S.M.M business are now emerging all over the place these days and they are informing anybody that will listen about how incredibly important social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your company but, for the average little to medium sized organisation, does marketing to social networks truly measure up to all the buzz? Is spending a small fortune on employing a SMM business truly worth it? And has anybody actually done their research study on this prior to they employed someone to set up there Facebook company page? Some SMM companies are setting up things like Facebook business pages (which are free) for $600 to $1,000 or more and informing their customers that they do not require a site since Facebook is the most significant social media network on the planet and everyone has a Facebook account. Now while it may be true that Facebook is the largest social network in the world and yes, Facebook's members are possible customers, the genuine concern is are they in fact buying? Social media marketing companies are all too happy to point out the positives of social media like the number of individuals utilize Facebook or the number of tweets were sent out in 2015 and how many people see YouTube videos etc. however are you getting the full image? I when sat next to a SMM "specialist" at a company workshop who was spruiking to anyone who came within earshot about the fantastic benefits of setting up a Facebook organisation page for small business (with him naturally) and selling on Facebook. Intrigued by the abovementioned "experts" suggestions I looked him up on Facebook only to discover he had just 11 Facebook 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 offering 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 heavily on social networks for sales?
As a web designer I was continuously (and now increasingly) challenged with several social networking obstacles when prospective customers would state that having a website sounds excellent however they had a Facebook business page and had actually been informed by various sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the important things to do, but after discussing their requirements it ended up being quite clear that those prospective clients didn't in fact know why they needed socials media or SMM to generate online sales, They simply wanted it. For little and medium sized company I constantly suggested constructing a quality website over any kind of social media network, why? Well it's basic truly due to the fact that 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). I know that sounds basic but it holds true and the statistics back it up. The truth is that social media marketing fails to inform you that Facebook is a social media network not an online search engine and despite the variety of Facebook users and Google users being around the same, individuals don't utilize Facebook in the same way that they use an online 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 communicate with friends and family or for news and entertainment. In a current 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 just around 23% actually actively utilize social media to communicate with brand names. Now out of all individuals who do utilize social media and who do interact with brands whether purposefully or not, the bulk (66%) say they have to feel a company is interacting honestly before they will communicate.
How do you use social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well initially of all I would say that having actually a well enhanced website is still going to bring you far more organisation that social media in a lot of cases especially if you are a little to medium sized local business due to the fact that 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 Website and if you do not have a website you're missing out on all of that possible company. Despite all the (not so excellent) stats I still think it is still an excellent concept for company to use social media simply not in the exact same method that a lot of SMM professionals are today, Why? Is it in a Social Media Marketing business's best interest to talk social networks up?
I think the major difference in between social networks and online search engine is intent. People who utilize Google are intentionally searching for something so if they do a search for hair stylists that's what they are trying to find at that particular time. With something like Facebook the main intent is usually to get in touch with loved ones. In October 2008, Mark Zuckerberg himself said "I don't believe socials media can be generated income from in the same way that search (Online search engine) did ... In three years from now we have to figure out exactly what the maximum design is. But that is not our primary focus today". Among the most significant problems company face with socials media and SMM is perception. According to the IBM Institute for Company Worth research study there were "considerable gaps in between exactly what services believe consumers care about and what consumers state they want from their social media interactions with companies." In today's society individuals are not simply going to hand you over there suggestions, Facebook likes, remarks or details without getting something back for it, so the old saying "exactly what's in it for me?" comes into play. The primary reason most individuals offer for connecting with brand names or business on social media is to get discounts, yet the brand names and organisation themselves think the main factor people connect with them on social media is to find out about new products. For brand names and service getting discount rates just ranks 12th on their list of reasons why people communicate with them. A lot of services think social media will increase advocacy, but only 38 % of customers agree.
There were some great initiatives 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 what they do when they interact with services or brands via social media, customers list "getting discount rates or discount coupons" and "purchasing items and services" as the top 2 activities, respectively an U.S ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery used discounts 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 excellent trick to social media marketing is to sell without attempting to sell (or looking like your selling) regrettably most social media marketing is focused the incorrect way.
Developing a concrete purchaser to consumer relationship by means of social media is difficult and most likely the most benefit to company' utilizing social media to improve their websites Google rankings. Company' require to understand that you cannot just setup a Facebook organisation page and hope for the best. SMM needs effort and prospective consumers have to see worth in exactly what you need to offer through your social media efforts provide something worth their social interaction and time and after that you might improve results.
Now just as a footnote Facebook shares have actually dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their original cost ... and the claims are flying
As a web developer I was continuously (and now significantly) faced with several social networking difficulties when potential clients would state that having a website sounds excellent but they had a Facebook organisation 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 needs it ended up being rather clear that those potential clients didn't in fact know why they required social networks or SMM to generate 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 organisation media and company networks (that would be more Elite Digital Marketing agency like LinkedIn). In a recent research study done by the IBM Institute for Organisation Value around 55% of all social media users mentioned that they do not engage with brand names over social media at all and only 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 organisation that social media in many 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 "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 site you're missing out on out on all of that possible organisation. The main factor a lot of people provide for connecting with brand names or business on social media is to get discounts, yet the brands and service themselves think the main reason people engage with them on social media is to find out about new products.
