Chat Room
As a marketer, this burningpants correspondent has always been wary of new or fad things in terms of a return on investment.
Social media today is constantly chatted about with companies chasing ways to capitalise on the proliferation of online chatter and connection.
There are a few companies who are flying the social media flag high and doing it well – in the UK financial services industry, a good examples is the HSBC Business Network and its Little Black Book.
But while this is a great attempt to build credibility through a medium that is typically viewed as more of a chat room than an engine room by potential customers, is social media really much to do about nothing?
Recent research conducted by CoreData for a wide range of organisations that include consumer, membership and B2B markets from sectors that cover Telecommunications/IT, Banking, Membership and Energy show that social media doesn’t rate as a tool for actually buying by customers.
So are companies getting caught up in the hype as major agencies tout social media divisions and business leaders call out for coverage? For many markets, this seems to be the case.
We are finding that despite the massive growth in smartphones both IPhone and Android platforms consumers do not want to be sold to through social media. They want to chat, they want to seek a new job and sometimes they collect people whom they hardly know (come on, we all have a few in our various profiles).
The research responses show this in black and white. For example research in November 2011 targeting IT customers found that only one in 10 found it useful. A membership group held in July 2011 showed three out of five found that social media was of little use to receive new services information.
So the key is presence not budget; the objective is representation not spend.
Currently these tools are not delivering a measured result and so be wary of the hype. Use them to ask people you know for recommendations and to build brand awareness but don’t get caught up in this as a growth option for your marketing budget or at least research whether or not it is working as a strategy. Measurement is the great equaliser.
The fact may be that consumers don’t want to be sold to through this medium – so consider the time, budget and effort verses the return!
4 Comments on “Chat Room”
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Not Convinced says:
Wow! This is so wrong I don’t know where to start.
You don’t use social media to “sell” to people, you use it to c-o-m-m-u-n-i-c-a-t-e! You talk with consumers, give good quality information, ask them questions and demonstrate your expertise.
I think this is where traditional S&M specialists really struggle to get their heads around it.
Rather than carry on here, I would encourage you to check out Scott Pape’s website (I think it is barefootinvestor.com) and social media presence. He is probably the best user on social media I have seen from the financial sector, using Twitter, FB, LinkedIn and video. Ask him if it is returning an ROI!
burningpants says:
Hi Not Convinced. Many of the clients that we are talking to on daily basis in marketing teams are considering the use of social media as the best way to get growth activated. Many see it as a tool to sell and I’m not talking websites that is not social media. What I’m saying is that the use needs to match the consumer channel or the B2B market. Research how they want communication to go, what formats and how often. These teams are looking for something new without considering if this approach will work. I’d personally have a social media presence but the core consumer still wants more traditional methods and smartphone friendly collateral. Happy to have a chat about this.
BrooksieG says:
Hear! Hear! Amazed at companies running campaigns asking people to “Like’ them on FaceBook to win an IPad or similar. It creates about as much engagement as buying a Tattslotto ticket. We don’t become best mates with our newsagent, or subscribe to a new magazine simply because we bought a ticket in a prize draw. The number of people who set up email addresses etc. for the sole purpose of entering these competitions is considerable. The reason – they don’t want an on-going ‘conversation’!
Having said that, establishing a social media presence can be of value. If you’re in media relations, you’ll find journalists use Twitter to monitor and pick up news. An example of social media leveraging reach for your brand and reputation. And yes, there is also reputational risk to be managed, but that risk resides in social media whether you’re on there or not.
In my experience, we have very few two-way interactions with consumers in the social media channels and, in particular on FaceBook. We’d actually prefer that it stays that way and that we handle customer interactions in channels that can be properly monitored and contained.
burningpants says:
Hi Brooksie. Good points you have raised here. I’m just concerned marketers are racing off with marketing spend and have not taken the time to look what are the preferred methods for the core customer and what works. This lack of measurement is concerning. I know of a pet based product aimed at cat owners that has 246 people chatting and yet there are over 2 million homes with cats. Not really a success. This goes for TV advertising where in 2010 consumers stated that only 14% of consumers trusted adverts. So why are marketers so heavily reliant on this channel? I can see that Comms people need presence but this channel will not create growth. I recommend that marketers research first and decide later!