S.M.M companies are now emerging all over the place nowadays and they are telling anybody that will listen about how extremely crucial social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your service but, for the typical small to medium sized service, does marketing to social networks really live up to all the buzz? Is investing a small fortune on hiring a SMM business actually worth it? And has anybody actually done their research study on this before they hired someone to set up there Facebook organisation page? Some SMM companies are establishing things like Facebook business pages (which are free) for $600 to $1,000 or more and informing their customers that they don't need a website due to the fact that Facebook is the biggest social media network on the planet and everyone has a Facebook account. Now while it may hold true that Facebook is the biggest social media network worldwide and yes, Facebook's members are prospective customers, the real question is are they in fact buying? Social media marketing business are all too pleased to point out the positives of social media like how many people utilize Facebook or how many tweets were sent last year and the number of individuals view YouTube videos and so on but are you getting the complete picture? I as soon as sat next to a SMM "specialist" at a service workshop who was spruiking to anyone who came within earshot about the amazing advantages of establishing a Facebook company page for small company (with him of course) 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 good friends (not a great start). Being the research nut that I am, I chose to take an excellent look into SMM in regard to offering to see if it in fact worked, who did it work for and if it did why did Social Media Marketing work for them? And should service rely so heavily on socials media for sales?
As a web designer I was constantly (and now significantly) faced with a number of social networking challenges when prospective customers would say that having a site sounds excellent however they had a Facebook business page and had actually been informed by different sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the thing to do, but after discussing their requirements it became rather clear that those possible clients didn't actually know why they needed social networks or SMM to generate online sales, They just 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 service media and business networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a current study done by the IBM Institute for Business 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 utilize social media to communicate with brand names.
How do you use social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well firstly I would state that having actually a well optimized website is still going to bring you even more company that social media in most cases especially if you are a small to medium sized local organisation due to the fact that far more people are going to key 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 losing out on all that potential service. Nevertheless despite all the (not so excellent) data I still think it is still a good idea for company to utilize social media just not in the same way that a great deal of SMM specialists are today, Why? Due to the fact that it's plainly not working in the way they declare it does. Basically SMM Business and Organisation as a whole took a look 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 company (in June 2004) and considering that them a few equity capital companies have made financial investments into Facebook and in October 2007, Microsoft revealed that it had acquired a 1.6% share of Facebook for $240 million. Nevertheless given that Facebook's humble starts up until now (2012) both SMM Companies and Business have actually cannot genuinely capitalise on the huge number of Facebook users online. The reality is numbers does not equivalent buyers. Is it in a Social Media Marketing company's benefit to talk socials media up? Absolutely. Is it in a Social Network like Facebook's best interests for people to think that business can offer en masse by advertising and marketing with them? Obviously it is. In early 2012, Facebook divulged that its profits had leapt 65% to $1 billion in the previous year as its profits which is generally from advertising had leapt almost 90% to $3.71 billion so clearly the idea of SMM is exercising for them however it is working out for you? Well ... statistically no, however that does not always mean that it never will.
I believe the major difference between social media networks and online search engine is intent. People who utilize Google are deliberately searching for something so if they do a search for hairdressers that's exactly what they are looking for at that specific time. With something like Facebook the primary intent is typically to connect with family and friends. In October 2008, Mark Zuckerberg himself stated "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 find out what the maximum design is. That is not our primary focus today". One of the greatest problems organisation confront with socials media and SMM is perception. According to the IBM Institute for Company Worth research study there were "substantial gaps in between what organisations think consumers care about and exactly what customers state 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, remarks or details without getting something back for it, so the old adage "exactly what's in it for me?" comes into play. So the primary reason most people offer for engaging with brand names or service on social media is to receive discount rates, yet the brand names and organisation themselves believe the main factor individuals communicate with them on social media is to learn about brand-new products. For brands and organisation getting discounts just ranks 12th on their list of reasons people connect with them. Many businesses think social media will increase advocacy, but just 38 % of consumers concur.
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 engage with companies or brand names through social media, customers list "getting discount rates or discount coupons" and "purchasing items and services" as the leading two activities, respectively an USA ice cream company called Cold Stone Creamery used discounts on their products on their Facebook page. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the advantage is clearly in the favour of the possible client & the great technique to social media marketing is to sell without attempting to sell (or looking like your selling) regrettably most social media marketing is focused the wrong method.
Constructing a tangible purchaser to consumer relationship by means of social media is difficult and most likely the most benefit to company' utilizing social media to increase their websites Google rankings. Business' require to understand that you can't simply setup a Facebook business page and hope for the best. SMM needs effort and potential clients have to see value in what you need to use via your social media efforts provide something worth their social interaction and time then you may improve outcomes.
Now just as a Website footnote Facebook shares have dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their initial price ... and the lawsuits are flying
As a web designer I was constantly (and now progressively) challenged with a number of social networking obstacles when possible clients would state that having a website sounds excellent but they had a Facebook company page and had actually been informed by numerous sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that social networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their requirements it became quite clear that those possible clients didn't really understand why they required social networks or SMM to generate online sales, They just desired it. Well it's basic actually because social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not business media and business networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a recent 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% actually actively use social media to engage with brands. Well initially of all I would state that having a well optimized website is still going to bring you far more organisation that social media in the majority of cases particularly if you are a little to medium sized regional company because 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 site you're missing out on out on all of that potential service. The main factor the majority of individuals offer for interacting with brands or service on social media is to get discounts, yet the brand names and company themselves believe the main factor individuals engage with them on social media is to discover about new items.
