S.M.M companies are now springing up all over the place nowadays and they are informing anyone that will listen about how exceptionally crucial social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your service but, for the average little to medium sized organisation, does marketing to social media networks truly live up to all the buzz? Is spending a small fortune on hiring a SMM business actually worth it? And has anyone really done their research study on this before they employed someone to establish there Facebook company page? Some SMM companies are establishing things like Facebook service pages (which are free) for $600 to $1,000 or more and telling their customers that they do not need a website due to the fact that Facebook is the most significant social network worldwide and everybody has a Facebook account. Now while it may hold true that Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide and yes, Facebook's members are prospective consumers, the genuine concern is are they actually purchasing? Social media marketing business are all too happy to mention the positives of social media like the number of individuals use Facebook or the number of tweets were sent out in 2015 and how many individuals enjoy YouTube videos etc. however are you getting the complete picture? I as soon as sat next to a SMM "expert" at a service seminar who was spruiking to anybody who came within earshot about the incredible advantages of establishing a Facebook business page for small company (with him obviously) and selling on Facebook. Intrigued by the abovementioned "experts" suggestions I looked him up on Facebook only to find he had just 11 Facebook buddies (not an excellent start). So being the research study nut that I am, I chose to take a good check out 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? And should business rely so greatly on social media networks for sales?
As a web designer I was constantly (and now significantly) confronted with a number of social networking difficulties when potential clients would say that having a website sounds excellent however they had a Facebook service page and had actually been told by numerous sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the thing 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 generate online sales, They simply wanted it. For medium and small sized business I always recommended constructing a quality site over any kind of social network, why? Well it's basic truly since 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). I understand that sounds simple however it's true and the data back it up. The reality is that social media marketing cannot tell you that Facebook is a social media network not an online search engine and despite the variety of Facebook users and Google users being around the same, individuals don't 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 company or items. They use it to stay connected with family and friends or for news and home entertainment. In a recent research study done by the IBM Institute for Organisation Worth 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 utilize social media to connect with brands. Now from all individuals who do use social media and who do connect with brands whether actively or not, the majority (66%) state they need to feel a business is interacting honestly prior to they will communicate.
So how do you use social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well initially of all I would say that having a well optimized website is still going to bring you far more service that social media in a lot of cases specifically if you are a little to medium sized local company 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 organisation. Regardless of all the (not so good) statistics I still think it is still a great concept for organisation to use social media just not in the exact 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 biggest problems business face with social networks and SMM is perception. The main factor a lot of people give for interacting with brands or organisation on social media is to get discount rates, yet the brand names and company themselves think the main factor individuals engage with them on social media is to discover about new products. Most businesses think social media will increase advocacy, however only 38 % of consumers agree.
There were some good efforts revealed in the IBM research study of companies that had actually gotten some sort of a manage on how to utilize social media to their advantage, keeping in mind that when asked what they do when they connect with organisations or brand names via social media, consumers note "getting discount rates or coupons" and "acquiring items and services" as the top two activities, respectively an USA ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery offered discounts on their items on their Facebook page. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the benefit is clearly in the favour of the excellent technique & the potential customer to social media marketing is to offer without trying to sell (or looking like your selling) regrettably most social media marketing is focused the incorrect way.
Building a concrete buyer to customer relationship by means of social media is difficult and probably the most benefit to organisation' utilizing social media to increase their sites Google rankings. However company' need to comprehend that you cannot just setup a Facebook organisation page and expect the very best. SMM requires effort and possible clients need 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 results.
Now just as a footnote Facebook shares have dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their initial price ... and the claims are flying
As a web developer I was continuously (and now progressively) confronted with numerous social networking difficulties when potential customers would say that having a site sounds great but they had a Facebook organisation page and had been informed by different 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 possible clients didn't actually understand why they needed social networks or SMM to create online sales, They just desired it. Well it's easy really since social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not business media and organisation networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a recent study done by the IBM Institute for Service 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% really purposefully utilize social media to interact with brand names. Well first of all I would state that having a well enhanced website is SEO Agency still going to bring you far more organisation that social media in many cases specifically if you are a small to medium sized local service because far more individuals 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 don't have a site you're missing out on all of that possible company. The main reason the majority of individuals give for engaging with brands or organisation on social media is to receive discount rates, yet the brands and organisation themselves think the primary reason individuals communicate with them on social media is to find out about new items.
