S.M.M business are now springing up all over the location these days and they are telling anybody that will listen about how extremely essential social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your company but, for the typical small to medium sized business, does marketing to social networks truly live up to all the hype? Social media marketing companies are all too happy to point out the positives of social media like how numerous people use Facebook or how lots of tweets were sent out last year and how numerous people see YouTube videos and so on but are you getting the full image? Being the research nut that I am, I decided to take an excellent look into SMM in regard to offering to see if it really worked, who did it work for and if it did why did Social Media Marketing work for them?
As a web developer I was constantly (and now increasingly) confronted with several social networking difficulties when prospective clients would state that having a website sounds good however they had a Facebook service page and had actually been informed by different sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that social media networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their requirements it ended up being quite clear that those prospective clients didn't really know why they needed social networks or SMM to produce online sales, They simply wanted it. For little and medium sized organisation I constantly recommended building a quality site over any kind of social media network, why? Well it's easy really due to the fact that social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not service media and company networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). I know that sounds simple however it holds true and the data back it up. The truth is that social media marketing cannot inform you that Facebook is a social media not an online search engine and despite the number of Facebook users and Google users being around the same, individuals don't utilize Facebook in the same way that they utilize an online search engine like Google (which has around half the online search engine market), Yahoo and Bing to look for organisation or items. They utilize it to stay connected with friends and family or for news and entertainment. In a recent research study done by the IBM Institute for Service Value around 55% of all social media users stated that they do not engage with brands over social media at all and only around 23% actually purposefully use social media to interact with brand names. Now from all individuals who do utilize social media and who do engage with brand names whether purposefully or not, the bulk (66%) say they need to feel a business is communicating honestly before they will interact.
So how do you use social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well initially of all I would state that having a well optimized website is still going to bring you far more company that social media in a lot of cases specifically if you are a little to medium sized regional organisation 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 website you're missing out on all of that prospective service. In spite of all the (not so excellent) data I still think it is still a good idea for company 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 finest interest to talk social networks up?
One of the most significant problems company face with social networks and SMM is perception. The main reason many people give for engaging with brand names or service on social media is to get discount rates, yet the brands and company themselves think the main reason people communicate with them on social media is to learn about new products. Many companies believe social media will increase advocacy, but only 38 % of consumers agree.
There were some excellent efforts shown in the IBM research study of business that had gotten some sort of a manage on how to use social media to their benefit, keeping in mind that when asked what they do when they engage with businesses or brand names via social media, consumers note "getting discount rates or discount coupons" and "acquiring products and services" as the top 2 activities, respectively an U.S ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery provided discount rates on their products on their Facebook page. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the advantage is clearly in the favour of the terrific trick & the prospective customer to social media marketing is to offer without attempting to sell (or looking like your selling) unfortunately most social media marketing is focused the incorrect way.
Building a tangible buyer to consumer relationship via social media is challenging and most likely the most benefit to service' using social media to enhance their sites Google rankings. However business' have to understand that you cannot simply setup a Facebook company page and expect the very best. SMM requires effort and prospective consumers need to see worth in exactly what you have to use via your social media efforts provide something worth their social interaction and time and 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 cost ... and the claims are flying
As a web developer I was continuously (and now increasingly) confronted with a number of social networking difficulties when potential clients would state that having a website sounds great however they had a Facebook business page and had been informed by various sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that social networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their needs it became rather clear that those possible clients didn't really understand why they needed social networks or SMM to create online sales, They just desired it. Well it's basic truly due to the fact that social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not business media and company networks (that would be more Elite Digital Marketing agency 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% really actively utilize social media to connect with brands. Well initially of all I would say that having a well enhanced site is still going to bring you far more service that social media in most cases particularly if you are a little to medium sized local company due to the fact that far more people 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 out on all of that potential organisation. The primary reason a lot of individuals give for engaging with brand names or business on social media is to receive discounts, yet the brand names and company themselves believe the primary reason people engage with them on social media is to find out about new products.
