Tag: social media marketing
Hitting the Twitter sweet spot…?
They say there’s an optimum time where, having accrued enough Twitter followers and followed enough interesting people, the flow of new followers suddenly increases dramatically and your account takes off. A sort of Twitter tipping point.
I think I’ve reached it.
So far I’m following 481 carefully chosen people and organisations. And I’ve clocked up 245 followers. During my first few weeks I won a mere handful of new followers each day. This week I’ve had between ten and twenty a day.
So what? So presumably the more followers I have, the more chance of winning more new Twitter-generated business to add to the three grand’s worth I’ve already managed to make.
Jolly good.
Social media marketing expert, my arse!
There’s no such thing as a social media marketing expert.
Contentious? Perhaps. But it’s common sense. Especially to someone like me with more than two decades’ hardcore direct marketing background.
Think how long social media marketing has been going. Not very long. It’s impossible to have more than ten years experience. Five years is pushing credibility too far. Three is unlikely. One or two is more like it.
Think about how much / how quickly SMM is changing; faster than a fast thing from an incredibly fast place. Is it possible to be a seasoned expert in a marketing medium this new and volatile? Call me old fashioned. But there’s just no way.
If someone claims to be a social media marketing expert, run for the hills. Don’t hand over a penny. If, however, you come across a marketer who knows the basic nuts and bolts of SMM but acknowledges the jury is still out, hang on to their shirt tails and enjoy the ride. Just remember that no matter what anyone says, there’s no guarantees.
SMM? Protect yourself if things go dog-shaped!
Social media marketing is massive. And there’s no longer any doubt that, done well, it can deliver nice, big profits. Which is what marketing is all about.
But all the same, if your marketing or promotions agency is clamouring for a bigger social media marketing budget right now, watch yourself. If they’re draining resources, chasing the social media marketing dragon at the expense of other media, take a step back.
Why? Because there’s rumblings afoot.
- Facebook is losing members in various countries – some industry insiders feel it has already peaked
- the marketing industry is slamming junior, inexperienced and non-marketers for making a right pig’s ear of SMM campaigns, with spectacularly poor quality work. Which consumers will have noticed, consciously or otherwise. We’re a sophisticated bunch these days
- some suspect that social network members are beginning to kick against over-marketing in communities built for socialising, not selling
Three things. One, clever marketers always put the consumer first. If you wouldn’t like to receive something yourself, don’t send it to anyone else. Two, marketers who are too easily distracted by shiny, new media at the expense of the proven stuff are downright dangerous. Three, if you’re going to engage in SMM, do it beautifully and stand out from the herd.
As a general rule variety is the spice of marketing. Spread yourself thinner, use multiple media and you’ll be better protected if things go dog-shaped.
Social media takes off big time…
… but should you dive right in?
There are some absolutely mind blowing social media stats out there. For connecting with friends, family, colleagues and your industry or sector, social media are nothing short of amazing. But can the latest stats be translated into workable marketing wisdom?
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there are currently about 1.3 million tweets an hour. That works out at 10 billion or so a year
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70% of bloggers write about brands on their own volition. 38% regularly blog about products or services
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15 billion bits of content are shared on Facebook every week including press releases, images, articles and blog posts. And purpose-built Facebook pages have gained a total of 5.3 billion fans so far
You’d be forgiven for diving in without a second thought. The numbers are vast. They’d make any marketer’s mouth water. But there’s not enough meat on them. They’re all mouth and no trousers. You can’t base a social media marketing strategy on them. They can’t help you decide which media to use, or tell you how to make the best of them. They don’t give creative direction. And they can’t forecast ROI.
It looks like social media marketing might - at last - be making a profit. For some businesses. If you want to get involved on a DIY basis, there’s no escaping it… you’ll have to do your research. Alternatively find a freelance Social Media Marketing expert or, if your business can afford it, get a specialist Agency on the job.
Exciting times. It’s wild out there. And it’s getting wilder.
Can you make money from social media marketing?
As a direct marketer I don’t feel comfy unless I know exactly how much profit my marketing campaigns have made. To the penny!
Offline marketing is traditionally divided into above the line and below the line campaigns. Below the line involves un-glamorous media like direct marketing and cheapo Direct Response TV. Above the line is fluffy stuff like glossy magazine ads and big budget TV brand building.
You can always calculate ROI, cost per response and cost per sale below the line. But the profitability of above the line work is harder – if not impossible – to quantify. There’s a definite correlation between, say, a high visibility TV branding campaign and an increase in brand awareness. But you can’t really pin down its actual monetary value.
There are some interesting parallels online.
Direct response campaigns like email marketing generate measurable returns. As does SEO, which visibly increases physical visitor numbers.
Social media marketing is a different kettle of fish, similar to above the line marketing. You can tweet until you’re blue in the face but it isn’t always possible to relate your spend to actual income.
Having said that, Twitter and co are slowly coming into their own as far as relatively ethereal stuff like reputation management and brand building is concerned.
I plan to hang fire until the medium’s first major financial coup is announced. Once I can see a crystal clear connection between social media marketing investment and return, I’ll consider joining the party!
