S.M.M companies are now springing up all over the place these days and they are telling anybody that will listen about how exceptionally essential social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your company but, for the average little to medium sized service, does marketing to social media networks really live up to all the buzz? Is investing a small fortune on working with a SMM business truly worth it? And has anyone actually done their research study on this prior to they employed someone to establish there Facebook service page? Some SMM companies are establishing things like Facebook service pages (which are totally free) for $600 to $1,000 or more and telling their customers that they don't need a site since Facebook is the most significant social network in the world and everyone has a Facebook account. Now while it might hold true that Facebook is the largest social media network on the planet and yes, Facebook's members are potential customers, the genuine question is are they in fact purchasing? Social media marketing business are all too happy to point out the positives of social media like the number of individuals use Facebook or the number of tweets were sent out last year and the number of people see YouTube videos and so on but are you getting the complete image? I when sat beside a SMM "specialist" at a service seminar who was spruiking to anybody who came within earshot about the fantastic benefits of setting up a Facebook company page for small business (with him naturally) and selling on Facebook. So, fascinated by the aforementioned "specialists" guidance I looked him up on Facebook only to find he had just 11 Facebook good friends (not a great start). So being the research study nut that I am, I decided to take an excellent check out 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 designer I was continuously (and now significantly) faced with a number of social networking challenges when prospective customers would state that having a site sounds good but they had a Facebook organisation page and had 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 potential customers didn't actually understand why they required 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 business networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a recent study done by the IBM Institute for Company 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 communicate with brand names.
So how do you use social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well initially of all I would state that having a well optimized site is still going to bring you far more organisation that social media in most cases particularly if you are a little to medium sized regional business because far more people 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. Regardless of all the (not so excellent) statistics I still think it is still a great concept for organisation 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 company's best interest to talk social networks up?
One of the greatest issues business face with social networks and SMM is understanding. The primary reason many people give for interacting with brand names or organisation on social media is to get discount rates, yet the brands and company themselves believe the primary factor individuals engage with them on social media is to discover about brand-new items. Many companies believe social media will increase advocacy, but just 38 % of customers concur.
If they want to see some sort of result from it, business require to discover more innovative ways to link with social media. There were some excellent efforts displayed in the IBM study of companies that had gotten some sort of a handle on the best ways to utilize social media to their benefit, remembering that when asked exactly what they do when they communicate with companies or brands via social media, customers note "getting discount rates or discount coupons" and "purchasing services and products" as the top two activities, respectively an USA ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery used discount rates on their products on their Facebook page. There is a fantastic program launched by Finest Purchases in the USA called Twelpforce where workers can respond to consumer's concerns through Twitter. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the benefit is plainly in the favour of the possible client & the fantastic trick to social media marketing is to offer without aiming to sell (or looking like your selling) regrettably most social media marketing is focused the wrong way.
Building a concrete purchaser to consumer relationship by means of social media is difficult and most likely the most benefit to service' using social media to enhance their sites Google rankings. Organisation' need to understand Social Media Agency that you cannot just setup a Facebook business page and hope for the finest. 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 then you might get better outcomes.
Now just as a footnote Facebook shares have dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their original rate ... and the lawsuits are flying
As a web designer I was continuously (and now increasingly) challenged with a number of social networking challenges when possible clients would say that having a site sounds good however they had a Facebook company 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 requirements it became quite clear that those prospective clients didn't in fact know why they required social networks or SMM to produce online sales, They simply wanted it. Well it's basic truly due to the fact that 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). In a current 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% actually actively use social media to connect with brands. Well initially of all I would state that having a well enhanced website is still going to bring you far more service that social media in many cases specifically if you are a small 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 Website and if you don't have a site you're missing out on all of that prospective organisation. The main factor many individuals provide for connecting with brands or organisation on social media is to receive discount rates, yet the brands and service themselves think the main factor people engage with them on social media is to learn about brand-new products.
