Social Media Marketing, Reality and Lies

Social Media Marketing seems to be the latest buzz word for anyone planning to increase their online presence and sales, but 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 informing anyone that will listen about how exceptionally essential social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your business however, for the average little to medium sized company, does marketing to social networks really live up to all the buzz? Social media marketing companies are all too delighted to point out the positives of social media like how numerous individuals use Facebook or how lots of tweets were sent out last year and how numerous individuals view YouTube videos and so on but are you getting the complete photo? Being the research study nut that I am, I decided to take an excellent look into SMM in regard to offering to see if it actually worked, who did it work for and if it did why did Social Media Marketing work for them?

As a web developer I was continuously (and now significantly) challenged with numerous social networking difficulties when potential customers would say that having a site sounds good however they had a Facebook company page and had been told by various sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that socials media were the important things to do, but after discussing their needs it became rather clear that those potential customers didn't in fact know why they needed socials media or SMM to produce online sales, They just desired it. For medium and little sized service I always suggested constructing a quality site over any type of social media, why? Well it's simple actually because 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). I understand that sounds simple however it's true and the stats back it up. The fact is that social media marketing cannot tell you that Facebook is a social media network not a search engine and in spite of the variety of Facebook users and Google users being around the exact same, people do not use Facebook in the same way that they utilize a search engine like Google (which has around half the online search engine market), Yahoo and Bing to search for service or products. They utilize it to keep in touch with friends and family or for news and entertainment. In a current study done by the IBM Institute for Organisation Value around 55% of all social media users specified that they do not engage with brands over social media at all and just around 23% in fact purposefully utilize social media to interact with brands. Now from all the people who do utilize social media and who do interact with brand names whether purposefully or not, the bulk (66%) say they have to feel a business is communicating truthfully before they will connect.

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

Well initially of all I would state that having actually a well enhanced 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 because 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 Website and if you do not have a site you're missing out on out on all of that potential company. In spite of all the (not so excellent) statistics I still think it is still a good idea for service to utilize social media just not in the same way that a lot of SMM experts 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 primary reason most people give for interacting with brand names or organisation on social media is to get discount rates, yet the brand names and organisation themselves believe the primary reason people engage with them on social media is to learn about new products. Many businesses think social media will increase advocacy, however just 38 % of customers concur.

If they desire to see some sort of result from it, companies need to discover more ingenious ways to connect with social media. There were some excellent efforts shown in the IBM study of companies that had actually gotten some sort of a deal with on ways to use social media to their benefit, remembering that when asked what they do when they interact with organisations or brands via social media, customers list "getting discounts or vouchers" and "buying product or services" as the leading 2 activities, respectively an USA ice cream company called Cold Stone Creamery provided discount rates on their items on their Facebook page. There is an excellent program introduced by Finest Purchases in the UNITED STATE called Twelpforce where workers can respond to consumer's questions through Twitter. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the benefit is plainly in the favour of the excellent technique & the prospective client to social media marketing is to sell without trying to offer (or looking like your selling) unfortunately most social media marketing is focused the wrong way.

Building a concrete purchaser to consumer relationship via social media is hard and most likely the most benefit to company' using social media to enhance their sites Google rankings. Company' need to comprehend that you can't simply 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 get better outcomes.

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


As a web designer I was constantly (and now increasingly) faced with Social Media Agency a number of social networking difficulties when possible customers would state that having a site sounds excellent however they had a Facebook service page and had actually been informed by different sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their requirements it ended up being quite clear that those prospective clients didn't in fact understand why they required social networks or SMM to create online sales, They just wanted it. Well it's basic really since 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 specified that they do not engage with brand names over social media at all and just around 23% really purposefully utilize social media to connect with brands. Well first of all I would state that having actually a well optimized website is still going to bring you far more company that social media in many cases specifically if you are a small to medium sized local 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 do not have a website you're missing out on all of that prospective service. The main reason most people give for communicating with brands or company on social media is to get discounts, yet the brands and organisation themselves believe the primary factor individuals connect with them on social media is to learn about brand-new products.

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