S.M.M companies are now emerging all over the place nowadays and they are informing anyone that will listen about how incredibly crucial social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your organisation however, for the average small to medium sized organisation, does marketing to social media networks really measure up to all the buzz? Is investing a little fortune on employing a SMM company truly worth it? And has anyone really done their research study on this prior to they employed someone to establish there Facebook organisation page? Some SMM business are establishing things like Facebook company 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 media network in the world and everybody has a Facebook account. Now while it may hold true that Facebook is the biggest social media on the planet and yes, Facebook's members are prospective consumers, the real concern is are they really buying? Social media marketing business are all too pleased to explain the positives of social media like how many individuals utilize Facebook or the number of tweets were sent out in 2015 and how many people see YouTube videos etc. however are you getting the complete photo? I once sat beside a SMM "professional" at a company seminar who was spruiking to anybody who came within earshot about the incredible benefits of establishing a Facebook business page for small company (with him obviously) and selling on Facebook. Interested by the abovementioned "specialists" recommendations I looked him up on Facebook only to find he had only 11 Facebook buddies (not a great start). Being the research study nut that I am, I chose to take a great look into 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 company rely so greatly on social networks for sales?
As a web designer I was continuously (and now increasingly) faced with numerous social networking challenges when possible clients would state that having a site sounds great however they had a Facebook company page and had been told by different sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that socials media were the important things to do, but after discussing their needs it became rather clear that those possible customers didn't actually understand why they needed social networks or SMM to produce online sales, They simply desired it. For medium and small sized organisation I constantly suggested developing a quality site over any kind of social media network, why? Well it's basic truly because 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). I know that sounds basic however it's true and the statistics back it up. The reality is that social media marketing cannot inform you that Facebook is a social media network not a search engine and despite the variety of Facebook users and Google users being around the very same, individuals do not use Facebook in the same way that they use a search engine like Google (which has around half the search engine market), Yahoo and Bing to look for service or items. They use it to communicate with friends and family or for news and entertainment. In a recent study done by the IBM Institute for Business Worth around 55% of all social media users mentioned that they do not engage with brand names over social media at all and only around 23% actually actively use social media to engage with brands. Now out of all individuals who do use social media and who do communicate with brands whether purposefully or not, the bulk (66%) say they have to feel a company is communicating truthfully before they will connect.
So how do you use social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?
Well first of all I would say that having actually a well enhanced site is still going to bring you far more organisation that social media in many cases particularly if you are a small 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 don't have a website you're missing out on all of that potential business. Despite all the (not so good) statistics I still think it is still a good idea for company 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 company's best interest to talk social networks up?
One of the biggest problems organisation face with social networks and SMM is understanding. The main reason many people offer for connecting with brand names or service on social media is to receive discounts, yet the brand names and organisation themselves believe the main reason people connect with them on social media is to discover about brand-new products. A lot of businesses believe social media will increase advocacy, but just 38 % of consumers concur.
There were some good efforts shown in the IBM study of business that had actually gotten some sort of a handle on how to utilize social media to their advantage, keeping in mind that when asked exactly what they do when they communicate with organisations or brand names by means of social media, customers note "getting discounts or discount coupons" and "purchasing items and services" as the top two activities, respectively an USA ice cream company called Cold Stone Creamery provided discount rates on their products on their Facebook page. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the advantage is clearly in the favour of the excellent technique & the potential client to social media marketing is to offer without trying to offer (or looking like your selling) unfortunately most social media marketing is focused the wrong way.
Constructing a tangible buyer to customer relationship by means of social media is difficult and probably the most benefit to service' utilizing social media to enhance their websites Google rankings. But service' need to comprehend that you cannot just setup a Facebook organisation page and wish for the very best. SMM needs effort Logan Williams SEO and possible consumers have to see value in what you need to provide by means of your social media efforts give them something worth their social interaction and time then you may get better results.
Now just as a footnote Facebook shares have actually dropped to under $20 per share, that's half their original cost ... and the claims are flying
As a web developer I was constantly (and now significantly) challenged with several social networking difficulties when possible customers would say that having a site sounds good but they had a Facebook service page and had actually 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 rather 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 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 recent research study done by the IBM Institute for Company Value 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 purposefully utilize social media to connect 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 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 business. The main factor many individuals give for engaging with brands or service on social media is to receive discount rates, yet the brands and service themselves believe the main factor people communicate with them on social media is to find out about new items.
