Social Media Marketing, Fact and Lies

Social Media Marketing appears to be the current buzz word for anybody wanting to increase their online existence and sales, however is Social Media Marketing (SMM) all it is cracked up to be?

S.M.M business are now springing up all over the place these days and they are telling anyone that will listen about how extremely important social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your company but, for the average small to medium sized company, does marketing to socials media really live up to all the buzz? Is spending a little fortune on employing a SMM company really worth it? And has anyone really done their research on this prior to they worked with somebody to establish there Facebook organisation page? Some SMM business are establishing 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 because Facebook is the biggest social media network on the planet and everybody has a Facebook account. Now while it might hold true that Facebook is the biggest social media in the world and yes, Facebook's members are potential consumers, the real question is are they actually buying? Social media marketing companies are all too delighted to point out the positives of social media like how many people utilize Facebook or the number of tweets were sent out in 2015 and how many people see YouTube videos and so on however are you getting the full image? I once sat beside a SMM "professional" at an organisation seminar who was spruiking to anyone who came within earshot about the incredible benefits of setting up a Facebook business page for small business (with him naturally) and selling on Facebook. So, captivated by the aforementioned "experts" suggestions I looked him up on Facebook just to find he had only 11 Facebook buddies (not a good start). Being the research nut that I am, I decided to take an excellent look into 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 heavily on social media networks for sales?

As a web developer I was constantly (and now progressively) confronted with a number of social networking obstacles when possible clients would state that having a website sounds good however they had a Facebook business page and had been informed by numerous sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the thing to do, but after discussing their needs it ended up being rather clear that those possible clients didn't actually understand why they required social networks or SMM to generate online sales, They just wanted it. Well it's basic actually 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 study done by the IBM Institute for Company Value 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 communicate with brand names.

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

Well initially of all I would state that having a well enhanced website is still going to bring you far more organisation that social media in the majority of cases especially 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 Site and if you don't have a site you're missing out on all of that potential business. In spite of all the (not so great) data I still think it is still a great concept for organisation to utilize social media simply not in the very same method that a lot of SMM specialists are today, Why? Is it in a Social Media Marketing business's best interest to talk social networks up?

I believe the major distinction between social networks and online search Social Media Agency engine is intent. People who utilize Google are deliberately searching for something so if they do a look for hairdressers that's exactly what they are searching for at that specific time. With something like Facebook the primary intent is normally to get in touch with loved ones. In October 2008, Mark Zuckerberg himself stated "I don't think social media networks can be generated income from in the same way that search (Search Engines) did ... In 3 years from now we have to figure out exactly what the optimum model is. However that is not our primary focus today". One of the greatest problems organisation face with socials media and SMM is understanding. According to the IBM Institute for Company Worth study there were "significant spaces between exactly what companies believe consumers appreciate and what customers say they desire from their social media interactions with companies." For instance in today's society people are not just going to hand you over there suggestions, Facebook likes, comments or information without getting something back for it, so the old adage "exactly what's in it for me?" enters into play. The main reason many individuals give for engaging with brands or service on social media is to get discounts, yet the brand names and business themselves think the primary reason people connect with them on social media is to learn about brand-new items. For brands and company getting discounts only ranks 12th on their list of reasons that people engage with them. The majority of companies think social media will increase advocacy, however only 38 % of customers concur.

Companies have to discover more innovative ways to get in touch with social media if they wish to see some sort of result from it. There were some great efforts displayed in the IBM research study of companies that had gotten some sort of a handle on ways to utilize social media to their benefit, remembering that when asked what they do when they interact with companies or brands through social media, customers note "getting discounts or coupons" and "buying product or services" as the leading two activities, respectively an U.S ice cream company called Cold Stone Creamery provided discount rates on their items on their Facebook page. Additionally there is an excellent program released by Finest Buys in the U.S called Twelpforce where employees can respond to client's questions through Twitter. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the advantage is plainly in the favour of the excellent technique & the possible consumer to social media marketing is to offer without trying to sell (or looking like your selling) regrettably most social media marketing is focused the wrong way.

Building 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 improve their websites Google rankings. Service' need to understand that you can't simply setup a Facebook company page and hope for the finest. SMM requires effort and possible customers have to see value 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 get better outcomes.

Now just as a footnote Facebook shares have dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their initial cost ... and the claims are flying


As a web developer I was continuously (and now progressively) confronted with a number of social networking difficulties when potential customers would say that having a website sounds great but they had a Facebook organisation 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 needs it became quite clear that those prospective clients didn't in fact know why they needed social networks or SMM to produce online sales, They simply wanted it. Well it's easy actually because social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not company media and service networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a recent study done by the IBM Institute for Service Value around 55% of all social media users specified that they do not engage with brands over social media at all and only around 23% really purposefully use social media to engage with brand names. Well first 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 especially if you are a small to medium sized regional business 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 Website and if you don't have a website you're missing out on all of that possible service. The primary reason the majority of people give for communicating with brands or company on social media is to receive discount rates, yet the brand names and business themselves think the main factor people communicate with them on social media is to find out about new items.

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