Social Media Marketing, Fact and Lies

Social Media Marketing seems to be the latest buzz word for anybody planning to increase their online existence and sales, however is Social Media Marketing (SMM) all it is cracked up to be?

S.M.M companies are now springing up all over the place these days and they are telling anyone that will listen about how extremely essential social media like Facebook twitter and YouTube are to your business however, for the average little to medium sized business, does marketing to social networks truly live up to all the hype? Social media marketing business are all too delighted to point out the positives of social media like how many individuals utilize Facebook or how lots of tweets were sent out last year and how numerous individuals view YouTube videos and so on however are you getting the full picture? Being the research nut that I am, I chose to take an excellent appearance 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?

As a web designer I was continuously (and now significantly) faced with several social networking obstacles when possible customers would state that having a site sounds excellent however they had a Facebook company page and had been told by different sources (the ever present yet anonymous "they") that social networks were the important things to do, however after discussing their requirements it ended up being quite clear that those prospective clients didn't in fact understand why they required social networks or SMM to generate online sales, They just desired it. For small and medium sized business I constantly advised constructing a quality website over any type of social media network, why? Well it's basic actually since social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not company media and business networks (that would be more like LinkedIn). I understand that sounds easy but it holds true and the stats back it up. The fact is that social media marketing cannot tell you that Facebook is a social media network not an online search engine and in spite of the number of Facebook users and Google users being around the exact same, people don't use Facebook in the same way that they utilize an online search engine like Google (which has around half the search engine market), Yahoo and Bing to look for service or products. They use it to correspond with family and friends or for news and home entertainment. In a current study done by the IBM Institute for Organisation 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. Now from all individuals who do use social media and who do engage with brands whether actively or not, the majority (66%) state they have to feel a company is interacting honestly prior to they will communicate.

How do you use social media marketing? And is it even worth doing?

Well first of all I would state that having actually a well enhanced site is still going to bring you far more organisation that social media in most cases especially if you are a small to medium sized local company since 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 Site and if you do not have a website you're missing out on all of that prospective service. In spite of all the (not so great) statistics I still think it is still a good idea for service to utilize 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 business's finest interest to talk social networks up?

One of the greatest problems organisation face with social networks and SMM is perception. The main reason most individuals provide for connecting with brands or organisation on social media is to receive discount rates, yet the brands and business themselves believe the primary reason people connect with them on social media is to learn about brand-new items. Most organisations think social media will increase advocacy, however only 38 % of customers agree.

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 study of business that had actually gotten some sort of a handle on the best ways to utilize social media to their benefit, keeping in mind that when asked exactly what they do when they connect with services or brands by means of social media, customers note "getting discounts or coupons" and "buying services and products" as the top two activities, respectively an USA ice cream company called Cold Stone Creamery used discounts on their items on their Facebook page. Alternatively there is an excellent program introduced by Best Purchases in the UNITED STATE called Twelpforce where staff members can respond to client's concerns via Twitter. With both Cold Stone Creamery and Twelpforce the benefit is plainly in the favour of the prospective customer & the terrific 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 way.

Building a concrete purchaser to customer relationship through social media is hard and most likely the most benefit to service' utilizing social media to boost their websites Google rankings. However service' need to understand that you cannot simply setup a Facebook organisation page and hope for the very best. SMM requires effort and prospective customers have to see worth in what you have to use by means of your social media efforts provide something worth their social interaction and time and after that you may 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 claims are flying


As a web designer I was continuously (and now significantly) confronted with a number of social networking difficulties when potential clients would say that having a website sounds great however they had a Facebook business page and had been informed by different sources (the ever present yet confidential "they") that social networks were the thing to do, but after discussing their needs it ended up being rather clear that those potential clients didn't really understand why they needed social networks or SMM to generate online sales, They simply desired it. Well it's basic actually because social media is Social Media, and social Networks are Social Networks they are not service SEO Agency 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 brands over social media at all and just around 23% actually actively use social media to engage with brand names. Well initially of all I would say that having a well optimized website is still going to bring you far more company that social media in a lot of cases specifically if you are a little to medium sized local 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 don't have a site you're missing out on all of that prospective business. The primary factor most individuals offer for engaging with brand names or business on social media is to get discounts, yet the brand names and organisation themselves think the main factor individuals interact with them on social media is to discover about new products.

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