Social Media Marketing on the Rise for Larger Companies
Almost all companies report that they are growing their spending on social media marketing techniques, according to the results of a Booz & Company and Buddy Media survey released in October 2011 (Campaigns to Capabilities: Social Media & Marketing 2011). In fact, not a single respondent to the survey reported that they would spend less on social media, with only 5% stating that they would maintain the same budget.
“Having a company presence on a social networking site is becoming as common as having a business card,” say Curt Maly, co-founder of Black Box Social Media LLC, a social media marketing consulting company out of Austin, Texas.
According to the Booz & Company survey results, most companies are focusing on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. While Facebook and Twitter are the most popular, Mr. Maly expects to see an increase in the usage of YouTube.
“Video marketing is becoming increasingly more popular. Consumers would rather watch videos than read text. The recent Google Panda updates heavily suggests that search engines like videos better than text as well. The trend is that more people will be able to find and watch relevant videos than read text.”
One of the arguments that some companies make against social media marketing is that it’s extremely difficult to determine a direct return on investment. However, the report shows that most companies view social media as offering the most benefit in the upper stages of the purchasing funnel. Specifically, social media leads to increased brand recognition, customer interaction, buzz building and increased consumer insights without significantly increased costs.
“While it may be difficult to say that 1 hour of time spent advertising on Facebook will yield $x.xx in sales, you can measure the effectiveness of social media with other factors,” says Mr. Maly. “Creating fans, followers, or subscribers, engaging with them, and generating participation will lead to increased brand awareness, generate buzz about your product, and increase your sales.”
The number one investment in social media marketing comes from hiring full-time employees to actually implement a plan. However, this is the tough part. Most companies don’t really understand how social media works, what options are out there, and how to create or implement a successful plan.
Social Media Marketing Budgets Increasing | Keys to Successful Implementation
“There are 2 keys to the successful creation and implementation of a successful social media marketing plan,” states other Black Box Social Media co-founder Nick Bridges. “First, you must have a basic understanding of the social networking sites. Without this understanding, you can never envision the marketing possibilities. Second, you must have a simple way to implement your plan.”
In fact, most social media campaigns that fail to live up to expectations fail because of poor implementation.
“Having a software tool that allows you to manage multiple social networking sites at once is a must,” continues Mr. Bridges. “Being able to schedule your posts in advance, monitor your online reputation, and mail out newsletters to keep in touch with your customers in a quick and simple method is the best way to ensure success in your social media marketing plan.”
Booz & Company is a leading global management consulting firm, helping the world’s top businesses, governments, and other institutions. The complete results of their survey can be found here: http://www.booz.com/media/file/BoozCo-Campaigns-to-Capabilities-Social-Media-and-Marketing-2011.pdf
Social Media Marketing Budgets Increasing | Social Media in 7 Minutes
Social Media in 7 Minutes (SMI7M) is a revolutionary do-it-yourself online training program designed to not only educate small business owners on how to apply social media into their marketing plan, but also to provide a practical tool (the 7 Minute Dashboard) which will allow them to implement their marketing plan in just 7 minutes a day. The 7 Minute Dashboard allows the user to communicate with all it’s Twitter Fans, Facebook Groups, LinkedIn Groups, etc… from one location. You can schedule out posts on each social media site for the next couple of months. You will also be able to schedule customer birthday wishes to your Facebook Fans, create and schedule newsletters, send text message reminders, and update your blog posts by using this one simple tool. The ease and convenience of the 7 Minute Dashboard will allow the small business user to implement their social media marketing plan in just 7 minutes per day.