Social Media Marketing, Reality and Lies

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

S.M.M business are now emerging all over the place nowadays and they are telling anyone that will listen about how exceptionally essential social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your service but, for the average small to medium sized company, does marketing to socials media actually measure up to all the buzz? Is investing a little fortune on employing a SMM company actually worth it? And has anyone really done their research study on this prior to they worked with somebody to set up there Facebook organisation page? Some SMM companies are setting up things like Facebook company pages (which are totally free) for $600 to $1,000 or more and informing their clients that they don't need a site since Facebook is the biggest social media network on the planet and everyone has a Facebook account. Now while it might be true that Facebook is the biggest social media on the planet and yes, Facebook's members are possible consumers, the genuine concern is are they in fact buying? Social media marketing companies are all too happy to explain the positives of social media like how many people utilize Facebook or the number of tweets were sent in 2015 and how many people view YouTube videos and so on however are you getting the complete photo? I when sat beside a SMM "expert" at an organisation seminar who was spruiking to anybody who came within earshot about the amazing benefits of setting up a Facebook service page for small company (with him naturally) and selling on Facebook. So, fascinated by the previously mentioned "specialists" recommendations I looked him up on Facebook only to find he had only 11 Facebook good friends (not a great start). Being the research nut that I am, I chose to take a great look into SMM in regard to selling to see if it actually 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) confronted with a number of social networking obstacles when potential customers would say that having a website sounds excellent but they had a Facebook service page and had actually been told by numerous 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 customers didn't actually understand why they needed social networks or SMM to produce online sales, They simply desired it. Well it's simple truly due to the fact that social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not business media and service 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 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.

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

Well first of all I would state that having actually a well enhanced website is still going to bring you far more service that social media in the majority of cases especially 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 site you're missing out on out on all of that potential business. Despite all the (not so good) statistics I still believe it is still a good idea for company to utilize social media simply not in the very same method that a lot of SMM experts are today, Why? Is it in a Social Media Marketing company's finest interest to talk social networks up?

I believe the major difference in between socials media and online search engine is intent. People who use Google are deliberately searching for something so if they do a search for hair stylists that's exactly what they are trying to find at that specific time. With something like Facebook the primary intent is usually to connect with family and friends. In October 2008, Mark Zuckerberg himself said "I don't think social media networks can be generated income from in the same way that search (Online search engine) did ... In 3 years from now we need to find out exactly what the maximum model is. But that is not our primary focus today". Among the biggest problems company face with social media networks and SMM is understanding. Inning accordance with the IBM Institute for Company Value research study there were "considerable spaces in between exactly what organisations believe customers appreciate and exactly what customers state they desire from their social media interactions with companies." For example in today's society people are not just going to hand you over there suggestions, Facebook likes, remarks or information without getting something back for it, so the old expression "exactly what's in it for me?" enters play. So the main factor many people provide for engaging with brands or service on social media is to get discount rates, yet the brand names and service themselves think the primary factor people engage with them on social media is to learn more about new items. For brand names and business getting discounts only ranks 12th on their list of reasons individuals engage with them. Many companies believe social media will increase advocacy, but only 38 % of customers agree.

There were some excellent initiatives 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 what they do when they engage with organisations or brands through social media, customers list "getting discounts or vouchers" and "buying items and services" as the leading two activities, respectively an USA ice cream company called Cold Stone Creamery used discounts on their items on their Facebook page. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the benefit is plainly in the favour of the potential consumer & the terrific trick to social media marketing is to offer without trying to offer (or looking like your selling) sadly most social media marketing is focused the wrong method.

Developing a concrete purchaser to consumer relationship by means of social media is difficult and probably the most benefit to organisation' using social media to boost their sites Google rankings. Service' 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 value in exactly what you have to use by means of your social media efforts give them something worth their social interaction and time then you might get better outcomes.

Now just as a footnote Facebook shares have actually dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their original price ... and the suits are flying


As a web designer I was continuously (and now significantly) faced with numerous social networking obstacles when prospective clients would say that having Website a website sounds good but they had a Facebook organisation page and had actually been informed by numerous sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their needs it became rather clear that those possible customers didn't actually know why they required social networks or SMM to create online sales, They simply wanted it. Well it's simple 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). In a recent study done by the IBM Institute for Organisation Worth around 55% of all social media users specified that they do not engage with brands over social media at all and only around 23% in fact actively utilize social media to communicate with brands. Well initially of all I would state that having a well optimized site is still going to bring you far more service that social media in a lot of cases particularly if you are a small to medium sized regional service 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 Site and if you do not have a site you're missing out on all of that potential organisation. The main reason most individuals provide for interacting with brand names or service on social media is to receive discounts, yet the brand names and company themselves think the primary reason people engage with them on social media is to discover about new items.

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