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 organisation but, for the average small to medium sized company, does marketing to social networks really live up to all the hype? Is spending a small fortune on hiring a SMM company really worth it? And has anybody actually done their research study on this before they hired someone to establish there Facebook organisation page? Some SMM business 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 require a site since Facebook is the biggest social media on the planet and everyone has a Facebook account. Now while it might be true that Facebook is the largest social media network on the planet and yes, Facebook's members are possible consumers, the genuine question is are they in fact purchasing? Social media marketing companies are all too pleased to mention the positives of social media like how many individuals use Facebook or how many tweets were sent last year and the number of people see YouTube videos etc. however are you getting the full picture? I when sat next to a SMM "expert" at an organisation seminar who was spruiking to anyone who came within earshot about the incredible benefits of establishing a Facebook service page for small company (with him obviously) and selling on Facebook. Captivated by the previously mentioned "experts" advice I looked him up on Facebook just to discover he had only 11 Facebook buddies (not a good start). Being the research study nut that I am, I chose to take an excellent appearance 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 business rely so heavily on social media networks for sales?
As a web developer I was continuously (and now increasingly) faced with numerous social networking difficulties when possible clients would state that having a site sounds good however they had a Facebook business page and had actually been informed by various sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the thing to do, however after discussing their needs it ended up being rather clear that those potential customers didn't actually know why they required social networks or SMM to generate online sales, They just desired 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 current research study done by the IBM Institute for Company 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 actively use social media to engage with brand names.
So how do you use social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well firstly I would state that having a well enhanced site is still going to bring you far more company that social media for the most parts specifically if you are a small to medium sized local service due to the fact that far more people are going to key 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 possible organisation. However in spite of all the (not so great) data I still think it is still a good idea for service to utilize social media simply not in the same way that a lot of SMM experts are today, Why? Because it's clearly not operating in the method they claim it does. Essentially SMM Business and Organisation as a whole took a look at social networks like Facebook as a fresh market ripe for the picking when Facebook began getting users determined by the millions PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel invested US$ 500,000 for 7% of the company (in June 2004) and because them a couple of equity capital firms have made investments into Facebook and in October 2007, Microsoft announced that it had actually acquired a 1.6% share of Facebook for $240 million. Since Facebook's humble beginnings up until now (2012) both SMM Business and Organisation have actually failed to truly capitalise on the big number of Facebook users online. The reality is numbers does not equivalent purchasers. Is it in a Social Media Marketing company's best interest to talk social networks up? Absolutely. Is it in a Social Media Network like Facebook's benefits for individuals to think that companies can sell en masse by advertising and marketing with them? Of course it is. In early 2012, Facebook revealed that its revenues had leapt 65% to $1 billion in the previous year as its profits which is generally from advertising had jumped almost 90% to $3.71 billion so clearly the idea of SMM is exercising for them however it is exercising for you? Well ... statistically no, however that does not necessarily mean that it never will.
One of the greatest issues organisation face with social networks and SMM Website is understanding. The main reason many people provide for engaging with brand names or business on social media is to get discount rates, yet the brands and company themselves think the primary reason individuals interact with them on social media is to find out about new products. Most organisations believe social media will increase advocacy, however only 38 % of customers agree.
Business need to find more ingenious methods to connect with social media if they want to see some sort of result from it. There were some great efforts displayed in the IBM study of business that had gotten some sort of a deal with on ways to use social media to their benefit, bearing in mind that when asked what they do when they engage with companies or brands through social media, customers note "getting discount rates or coupons" and "purchasing products and services" as the top two activities, respectively a UNITED STATE ice cream business called Cold Stone Creamery used discount rates on their products on their Facebook page. Additionally there is a fantastic program released by Best Purchases in the U.S called Twelpforce where employees can respond to customer's questions through Twitter. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the benefit is clearly in the favour of the possible consumer & the terrific trick to social media marketing is to sell without trying to offer (or appearing like your selling) sadly most social media marketing is focused the wrong way.
Building a tangible purchaser to customer relationship by means of social media is difficult and most likely the most benefit to organisation' using social media to improve their websites Google rankings. But organisation' need to understand that you cannot simply setup a Facebook company page and hope for the best. SMM needs effort and potential consumers need to see worth in what you need to provide by means of 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 actually dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their original rate ... and the suits are flying
As a web developer I was constantly (and now significantly) faced with numerous social networking difficulties when potential customers would say that having a site sounds great however they had a Facebook company page and had actually 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 ended up being quite clear that those potential customers 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 service networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). In a recent research study done by the IBM Institute for Business Worth 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 use social media to interact with brand names. Well first of all I would state that having a well enhanced website is still going to bring you far more service that social media in most cases particularly if you are a small to medium sized regional organisation 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 business. The primary factor many individuals give for engaging with brands or service on social media is to get discounts, yet the brand names and service themselves think the primary reason individuals connect with them on social media is to discover about brand-new products.
