebook shares have actually dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their original rate ... and the suits are flying
As a web developer I was continuously (and now increasingly) challenged with numerous social networking difficulties when possible customers would say that having a site sounds great but they had a Facebook organisation page and had actually been told by numerous sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that social networks were the thing to do, but after discussing their requirements it became rather clear that those prospective clients didn't in fact know why they required Elite Digital Marketing agency social networks or SMM to produce online sales, They just desired it. Well it's easy actually since social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not organisation media and service networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a recent research study done by the IBM Institute for Company 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% actually actively use social media to connect with brands. Well initially of all I would say that having actually a well optimized site is still going to bring you far more company that social media in most cases especially if you are a little to medium sized local organisation since 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 Site and if you do not have a website you're missing out on out on all of that prospective organisation. The primary factor many individuals provide for interacting with brands or organisation on social media is to receive discount rates, yet the brands and service themselves believe the main factor people engage with them on social media is to learn about new items.
