A recent study showed that only 7% of word of mouth happens online. With the introduction of so many different social media sites I really thought this figure would be much higher, especially with a large proportion of new business being generated from referrals?!
Ask yourself the following questions,
- Do I send out sales messages via Social Media?
- How many people buy from me based on my Social Media posts?
If the answers are positive to both questions then well done, you seem to be doing something right, but if the answers aren’t positive then it just might be that Social Media isn’t the right marketing tool for you.
So if the Social Media sites aren’t generating sales for you what are they doing? Facebook is factually the most effective platform to get consumers talking about products and, Social Media marketing trumps SEO and PPC when it comes to interactivity and brand awareness, so it may be that instead of a sales tool you now have a very public interactive customer service tool rather than a sales one?
For those that aren’t seeing the results that they need to via their Facebook or Twitter efforts, there is another solution. The answer is Search Engine Marketing.
With 93% of online experiences beginning with a Search Engine, if you’re business isn’t found by those people searching then you are losing out to the competition. Not only that, but leads generated through search engine marketing have a 13% greater chance of converting than with any other type of direct marketing or print advertising! It’s clear that if people are searching for your product or service online, then they have an immediate need. The only question you have to ask yourself now is “do I want to fulfil their need?”.
