Social media generates 'less than 1% of online sales'
- Thread starter ThePublisher
- Start date
D
DPOM
I read that on Mashable today too...quite interesting really, but I think SM is a worthwhile contribution especially where customer relationships are concerned, and that effects sales - I think Social Media as a shopping portal is way off but keeping close to customers / branding- it has great value and should not be disregarded. So take a balanced view of that i'd say..
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Me exactly the same, You don't have to justify it, some of us are just not into it. I don't have or want a facebook account, there are enough looneys on eBay and Amazon to keep me going for now
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It explains in the article that SM isn't a sales channel. Its a communication tool.
Its very difficult to measure the ROI from social media, there simply isn't a way to measure brand image.
But I still firmly believe its an important part of any marketing plan and I think that 1% will turn to 10% in the next 10 years or so. You've also got to think that for some industries and for some people, its already at or above that level!
Sent from my HTC Desire using UK Business Forums
Its very difficult to measure the ROI from social media, there simply isn't a way to measure brand image.
But I still firmly believe its an important part of any marketing plan and I think that 1% will turn to 10% in the next 10 years or so. You've also got to think that for some industries and for some people, its already at or above that level!
Sent from my HTC Desire using UK Business Forums
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You cant measure it. <1% I would say is accurate. Hardly anyone would buy your products even if they click your link or "like" it. However, the tricky bit is you cannot gauge the benefits of brand awareness etc. and whether it was a factor to the sale.
For example: 1) the person initially heard about your brand on facebook/twitter... didn't buy, but in the future they purchased by typing in the web address direct... SM had a positive effect. 2) you are a shop/pub/club... the person found out about you online, decided to visit you... didn't mention how they found you.
For example: 1) the person initially heard about your brand on facebook/twitter... didn't buy, but in the future they purchased by typing in the web address direct... SM had a positive effect. 2) you are a shop/pub/club... the person found out about you online, decided to visit you... didn't mention how they found you.
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SM is a good way to talk to your existing customers and friends.
People used to send letters,
Very formal, costs a lot of money(Stamps)
People then sent emails
Just text doesn't make you look good, and can just be deleted and is only sent to the person email address and are unlikely to send it on.
If you want something fancy, then need to be designed, and unless you good at design, you have to pay for a designer.
Text messaging
Get the message across, but I think it can turn people off, if they run to they phone on the ring, to find it's o2 again.
Twitter
Is basically the new text email.
Facebook
Is the new designed emails, and sends to the person as well as their friends.
Brand awareness good, sales not so good, i find.
So why do people push S.M., so hard, basically anybody can say they can do it, and charge a lot of money for it, and as it can go on for months and months, it's a consent revenue stream, and with any type of marketing, it mite not work.
If done right, for brand awareness, can be an assets, but not for majority of small business. If you want to do it, go on a course, and at least then you know what you are getting, before signing up with your web designer.
People used to send letters,
Very formal, costs a lot of money(Stamps)
People then sent emails
Just text doesn't make you look good, and can just be deleted and is only sent to the person email address and are unlikely to send it on.
If you want something fancy, then need to be designed, and unless you good at design, you have to pay for a designer.
Text messaging
Get the message across, but I think it can turn people off, if they run to they phone on the ring, to find it's o2 again.
Is basically the new text email.
Is the new designed emails, and sends to the person as well as their friends.
Brand awareness good, sales not so good, i find.
So why do people push S.M., so hard, basically anybody can say they can do it, and charge a lot of money for it, and as it can go on for months and months, it's a consent revenue stream, and with any type of marketing, it mite not work.
If done right, for brand awareness, can be an assets, but not for majority of small business. If you want to do it, go on a course, and at least then you know what you are getting, before signing up with your web designer.
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My thing is SM is freaky, the people are obsessive loonies who don't go out and socialise face to face, I accept that there are some people will just click on facebook once or twice a day, and those sane people I welcome, but those who are (as questioned in the guardian CIF this week) facebook addicts / keyboard warriors I don't want them buying from me.
