S.M.M companies are now springing up all over the place nowadays and they are informing anybody that will listen about how incredibly essential social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your company but, for the average little to medium sized business, does marketing to socials media actually measure up to all the buzz? Is investing a little fortune on employing a SMM company really worth it? And has anyone actually done their research on this before they hired somebody to set up there Facebook business page? Some SMM companies are setting up things like Facebook organisation pages (which are complimentary) for $600 to $1,000 or more and informing their clients that they don't require a site because Facebook is the most significant social media on the planet and everybody 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 potential consumers, the real concern is are they really purchasing? Social media marketing companies are all too pleased to point out the positives of social media like how many individuals use Facebook or the number of tweets were sent out last year and the number of people enjoy YouTube videos and so on but are you getting the complete photo? 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 company (with him obviously) and selling on Facebook. Interested by the previously mentioned "experts" guidance I looked him up on Facebook just to find he had just 11 Facebook good friends (not a great start). So being the research nut that I am, I chose to take an excellent look into SMM in regard to selling 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 service rely so heavily on social networks for sales?
As a web developer I was continuously (and now significantly) confronted with a number of social networking obstacles when possible clients would say that having a website sounds great however they had a Facebook business page and had been told by different sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that social networks were the thing to do, but after discussing their needs it ended up being rather clear that those prospective customers didn't in fact understand why they needed social networks or SMM to produce online sales, They simply desired it. Well it's simple really because social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not company media and company networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a current research study done by the IBM Institute for Company 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 use social media to connect with brands.
So how do you utilize social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well first of all I would say that having a well enhanced website is still going to bring you far more business that social media in most cases especially if you are a little to medium sized regional business since 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 Site and if you do not have a site you're missing out on all of that possible company. In spite of all the (not so great) stats I still think it is still a great idea for service to use social media simply not in the very same method that a lot of SMM specialists are today, Why? Is it in a Social Media Marketing business's finest interest to talk social networks up?
I think the major distinction in between social networks and search engines is intent. People who use Google are deliberately looking 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 get in touch with loved ones. In October 2008, Mark Zuckerberg himself said "I do not believe social networks can be monetized in the same way that search (Search Engines) did ... In 3 years from now we have to determine what the optimal design is. That is not our main focus today". One of the biggest issues company face with socials media and SMM is understanding. Inning accordance with the IBM Institute for Company Worth research study there were "considerable spaces in between what services believe consumers appreciate and exactly what customers say they desire from their social media interactions with business." For example in today's society people are not just going to hand you over there suggestions, Facebook likes, comments or details without getting something back for it, so the old expression "what's in it for me?" enters play. So the main factor many people provide for communicating with brands or company on social media is to receive discounts, yet the brand names and service themselves believe the primary factor individuals engage with them on social media is to learn more about brand-new products. For brands and service receiving discounts only ranks 12th on their list of reasons why individuals communicate with them. Most services believe social media will increase advocacy, however only 38 % of customers concur.
If they want to see some sort of outcome from it, companies need to find more innovative methods to link with social media. There were some excellent efforts displayed in the IBM research study of companies that had actually gotten some sort of a manage on ways to use social media to their advantage, keeping in mind that when asked what they do when they interact with companies or brands through social media, customers note "getting discounts or coupons" and "buying products and services" as the leading two activities, respectively an USA ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery offered discount rates on their products on their Facebook page. There is a fantastic program released by Finest Buys in the UNITED STATE called Twelpforce where staff members can respond to consumer's concerns by means of Twitter. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the benefit is plainly in the favour of the fantastic trick & the possible customer to social media marketing is to sell without aiming to sell (or looking like your selling) sadly most social media marketing is focused the wrong way.
Constructing a concrete buyer to customer relationship via social Social Media Agency media is not easy and probably the most benefit to service' utilizing social media to increase their sites Google rankings. Organisation' require to understand that you cannot just setup a Facebook organisation page and hope for the best. SMM needs effort and prospective consumers need to see worth in what you have to use through your social media efforts provide something worth their social interaction and time and then you might get better outcomes.
Now just as a footnote Facebook shares have dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their initial price ... and the suits are flying
As a web developer I was constantly (and now significantly) faced with numerous social networking challenges when potential customers would say that having a website sounds excellent but they had a Facebook business page and had been informed by various 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 really understand why they needed social networks or SMM to produce online sales, They just desired it. Well it's basic really 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 Service Worth around 55% of all social media users stated that they do not engage with brand names over social media at all and just around 23% actually actively use social media to engage with brand names. Well first of all I would state that having actually a well optimized site is still going to bring you far more business that social media in a lot of cases specifically if you are a small to medium sized regional company 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 don't have a website you're missing out on out on all of that possible company. The main factor most people offer for connecting with brands or service on social media is to get discounts, yet the brands and service themselves think the main reason individuals connect with them on social media is to learn about new items.
