S.M.M business are now emerging all over the place these days and they are telling anybody that will listen about how exceptionally crucial social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your service however, for the typical small to medium sized business, does marketing to social networks really measure up to all the hype? Is spending a little fortune on working with a SMM company really worth it? And has anybody truly done their research on this before they worked with somebody to set up there Facebook company page? Some SMM companies are establishing things like Facebook service pages (which are totally free) for $600 to $1,000 or more and informing their customers that they don't need a site due to the fact that Facebook is the greatest social media network on the planet and everybody has a Facebook account. Now while it might hold true that Facebook is the biggest social network in the world and yes, Facebook's members are possible consumers, the real concern is are they really buying? Social media marketing companies are all too delighted to explain the positives of social media like how many people utilize Facebook or the number of tweets were sent out last year and the number of people watch YouTube videos and so on however are you getting the full picture? I once sat beside a SMM "professional" at a business workshop who was spruiking to anyone who came within earshot about the amazing advantages of setting up a Facebook organisation page for small business (with him of course) and selling on Facebook. Captivated by the previously mentioned "experts" recommendations I looked him up on Facebook only to find he had just 11 Facebook buddies (not an excellent start). Being the research nut that I am, I chose to take an excellent appearance into SMM in regard to selling 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 developer I was continuously (and now increasingly) faced with several social networking obstacles when potential customers would say that having a site sounds great however they had a Facebook company page and had actually been told by numerous sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that social networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their needs it ended up being quite clear that those prospective customers didn't really know why they needed social networks or SMM to generate online sales, They simply wanted it. Well it's basic really since social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not organisation media and company networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a current study done by the IBM Institute for Service Worth around 55% of all social media users specified that they do not engage with brand names over social media at all and only around 23% really actively use social media to engage with brand names.
So how do you use social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well to start with I would state that having a well enhanced site is still going to bring you much more organisation that social media in many cases particularly if you are a little to medium sized local organisation because even more people are going to enter "hairdresser Port Macquarie" into an online search engine like Google, Yahoo and Bing than they ever will on any Social Media Website and if you don't have a site you're losing out on all of that prospective organisation. However in spite of all the (not so excellent) statistics I still believe it is still a great idea for company to utilize social media simply not in the same way that a lot of SMM experts are today, Why? Since it's plainly not working in the way they declare it does. Generally SMM Companies and Company 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 given that them a couple of equity capital companies have actually made financial investments into Facebook and in October 2007, Microsoft announced that it had bought a 1.6% share of Facebook for $240 million. Because Facebook's simple starts up until now (2012) both SMM Business and Service have actually stopped working to genuinely capitalise on the huge number of Facebook users online. The fact is numbers does not equal buyers. Is it in a Social Media Marketing business's benefit to talk social media networks up? Definitely. Is it in a Social Network like Facebook's benefits for individuals 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 jumped 65% to $1 billion in the previous year as its earnings which is primarily from advertising had jumped practically 90% to $3.71 billion so plainly the concept of SMM is exercising for them however it is working out for you? Well ... statistically no, but that does not always suggest that it never will.
I believe the major difference between social media networks and online search engine is intent. Individuals who use Google are deliberately searching for something so if they do a search for hair stylists that's what they are searching for at that specific time. With something like Facebook the main intent is generally to connect with family and friends. In October 2008, Mark Zuckerberg himself stated "I do not believe social networks can be generated income from in the same way that search (Online search engine) did ... In 3 years from now we need to determine what the optimal model is. That is not our primary focus today". One of the biggest problems company face with social networks and SMM is perception. According to the IBM Institute for Service Value research study there were "considerable spaces in between exactly what services think consumers care about and what consumers say they want from their social media interactions with companies." For example in today's society people are not just going to hand you over there recommendations, Facebook likes, comments or information without getting something back for it, so the old saying "what's in it for me?" enters play. The primary reason many individuals offer for connecting with brands or business on social media is to receive discounts, yet the brands and company themselves think the main reason individuals engage with them on social media is to discover about brand-new items. For brands and company receiving discounts just ranks 12th on their list of reasons that individuals engage with them. A lot of organisations think social media will increase advocacy, however just 38 % of consumers concur.
Business have to find more ingenious ways to get in touch with social media if they want to see some sort of arise from it. There were some good initiatives displayed in the IBM research study of companies that had gotten some sort of a manage on ways to use social media to their advantage, keeping in mind that when asked exactly what they do when they communicate with companies or brands via social media, consumers note "getting discount rates or coupons" and "purchasing product or services" as the top 2 activities, respectively an USA ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery used discounts on their products on their Facebook page. Additionally there is a great program released by Finest Buys in the USA called Twelpforce where staff members can respond to customer's concerns by means of Twitter. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the advantage is clearly in the favour of the prospective consumer & the great trick to social media marketing is to offer without trying to sell (or appearing like your selling) unfortunately most social media marketing is focused the wrong way.
Constructing a concrete buyer to consumer relationship by means of social media is difficult and most likely the most benefit to company' utilizing social media to improve their sites Google rankings. But organisation' need to comprehend that you can't just setup a Facebook service page and wish for the best. SMM requires effort and prospective customers have to see value in exactly what you need to offer by means of your social media efforts provide something worth their social interaction and time and then you might improve results.
Now just as a footnote Facebook shares have actually dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their initial price ... and the suits are flying
As a web developer I was continuously (and now significantly) confronted with a number of social networking obstacles when potential customers would state that having a site sounds great however they had a Facebook business page and had actually been informed by various sources (the ever present yet anonymous "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 really know why they required social networks or SMM to generate online sales, They just desired it. Well it's easy actually because social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not service media and organisation networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). Elite Digital Marketing agency In a current research study done by the IBM Institute for Organisation Worth 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 actively utilize social media to engage with brand names. Well initially of all I would say that having actually a well enhanced site is still going to bring you far more organisation that social media in most cases especially if you are a little to medium sized regional business due to the fact that 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 all of that prospective company. The main reason most people give for engaging with brands or business on social media is to get discount rates, yet the brands and business themselves think the main factor individuals interact with them on social media is to learn about new items.
