Social Media Marketing, Truth and Lies

Social Media Marketing seems to be the most recent buzz word for anyone looking to increase their online existence and sales, however is Social Media Marketing (SMM) all it is cracked up to be?

S.M.M companies are now springing up all over the location these days 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 little to medium sized service, does marketing to social networks really live up to all the buzz? Social media marketing companies are all too delighted to point out the positives of social media like how numerous individuals utilize Facebook or how numerous tweets were sent out last year and how many individuals watch YouTube videos and so on but are you getting the full photo? Being the research nut that I am, I chose to take a great look into SMM in regard to offering to see if it actually worked, who did it work for and if it did why did Social Media Marketing work for them?

As a web developer I was continuously (and now increasingly) faced with numerous social networking difficulties when possible clients would say that having a site sounds good however 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, however after discussing their needs it became quite clear that those possible clients didn't actually know why they required social networks or SMM to create online sales, They simply wanted it. Well it's easy really due to the fact that 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 Company Worth around 55% of all social media users mentioned that they do not engage with brands over social media at all and only around 23% really purposefully use social media to engage with brands.

How do you utilize social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?

Well firstly I would say that having actually a well optimized site is still going to bring you even more service that social media in many cases specifically if you are a small to medium sized local service due to the fact that even more individuals are going to type in "hairdresser Port Macquarie" into an online 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 all of that possible organisation. Despite all the (not so great) data I still believe it is still a good concept for business to utilize social media simply not in the same method that a lot of SMM specialists are today, Why? Since it's plainly not working in the way they declare it does. Basically SMM Companies and Service as a whole took a look at social networks 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 company (in June 2004) and because them a couple of equity capital firms have made investments into Facebook and in October 2007, Microsoft announced that it had acquired a 1.6% share of Facebook for $240 million. Considering that Facebook's modest starts up until now (2012) both SMM Companies and Service have actually failed to truly capitalise on the big number of Facebook users online. The fact is numbers does not equal purchasers. Is it in a Social Media Marketing company's best interest to talk social media networks up? Definitely. Is it in a Social Network like Facebook's best interests for individuals to believe that companies can offer en masse by marketing and advertising with them? Naturally it is. In early 2012, Facebook disclosed that its earnings had leapt 65% to $1 billion in the previous year as its income which is primarily from advertising had jumped practically 90% to $3.71 billion so plainly the principle of SMM is working out for them but it is exercising for you? Well ... statistically no, however that does not always mean that it never will.

I think the significant difference between social networks and search engines is intent. People who utilize Google are intentionally looking for something so if they do a look for hair stylists that's exactly what they are trying to find at that specific time. With something like Facebook the main intent is generally to connect with friends and family. In October 2008, Mark Zuckerberg himself said "I don't think social media networks can be generated income from in the same way that search (Online search engine) did ... In 3 years from now we have to figure out what the optimal model is. However that is not our main focus today". Among the greatest issues business face with social networks and SMM is perception. Inning accordance with the IBM Institute for Service Worth research study there were "significant gaps between exactly what services think consumers care about and what consumers say they want from their social media interactions with companies." 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 adage "what's in it for me?" enters play. The primary factor the majority of individuals offer for connecting with brand names or service on social media is to receive discount rates, yet the brands and business themselves believe the main reason individuals connect with them on social media is to discover about brand-new products. For brands and organisation getting discount rates just ranks 12th on their list of reasons that individuals engage with them. A lot of services believe social media will increase advocacy, but only 38 % of consumers agree.

Business have to discover more ingenious ways to connect with social media if they want to see some sort of arise from it. There were some good efforts displayed in the IBM research study of business that had gotten some sort of a handle on ways to use social media to their advantage, bearing in mind that when asked what they do when they interact with companies or brand names through social media, consumers list "getting discount rates or discount coupons" and "buying products and services" as the top 2 activities, respectively an USA ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery provided discounts on their products on their Facebook page. Additionally there is an excellent program released by Finest Buys in the U.S called Twelpforce where staff members can react to consumer's questions via Twitter. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the advantage is plainly in the favour of the excellent technique & the prospective customer to social media marketing is to offer without attempting to sell (or appearing 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 difficult and most likely the most benefit to service' using social media to enhance their sites Google rankings. Organisation' require to understand that you can't just setup a Facebook business page and hope for the best. SMM requires effort and prospective consumers have to see value in what you have to use via your social media efforts give them something worth their social interaction and time and after that 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 designer I was constantly (and now progressively) confronted with a number of social networking obstacles when possible clients would state that having a website sounds great but they had a Facebook business page and had actually been told by numerous 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 clients didn't in fact understand why they needed social networks or SMM to create online sales, They just wanted it. Well it's basic truly because social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not service media and business networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a current study done by the IBM Institute for Business Worth around 55% of all social media users stated that they do not engage with brand names over social media at all and only SEO Agency around 23% in fact purposefully utilize social media to engage with brands. Well initially of all I would say that having actually a well optimized site is still going to bring you far more service that social media in most cases specifically if you are a small to medium sized regional company 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 Website and if you don't have a site you're missing out on all of that possible company. The main reason the majority of people offer for connecting with brand names or company on social media is to receive discounts, yet the brand names and service themselves think the primary reason individuals communicate with them on social media is to find out about new items.

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