Social Media Marketing, Truth and Lies

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

S.M.M companies are now springing up all over the location these days and they are informing anyone that will listen about how exceptionally crucial social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your organisation but, for the average small to medium sized organisation, does marketing to social networks actually live up to all the buzz? Social media marketing companies are all too delighted to point out the positives of social media like how lots of people use Facebook or how lots of tweets were sent out last year and how numerous individuals watch YouTube videos and so on however are you getting the complete photo? Being the research nut that I am, I chose 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 significantly) faced with numerous social networking challenges when prospective customers would say that having a site sounds excellent but they had a Facebook service page and had actually been told by different sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") 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 needed social networks or SMM to create online sales, They just wanted it. Well it's easy really since social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not organisation media and business networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a current research study done by the IBM Institute for Company Worth around 55% of all social media users stated that they do not engage with brands over social media at all and just around 23% actually actively use social media to engage with brand names.

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

Well first of all I would say that having actually a well optimized site is still going to bring you even more company that social media for the most parts especially if you are a small to medium sized regional organisation since much more individuals are going to type in "hair stylist 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 missing out on all of that possible business. However in spite of all the (not so excellent) statistics I still think it is still a great idea for business to use social media simply not in the same way that a great deal of SMM professionals are today, Why? Because it's clearly not working in the method they claim it does. Essentially SMM Business and Business as a whole took a look at socials media like Facebook as a fresh market ripe for the picking when Facebook began getting users measured 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 equity capital firms have made investments into Facebook and in October 2007, Microsoft revealed that it had purchased a 1.6% share of Facebook for $240 million. Nevertheless considering that Facebook's humble beginnings up until now (2012) both SMM Business and Organisation have failed to really capitalise on the substantial number of Facebook users online. The truth is numbers does not equivalent 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 advertising and marketing with them? Of course it is. In early 2012, Facebook revealed that its revenues had jumped 65% to $1 billion in the previous year as its profits which is primarily from marketing had leapt practically Website 90% to $3.71 billion so plainly the principle of SMM is exercising for them however it is working out for you? Well ... statistically no, but that does not necessarily indicate that it never ever will.

I think the major difference between social media networks and online search engine is intent. Individuals who utilize Google are intentionally looking for something so if they do a look for hair stylists that's exactly what they are looking for at that particular time. With something like Facebook the primary intent is typically to connect with loved ones. In October 2008, Mark Zuckerberg himself stated "I do not believe socials media can be generated income from in the same way that search (Online search engine) did ... In 3 years from now we need to figure out what the optimal model is. That is not our main focus today". Among the biggest problems company face with social networks and SMM is perception. According to the IBM Institute for Company Value research study there were "considerable spaces between what services believe customers appreciate and exactly what customers state they desire from their social media interactions with business." For instance in today's society people are not simply going to hand you over there suggestions, Facebook likes, remarks or information without getting something back for it, so the old expression "exactly what remains in it for me?" enters play. So the main factor the majority of people offer for connecting with brand names or service on social media is to get discount rates, yet the brand names and service themselves believe the primary factor individuals engage with them on social media is to discover brand-new items. For brand names and service getting discounts only ranks 12th on their list of reasons why people communicate with them. Many companies believe social media will increase advocacy, but only 38 % of consumers agree.

There were some good efforts shown in the IBM study of business 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 exactly what they do when they engage with companies or brands by means of social media, consumers list "getting discount rates or discount coupons" and "purchasing items and services" as the leading two activities, respectively an USA ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery provided 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 great technique to social media marketing is to sell without trying to offer (or looking like your selling) sadly most social media marketing is focused the wrong method.

Developing a tangible purchaser to customer relationship via social media is hard and most likely the most benefit to company' utilizing social media to improve their websites Google rankings. Company' require to comprehend that you can't just setup a Facebook service page and hope for the best. SMM needs effort and prospective customers have to see worth in what you need to provide via your social media efforts provide something worth their social interaction and time and after that you may improve outcomes.

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


As a web designer I was constantly (and now significantly) faced with several social networking obstacles when prospective clients would state that having a website sounds excellent however they had a Facebook business page and had actually been told by various sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the thing to do, but after discussing their requirements it became quite clear that those prospective clients didn't in fact know why they needed social networks or SMM to create online sales, They just desired it. Well it's easy 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 current 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 utilize social media to engage with brands. Well initially of all I would say that having actually a well optimized site is still going to bring you far more business that social media in the majority of cases particularly if you are a little to medium sized local business due to the fact that far more people 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 Site and if you do not have a website you're missing out on out on all of that prospective business. The main reason a lot of people offer for interacting with brand names or organisation on social media is to get discounts, yet the brand names and business themselves believe the main factor people connect with them on social media is to discover about brand-new products.

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