Ask many small business owners today how they’re marketing their services or products and I’m sure it will only take five seconds for them to reference some form of social media.
Recently someone called me to tell me that they were shutting down their website to invest all their efforts and money into social media marketing.
I advised them against it, but my advice was ignored.
I’m concerned that too many business owners and sales professionals are relying too heavily on ORGANIC social media marketing. And by organic I mean free.
A few days ago I was chatting with the manager of a restaurant. I asked him how he was marketing the restaurant and he listed all the social media sites that he was using. If this is all he is doing he’s missing a large percentage of potential new customers and repeat customers.
If you’re relying heavily on Facebook Organic Reach to market and promote your business… DON’T!
The Numbers Tell the Truth
Facebook’s average Organic Reach is DECLINING rapidly. In February 2012 it was (16%), by March 2014 (6.51%)
- Average Organic Reach for image posts: (3.7%)
- Most effective post types are now videos: (8.71)
- Text-only posts Organic Reach (5.77%)
- Links only (5.29%)
You can increase these numbers, but will most likely have to invest some money. Facebook has become a “pay to play” platform.
The Myth That Your Followers See Everything You Tweet
Many people believe that all their tweets are seen by everyone who is following them. Not true. Think of Twitter as a live play, if you get up to go to the bathroom or for smoke breaks, you’ll probably miss a lot of the play. When people are not actively watching their Twitter feed, they’re missing a lot of your tweets.
Twitter Engagement Rates Below 1%
The Twitter engagement rate for the top 25 brands on twitter in December of 2014 was only .07%
LinkedIn Engagement Rates
In 2014 fifty brands across the world were surveyed and the results showed that LinkedIn has an engagement rate of 0.054%. However, a Study done by HubSpot found that LinkedIn had “significantly higher visitor-to-lead conversion rates.” They found LinkedIn was 277% more effective for Lead Generation than Facebook or Twitter.
I’m not speaking out against social media marketing, heck I use it everyday.
What I’m advising is that you view social media marketing as a tool in your marketing toolbox and not the entire toolbox. Make sure you have clear goals and realistic expectations.
Before you invest all your time and money on social media marketing do your research about other marketing tools and compare the numbers. For example email engagement rates are about 20%. Text message (SMS) marketing is over 80%. Yes, you heard me right, over 80%.
So just because social media seems “free” don’t put all your marketing eggs in the social media basket.
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Author: Kevin Toney is “The Marketing Coach”. Kevin coaches small business owners and sales professionals on how to find and attract new customers, increase repeat business and generate a steady flow of referrals. Call 1-800-796-4960 for a FREE 30 minute over the phone Coaching Session.www.MarketingCoaching.ca
Source: Edge Rank Checker, Social@Ogilvy, Social Baker. Marketing Land, Digital Marketing Stats, Forrester Research, HubSpot
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