Joining social networking websites: does it really work for businesses?
Thousands of businesses now have Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social networking pages.
Why?
Because there are so many people using these sites and businesses want to connect to them.
Let’s look at Facebook business pages as an example
There are now 900 million people signed up to Facebook around the world. Facebook statistics show that the average user creates 90 pieces of content each month and more than 30 billion pieces of content are shared each month of Facebook alone.
You can read the updated statistics on Facebook’s statistics page.
It’s no wonder that businesses around the world have a Facebook page so that they can connect with their customers and potential customers. But are potential customers finding companies they want to keep in touch with?
While Qantas, Australia’s world airline has 42 929 people who like their site, Coles, one of Australia’s largest food chains, has 657 people who have clicked ‘like’. Apple, ‘the Apple’, has 473,261. Are these numbers sufficient to justify the amount of work a business spends on maintaining a Facebook page?
By comparison, Whistler ski resort – that can be considered a ‘special interest group’ – has 65,112 people who like their Facebook page: more than Qantas.
For special interest businesses such as a business in the sports industry,F acebook can be a helpful tool to keep customers coming back to your business. Providing interesting news, views and videos on your ‘real’ website linked to your facebook page can attract your target audience. The advantage of Facebook is that the people who click ‘like’ are making a decision to align themselves with that business. Clicking ‘like’ to Whistler Facebook page reinforces the notion that I am a Whistler fan. It’s my home ski mountain, if you like.
If a business can attract the attention of its potential customers through Facebook and create a loyalty response in those customers, Facebook is a great networking tool.
What’s the downside of having your business on Facebook and other social media websites?
People can add negative comments about your business. We checked Virgin Mobile’s Facebook page which is a litany of complaints about and grouches with the company. It was difficult to find one person who had something good to say. Perhaps not such a good marketing strategy! But it does tell you what people really dislike about your business – perhaps time to change things.
Does being on social media websites increase my incoming links and improve SEO?
Many social media websites have a ‘no follow’ tag which effectively doesn’t count as a link to your website. However, if you attract a lot of attention and have links to your website for people to click on, these sites are a way for potential customers to find your website.
Can social networking really connect you with customers?
Well, yes, maybe and no!
Woolworths say they use Facebook as a relationship building tool, rather than an advertising opportunity because Facebook allows them to listen to customers’ feedback in a ‘direct and dynamic conversation’. This, they argue, brings them closer to their customers.
Not according to our research. With only 1200 likes (fans), that’s not many ‘customers’ to connect with for such a huge company. And who’s to say that the 1200 are their own staff boosting the fan base for appearances. Perhaps there are no real ‘fans’. Furthermore, the comments on the webpage when we looked included messages from disgruntled employees or ex-employees and some other very unflattering comments. This reinforces that there is a real negative potential of getting ‘bad’ comments on your social media pages.
The potential of a business Facebook presence to do damage or to simply be a total waste of time is a very real issue – especially when some businesses pay a dedicated staff member to look after their social media campaign.
What about paid ads?
Simple: not something that has worked for Bold Type clients that have tried it. Not worth the effort.
This is social networking after all and people want things that others like
There are some positives to be on social network websites
In saying this, having the Facebook symbol on your website (with twitter, youtube and the like) does give a business a certain cache – at the moment. In less than a blink of the eye, it could be passé.
Try going viral with social media networking
This can work on Facebook and Twitter. Let’s take Facebook again as the example.
When you put excellent content on your own website that has a ‘share on Facebook’ link or a Facebook ‘Like this’ symbol, Facebookers reading the news on your website can opt to share that webpage content with their Facebook friends.
What would your customers like to share? That’s the question.
If may be that you are running a competition on your website to win an iPad2, a share on Facebook link will automatically allow anyone to put the information on their Facebook page to share with their friends (hopefully thousands of like minded people who are also interested in your story).
The key to this strategy is that the information needs to be something that they ‘want to share’. That’s always the difficult part: coming up with something that people love and want to share with friends. It’s not easy, but that’s marketing for you!