S.M.M companies are now springing up all over the place these days and they are telling anybody that will listen about how extremely crucial social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your service but, for the typical small to medium sized business, does marketing to social networks really live up to all the buzz? Social media marketing companies are all too delighted to point out the positives of social media like how numerous individuals use Facebook or how many tweets were sent out last year and how many people view YouTube videos etc. but are you getting the full photo? Being the research nut that I am, I chose to take a good 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?
As a web developer I was continuously (and now increasingly) challenged with several social networking obstacles when potential customers would say that having a website sounds great however they had a Facebook service page and had been told by different sources (the ever present yet confidential "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 in fact know why they needed social networks or SMM to create online sales, They simply desired 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 organisation media and organisation 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 mentioned that they do not engage with brands over social media at all and only around 23% in fact purposefully utilize social media to interact with brands.
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 website is still going to bring you far more company that social media in many cases especially if you are a small to medium sized local business due to the fact that 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 site you're missing out on all of that potential company. In spite of all the (not so excellent) data 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 professionals are today, Why? Is it in a Social Media Marketing company's best interest to talk social networks up?
One of the greatest issues company face with social networks and SMM is understanding. The primary reason most individuals provide for engaging with brands or organisation on social media is to receive discounts, yet the brands and business themselves believe the primary reason people communicate with them on social media is to learn about new items. A lot of services think social media will increase advocacy, however only 38 % of customers concur.
There were some good efforts revealed in the IBM research study of companies that had gotten some sort of a deal with on how to use social media to their advantage, keeping in mind that when asked exactly what they do when they communicate with businesses or brands through social media, consumers list "getting discount rates or coupons" and "acquiring products and services" as the top 2 activities, respectively an USA ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery provided discounts on their products on their Facebook page. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the benefit is plainly in the favour of the possible client Logan Williams SEO & the fantastic trick to social media marketing is to sell without trying to offer (or looking like your selling) sadly most social media marketing is focused the wrong method.
Constructing a concrete purchaser to customer relationship by means of social media is challenging and most likely the most benefit to company' using social media to increase their websites Google rankings. Company' need to understand that you can't just setup a Facebook organisation page and hope for the finest. SMM needs effort and possible consumers have to see value in what you have to offer through 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 actually dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their original rate ... and the suits are flying
As a web developer I was continuously (and now progressively) confronted with numerous social networking challenges when possible clients would state that having a website sounds excellent however they had a Facebook business 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 became quite clear that those potential customers didn't really know why they needed social networks or SMM to create online sales, They simply wanted 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 company media and organisation 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 stated that they do not engage with brand names over social media at all and only around 23% really purposefully utilize social media to communicate with brand names. Well first of all I would state that having a well optimized site is still going to bring you far more business that social media in a lot of cases particularly if you are a little to medium sized local organisation 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 don't have a site you're missing out on all of that possible company. The main reason most people offer for engaging with brands or service on social media is to get discounts, yet the brand names and company themselves believe the primary reason people connect with them on social media is to find out about brand-new products.
