S.M.M companies are now emerging all over the place nowadays and they are informing anyone that will listen about how exceptionally important social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your organisation however, for the average small to medium sized organisation, does marketing to social media networks actually live up to all the hype? Is investing a small fortune on hiring a SMM company really worth it? And has anyone truly done their research study on this before they employed somebody to set up there Facebook service page? Some SMM business are setting up things like Facebook service pages (which are free) for $600 to $1,000 or more and telling their customers that they don't need a website due to the fact that Facebook is the most significant social media network on the planet and everybody has a Facebook account. Now while it may be true that Facebook is the largest social network worldwide and yes, Facebook's members are possible customers, the genuine question is are they really purchasing? Social media marketing companies are all too happy to explain the positives of social media like how many individuals utilize Facebook or how many tweets were sent out last year and how many people watch YouTube videos etc. but are you getting the full picture? I when sat next to a SMM "specialist" at a service seminar who was spruiking to anybody who came within earshot about the fantastic benefits of setting up a Facebook service page for small business (with him obviously) and selling on Facebook. Fascinated by the aforementioned "professionals" guidance I looked him up on Facebook only to discover he had only 11 Facebook pals (not an excellent start). So being the research nut that I am, I chose to take a good look into SMM in regard to offering to see if it in fact worked, who did it work for and if it did why did Social Media Marketing work for them? And should company rely so heavily on social networks for sales?
As a web designer I was continuously (and now increasingly) challenged with several social networking difficulties when potential customers would state that having a website sounds excellent but they had a Facebook company page and had actually been told by different sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their needs it became quite clear that those possible clients didn't in fact know why they required social networks or SMM to produce online sales, They simply wanted it. Well it's basic truly because 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 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 brand names over social media at all and only around 23% really actively use social media to engage with brand names.
So how do you utilize social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well firstly I would say that having actually a well enhanced website is still going to bring you even more company that social media most of the times especially if you are a little to medium sized local service due to the fact that far more people are going to key 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 that possible service. Despite all the (not so good) stats I still believe it is still a good idea for service to utilize social media just not in the very same way that a lot of SMM professionals are today, Why? Because it's clearly not operating in the way they claim it does. Essentially SMM Business and Business as a whole looked at socials media like Facebook as a fresh market ripe for the picking and when Facebook started getting users determined by the millions PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel invested US$ 500,000 for 7% of the company (in June 2004) and because them a few equity capital companies have made investments into Facebook and in October 2007, Microsoft announced that it had acquired a 1.6% share of Facebook for $240 million. Given that Facebook's humble beginnings up till now (2012) both SMM Business and Organisation have failed to really capitalise on the big number of Facebook users online. The reality is numbers does not equivalent purchasers. Is it in a Social Media Marketing company's best interest to talk social networks up? Absolutely. Is it in a Social Media like Facebook's benefits for people to believe that companies can offer en masse by marketing and advertising with them? Of course it is. In early 2012, Facebook disclosed that its Logan Williams SEO profits had jumped 65% to $1 billion in the previous year as its profits which is generally from marketing had jumped almost 90% to $3.71 billion so clearly the idea of SMM is working out for them however it is exercising for you? Well ... statistically no, however that does not necessarily imply that it never ever will.
I believe the major difference in between socials media and search engines is intent. People who use Google are deliberately searching for something so if they do a search for hair stylists that's exactly what they are looking for at that particular time. With something like Facebook the main intent is generally to get in touch with loved ones. In October 2008, Mark Zuckerberg himself stated "I do not think social networks can be monetized in the same way that search (Search Engines) did ... In 3 years from now we need to figure out exactly what the maximum design is. That is not our primary focus today". Among the most significant issues service face with social media networks and SMM is perception. According to the IBM Institute for Company Worth research study there were "substantial spaces between exactly what businesses believe customers appreciate and exactly what customers state they desire from their social media interactions with business." For instance in today's society people are not just going to hand you over there recommendations, Facebook likes, comments or details without getting something back for it, so the old saying "what's in it for me?" enters into play. The main factor a lot of people provide for engaging with brand names or service on social media is to get discount rates, yet the brand names and service themselves believe the primary factor individuals engage with them on social media is to find out about brand-new items. For brand names and service getting discount rates just ranks 12th on their list of reasons that individuals engage with them. A lot of services think social media will increase advocacy, however just 38 % of customers concur.
There were some excellent initiatives shown in the IBM research study of business that had gotten some sort of a handle on how to utilize social media to their benefit, keeping in mind that when asked exactly what they do when they communicate with businesses or brand names by means of social media, customers list "getting discounts or vouchers" and "buying products and services" as the top 2 activities, respectively a UNITED STATE ice cream company called Cold Stone Creamery offered discount rates on their items on their Facebook page. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the benefit is clearly in the favour of the possible client & the fantastic technique to social media marketing is to sell without trying to offer (or looking like your selling) regrettably most social media marketing is focused the wrong way.
Constructing a concrete buyer to consumer relationship by means of social media is challenging and probably the most benefit to organisation' utilizing social media to increase their websites Google rankings. Business' require to comprehend that you can't simply setup a Facebook service page and hope for the finest. SMM requires effort and prospective customers have to see value in what you have to provide by means of your social media efforts give them something worth their social interaction and time then you may 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 significantly) challenged with a number of social networking challenges when possible customers would state that having a website sounds good but they had a Facebook business page and had 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 ended up being quite clear that those prospective customers didn't actually know why they required social networks or SMM to produce 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 organisation media and company networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a current research study done by the IBM Institute for Organisation 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 to communicate with brand names. Well initially of all I would say that having actually a well enhanced site is still going to bring you far more business that social media in many cases particularly if you are a little to medium sized regional service since far more individuals 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 don't have a website you're missing out on all of that prospective organisation. The main factor most individuals give for connecting with brands or organisation on social media is to get discounts, yet the brand names and company themselves believe the main factor people engage with them on social media is to learn about brand-new items.
