S.M.M companies are now springing up all over the place these days and they are telling anybody that will listen about how incredibly important social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your company however, for the typical little to medium sized service, does marketing to social networks truly live up to all the hype? Social media marketing companies are all too pleased to point out the positives of social media like how many individuals use Facebook or how lots of tweets were sent out last year and how lots of individuals enjoy YouTube videos and so on however are you getting the full picture? Being the research nut that I am, I decided to take a good look into SMM in regard to offering to see if it really worked, who did it work for and if it did why did Social Media Marketing work for them?
As a web designer I was continuously (and now increasingly) challenged with numerous social networking challenges when prospective clients would state that having a website sounds great but they had a Facebook service page and had been informed by various sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the thing to do, but after discussing their requirements it became quite clear that those possible customers didn't actually know why they required social networks or SMM to produce online sales, They simply wanted it. Well it's simple actually since social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not company media and organisation networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a current research study done by the IBM Institute for Organisation Worth around 55% of all social media users stated that they do not engage with brands over social media at all and only around 23% in fact purposefully utilize social media to communicate with brand names.
How do you utilize social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well firstly I would say that having a well optimized website is still going to bring you even more organisation that social media in most cases particularly if you are a small to medium sized regional service because much more individuals are going to key 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 site you're missing out on all that possible business. In spite of all the (not so great) data I still think it is still an excellent idea for organisation to use social media just not in the exact same method that a lot of SMM experts are today, Why? Since it's clearly not operating in the method they declare it does. Basically SMM Business and Service as a whole took a look at socials media like Facebook as a fresh market ripe for the picking when Facebook began getting users determined by the millions PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel invested US$ 500,000 for 7% of the business (in June 2004) and considering that them a few equity capital companies have actually made investments into Facebook and in October 2007, Microsoft announced that it had actually purchased a 1.6% share of Facebook for $240 million. Considering that Facebook's humble starts up till now (2012) both SMM Business and Service have failed to truly capitalise on the big number of Facebook users online. The reality is numbers does not equal buyers. Is it in a Social Media Marketing business's benefit to talk social networks up? Definitely. Is it in a Social Network like Facebook's benefits for individuals to think that business can sell en masse by advertising and marketing with them? Obviously it is. In early Social Media Agency 2012, Facebook disclosed that its revenues had jumped 65% to $1 billion in the previous year as its income which is mainly from advertising had leapt almost 90% to $3.71 billion so clearly the idea of SMM is exercising for them but it is working out for you? Well ... statistically no, but that does not necessarily imply that it never ever will.
I believe the major distinction in between socials media and search engines is intent. People who use Google are deliberately searching for something so if they do a look for hair stylists that's exactly what they are trying to find at that particular time. With something like Facebook the primary intent is typically to connect with family and friends. In October 2008, Mark Zuckerberg himself stated "I don't think social networks can be monetized in the same way that search (Online search engine) did ... In 3 years from now we need to find out exactly what the optimum model is. But that is not our primary focus today". One of the biggest issues company face with socials media and SMM is understanding. Inning accordance with the IBM Institute for Company Value study there were "significant spaces between exactly what services think customers appreciate and what consumers state they desire from their social media interactions with business." In today's society people are not simply going to hand you over there suggestions, Facebook likes, comments or details without getting something back for it, so the old saying "what's in it for me?" enters play. The main factor the majority of individuals offer for engaging with brand names or service on social media is to get discounts, yet the brands and company themselves think the main reason individuals connect with them on social media is to find out about brand-new items. For brand names and service receiving discounts only ranks 12th on their list of reasons why individuals engage with them. The majority of services think social media will increase advocacy, however only 38 % of consumers agree.
Companies need to discover more innovative ways to get in touch with social media if they want to see some sort of result from it. There were some great initiatives displayed in the IBM study of companies that had actually gotten some sort of a deal with on how to utilize social media to their benefit, keeping in mind that when asked what they do when they connect with companies or brand names through social media, consumers note "getting discounts or discount coupons" and "acquiring product or services" as the top 2 activities, respectively an U.S ice cream company called Cold Stone Creamery offered discount rates on their products on their Facebook page. There is a great program released by Best Purchases in the U.S called Twelpforce where workers can respond to client's concerns via Twitter. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the benefit is plainly in the favour of the possible customer & the excellent technique to social media marketing is to offer without trying to sell (or looking like your selling) sadly most social media marketing is focused the wrong way.
Developing a tangible purchaser to customer relationship by means of social media is not easy and probably the most benefit to company' utilizing social media to enhance their websites Google rankings. But company' have to comprehend that you can't just setup a Facebook organisation page and hope for the very best. SMM requires effort and possible consumers need to see value in exactly what you need to use through your social media efforts provide something worth their social interaction and time and then you may improve results.
Now just as a footnote Facebook shares have actually dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their initial price ... and the lawsuits are flying
As a web designer I was constantly (and now significantly) faced with several social networking challenges when potential customers would say that having a site sounds great but they had a Facebook business page and had been informed by different sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that social networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their requirements it ended up being rather clear that those potential clients didn't really understand why they needed social networks or SMM to produce online sales, They simply desired it. Well it's simple really since social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not service media and service networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a current study done by the IBM Institute for Service Worth around 55% of all social media users mentioned that they do not engage with brand names over social media at all and just around 23% in fact purposefully use social media to engage with brands. Well first of all I would state that having actually a well enhanced website is still going to bring you far more service that social media in the majority of cases particularly if you are a small 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 website you're missing out on all of that prospective organisation. The primary factor many individuals provide for interacting with brand names or business on social media is to get discount rates, yet the brands and company themselves think the main reason individuals connect with them on social media is to find out about new items.