Twitter the same,
We got a call from Facebook asking us to take out a facebook shop, I looked at one online and I just dont want that exposure or customer, Am I wrong ?
Should I look at it again, Im very anti SM, It makes my skin crawl there is a 5 yr old girl missing and the police say we are searching for the girl with the help of facebook and twitter, seriously ???
Rant over I hope the girl is found alive.
Twitter the same,
We got a call from Facebook asking us to take out a facebook shop, I looked at one online and I just dont want that exposure or customer, Am I wrong ?
Should I look at it again, Im very anti SM, It makes my skin crawl there is a 5 yr old girl missing and the police say we are searching for the girl with the help of facebook and twitter, seriously ???
Rant over
I hope the girl is found alive.
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M
Maxi Cleaning Services
Don't agree with the 'research'.
Depends on the business and depends how you use it. Lots of business people just don't know how to use it. Recently heard from one business person: 'What do you say on twitter?'
Our major commercial contract came through twitter. Lots of other customers (commercial and domestic) said- I saw you somewhere on Facebook. LinkedIn is our other favorite SM platform.
Depends on the business and depends how you use it. Lots of business people just don't know how to use it. Recently heard from one business person: 'What do you say on twitter?'
Our major commercial contract came through twitter. Lots of other customers (commercial and domestic) said- I saw you somewhere on Facebook. LinkedIn is our other favorite SM platform.
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M
Maxi Cleaning Services
Don't agree with the 'research'.
Depends on the business and depends how you use it. Lots of business people just don't know how to use it. Recently heard from one business person: 'What do you say on twitter?'
Our major commercial contract came through twitter. Lots of other customers (commercial and domestic) said- I saw you somewhere on Facebook. LinkedIn is our other favorite SM platform.
I was talking about all sales here, not just online sales..
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P
perpixon
I used to have a quick play with face book and a lot of people I know used it quite a lot but now I hardly ever look at it and hardly any of my virtual friends do either. I think its a fad on the way out waiting for the next must have thing. If you spend a lot of time putting your efforts into one SM media will it be wasted when everyone moves onto the next. Friends reunited>my space>Face book>twitter>pintrest> yawn
.. I really dont care what others say they like particularly when they are only liking something to win a competition. I must be old as I would rather watch a good TV programme without playing with my phone to tell others whats happening on the tv they are also watching just because it has a bl**dy #tag. Time for bed I think.
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You didn't get a call from Facebook. It will have been a company trying to sell you their service, creating the impression they were Fb themselves. Sort of the same as Google (not) calling you re Adwords etc
From a social point of view, both platforms are very good. Twitter is especially good for getting the word around quickly. Very quickly. I, among many, will have first heard about April through Twitter.
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J
JamiePMortimer
Seriously? That's a joke right?
How are you measuring the ROI of radio ads, TV ads, magazine ads or billboards?
You can measure SM a lot easier than all these other forms of advertising.
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I totally agree.
Our business earns around 80% via social media, but do we have a Twitter or Facebook presence, no.
Don't be obssessed by SM, for some businesses it's totally irrellevant despite all the hype. Generally it's just another marketing avenue you should consider. Many businesses concentrate too much on SM and overlook the obvious.
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Why would you do that, the best way healthily to socialise surely is getting out and doing it face to face, maybe if you did that you would spell it properly.
Social media is for social inadequate's
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Social media is much more than FB and Twitter.
UK Business Forums is a form of social media.
Anyone who uses this forum is using social media!
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D
DigiBrew
OH NO! Not the spelling police!
So what's your argument? That social media is a waste of time?
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No but to be fair, I learnt at school everything was with a 'S' so to put it with a 'Z' would make me assume you was a yank.
Its not a waste of time, no, its not for me though !
But I don't think it has a long shelf span, if it does the only people who will win are those that can do face to face, because all the facebookers will be scared to speak to someone face to face, or they might think in time if you speak to some one face to face that might become weird and freaky, the opposite of what it is now no ?
if people are too fixed on SM then those that don't use it I feel will generate more money for their business. Online fraud is huge, face to face fraud is not so high, SM will make people vunerable and weak and that is current for me.
