Social Media: Are You Convinced Yet?
People are spending 4.6 hours per week on social networks, surpassing email at 4.4 hours per week, according to the TNS “Digital Life” survey of internet users around the world (Sept. 2010).
Still, there is hesitation and sometimes denial from C-level executives concerning the value of social media marketing, especially within small businesses. Even with convincing arguments from marketing directors, you have to wonder why CFOs and CEOs are sitting and waiting for more financial proof before they carve out a line for social media in their budgets, as if ROI (a very specific financial measurement) is the only metric to quantify the value of social media spend. What about brand saturation, engagement, loyalty and reputation with consumers?
Even if your company doesn’t sell products online and a conversion is hard to define, there are interaction metrics such as “likes”, comments and increased web traffic. These metrics are still too vague, intangible and unsubstantial for some decision-makers who pull table scraps from other lines of an already tight marketing budget to get started with social media.
Let’s step back and talk about some of the benefits and capabilities of social media marketing:
- Social media provides a 24/7 customer service and risk management platform for brands to stay current on all compliments, complaints and more serious issues like product malfunctions
- Social media is an immediate and intimate platform to communicate with fans and customers
- Social media adds revenue through ecommerce applications such as a Facebook storefront
- Social media provides a great channel to test ideas, campaigns and applications and get feedback from loyal followers
- Social media increases brand buzz from advocates engaging with the brand and sharing their experiences
- Social media is no longer in an experimental phase and oozes potential for marketers to immediately connect (and stay connected) to their fans and consumers