S.M.M business are now emerging all over the place nowadays and they are informing anybody that will listen about how extremely important social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your business however, for the typical small to medium sized company, does marketing to social networks actually measure up to all the hype? Is spending a little fortune on employing a SMM company really worth it? And has anybody truly done their research on this before they worked with somebody to set up there Facebook organisation page? Some SMM business are setting up things like Facebook organisation pages (which are totally free) for $600 to $1,000 or more and telling their customers that they do not require a website because Facebook is the greatest social media network on the planet and everybody has a Facebook account. Now while it might hold true that Facebook is the largest social network worldwide and yes, Facebook's members are prospective consumers, the genuine concern is are they really buying? Social media marketing business are all too pleased to explain the positives of social media like how many people utilize Facebook or how many tweets were sent out in 2015 and how many individuals view YouTube videos etc. however are you getting the full picture? I once sat beside a SMM "professional" at a business workshop who was spruiking to anyone who came within earshot about the amazing advantages of setting up a Facebook organisation page for small company (with him of course) and selling on Facebook. So, interested by the previously mentioned "specialists" recommendations I looked him up on Facebook only to discover he had only 11 Facebook good friends (not a great start). So being the research study nut that I am, I chose to take a good 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 networks for sales?
As a web designer I was constantly (and now progressively) confronted with a number of social networking challenges when possible clients would say that having a site sounds good however they had a Facebook company page and had actually been told by various sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their needs it ended up being quite clear that those possible clients didn't in fact know why they required social media networks or SMM to create online sales, They just desired it. For small and medium sized company I constantly recommended constructing a quality website over any kind of social media network, why? Well it's basic really due to the fact that social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not business media and service networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). I know that sounds easy however it's true and the stats back it up. The fact is that social media marketing cannot 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 use 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 company or items. They use it to correspond with friends and family or for news and home entertainment. 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 brands over social media at all and just around 23% really actively use social media to engage with brand names. Now from all individuals who do use social media and who do connect with brands whether actively or not, the bulk (66%) say they have to feel a business is communicating truthfully before they will communicate.
How do you utilize social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well first off I would say that having actually a well enhanced website is still going to bring you much more organisation that social media in most cases particularly 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 do not have a website you're missing out on all that possible business. However regardless of all the (not so good) statistics I still believe it is still a good idea for company to utilize social media simply not in the same way that a great deal of SMM professionals are today, Why? Due to the fact that it's clearly not operating in the method they declare it does. Essentially SMM Business and Organisation as a whole looked at social media networks like Facebook as a fresh market ripe for the selecting and when Facebook started getting users determined by the millions PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel invested US$ 500,000 for 7% of the business (in June 2004) and since them a few venture capital companies have actually made investments into Facebook and in October 2007, Microsoft revealed that it had actually purchased a 1.6% share of Facebook for $240 million. However because Facebook's simple starts up until now (2012) both SMM Companies and Service have actually failed to really capitalise on the substantial variety of Facebook users online. The truth is numbers does not equal purchasers. Is it in a Social Media Marketing business's best interest to talk social media networks up? Definitely. Is it in a Social Media like Facebook's benefits for people to believe that business can offer en masse by marketing and advertising with them? Naturally it is. In early 2012, Facebook divulged that its profits had jumped 65% to $1 billion in the previous year as its revenue which is mainly from advertising had leapt almost 90% to $3.71 billion so clearly the idea of SMM is exercising for them however it is exercising for you? Well ... statistically no, however that does not necessarily suggest that it never ever will.
I believe the major distinction in between social media networks and online search engine is intent. People who use Google are deliberately searching for something so if they do a look for hairdressers that's what they are searching for at that specific time. With something like Facebook the main intent is generally to get in touch with friends and family. In October 2008, Mark Zuckerberg himself said "I don't think social media networks can be monetized in the same way that search (Search Engines) did ... In three years from now we have to determine what the optimal design is. That is not our primary focus today". One of the most significant problems service confront with socials media and SMM is understanding. Inning accordance with the IBM Institute for Business Value research study there were "considerable gaps in between exactly what services think customers appreciate and what customers state they desire from their social media interactions with companies." For example 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?" comes into play. The primary reason most people give for interacting with brand names or company on social media is to receive discounts, yet the brand names and service themselves think the main factor people engage with them on social media is to discover about new products. For brands and company receiving discount rates just ranks 12th on their list of reasons that individuals engage with them. Most organisations think social media will increase advocacy, but only 38 % of customers concur.
If they want to see some sort of result from it, companies need to discover more ingenious ways to connect with social media. There were some excellent initiatives shown in the IBM study of companies that had gotten some sort of a manage on ways to use social media to their advantage, keeping in mind that when asked exactly what they do when they engage with companies or brands by means of social media, customers note "getting discounts or coupons" and "acquiring product or services" as the leading two activities, respectively an U.S ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery provided discounts on their items on their Facebook page. Additionally there is a fantastic program launched by Finest Purchases in the UNITED STATE called Twelpforce where employees can react to client's questions via Twitter. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the advantage is clearly in the favour of the excellent technique & the potential consumer to social media marketing is to offer without trying to offer (or appearing like your selling) unfortunately most social media marketing is focused the wrong way.
Building a concrete buyer to customer relationship through social media is not easy and most likely the most benefit to company' using social media to improve their websites Google rankings. Organisation' require to understand that you cannot just setup a Facebook organisation page and hope for the finest. SMM requires effort and prospective clients have to see value in exactly what you have to offer through your social media efforts give them something worth their social interaction and time then you may improve results.
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 several social networking obstacles when prospective customers would say that having a website sounds great but they had a Facebook organisation page and had been informed by different sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") Website that social networks were the thing to do, but after discussing their needs it ended up being quite clear that those possible 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 really 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). In a recent research study done by the IBM Institute for Service Worth around 55% of all social media users specified that they do not engage with brand names 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 the majority of cases particularly if you are a little to medium sized local organisation because 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 prospective business. The main reason a lot of people provide for connecting with brands or organisation on social media is to receive discount rates, yet the brands and service themselves think the primary reason individuals interact with them on social media is to discover about brand-new products.