My confidence in someone is face to face and it has to be that way
Its not a waste of time, no, its not for me though !
But I don't think it has a long shelf span, if it does the only people who will win are those that can do face to face, because all the facebookers will be scared to speak to someone face to face, or they might think in time if you speak to some one face to face that might become weird and freaky, the opposite of what it is now no ?
if people are too fixed on SM then those that don't use it I feel will generate more money for their business. Online fraud is huge, face to face fraud is not so high, SM will make people vunerable and weak and that is current for me.
My confidence in someone is face to face and it has to be that way
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- Original Poster
- #23
That's as maybe, but I don't use UKBF as a means to find customers.
My biggest local competitor seems to be all over every form of SM there is and has just launched a mobile app. I don't see this being reflected in an increase in the number of customers for him. I think it's a good form of displacement activity for him..... long may he continue with it!
My biggest local competitor seems to be all over every form of SM there is and has just launched a mobile app. I don't see this being reflected in an increase in the number of customers for him. I think it's a good form of displacement activity for him..... long may he continue with it!
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Don;t forget to see how the competitor is doing this time next year...
That said, I just don't get SM. Why the hell do I want to spread my life around the internet? I can see why people find it fun and maybe I'm just a miserable git but I have seen how some businesses have really benefitted from the use but have had to put in an inordinate amount of time making hyper-cheerful posts about what an amazing time and product they have. It's exhausting just thinking about it lol
And with that I recently deleted the facebook account I had never used it and if I wanted to stay in touch with people I never speak to then I'd have called or written. Which I didn't... for me, pointless.
That said, I just don't get SM. Why the hell do I want to spread my life around the internet? I can see why people find it fun and maybe I'm just a miserable git but I have seen how some businesses have really benefitted from the use but have had to put in an inordinate amount of time making hyper-cheerful posts about what an amazing time and product they have. It's exhausting just thinking about it lol
And with that I recently deleted the facebook account I had
never used it and if I wanted to stay in touch with people I never speak to then I'd have called or written. Which I didn't... for me, pointless.
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A statistic such as 1% of online shopping via sm is very misleading as it will be an average.
It can hide an underlying fact that some online businesses will have zero sm custom yet others may have 100% sm custom.
Just seeing a 1% figure makes it look irrelevant and may put you off bothering, but what if you're missing out on a massive market?
There's every likelihood that there'll be businesses trading exclusively via sm and maybe earning huge profits - if you ignore that market, then fair enough, but you should be in full knowledge of what that 1% statistic may hide.
It can hide an underlying fact that some online businesses will have zero sm custom yet others may have 100% sm custom.
Just seeing a 1% figure makes it look irrelevant and may put you off bothering, but what if you're missing out on a massive market?
There's every likelihood that there'll be businesses trading exclusively via sm and maybe earning huge profits - if you ignore that market, then fair enough, but you should be in full knowledge of what that 1% statistic may hide.
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From my experience SM using FB, Twitter, google+, linked-in etc are crucial platforms for marketing, as long as your followers and subscribers have been captured from your web site "contact me" / "subscribe me" links. i.e: permission based. Therefore subscribers are telling you they want to hear from you, they like your company, your products etc and are committed to follow you on your social sites. It is all about permissions, you will see a huge increase in clicks and views and a massive reduction in un-subscribe request.
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J
JamiePMortimer
Social media sells stuff, thats the reason why you would want to do it. And if people like your product they're going to say so on social media, irrespective of how significant your product is.
The old saying of if you give good service customers don't shout about it but if you give bad service they tell on average ten people. This doesn't apply any more, because all these micro conversations go out to thousands of people whether the message is good or bad.
If you were sat in the pub & overheard someone saying how good your services were wouldn't you want to introduce yourself? Same thing is applicable online, business is in a great position in that you can find out public opinion of your company in an instant & it costs nothing.
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