Can Social Media help your company in cutting costs?
In the light of the credit crunch, many companies are reviewing their (online) advertisement expenditures. As budgets are decreasing, marketeers focus on advertising through media that are most effective at relative low costs. Social media marketing seems to be cheap compared to other advertisement channels, especially in juxtaposition with traditional mass media.
Do you think online Social Media (weblogs, wikis, vlogs, crowdsourcing, social networks and communities) are suitable for your company to effectively reach clients and prospects?
Good Answers (7)
Dan R
Tools Czar at Lextant
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You gotta make it bankable just cause you can do social media for your business doesn't make it bankable. Really depends on what your business is about and how heavily it relies on the web to get the call.
Each tool in the social media arsenal has a different purpose even if its for an an overall agenda toward awareness. Luckily you can track the results so in theory you should know pretty quickly what is working and what isn't.
A blog boosts awareness and puts a human face on your brand or product, could help inform, connect and help get a call. A wiki informs the customer, its a FAQ, allows them to collaborate, makes them part of your brand, but that could assume they bought already. A presence on facebook or twitter say you're connected and your it, you're in the scene, its connective and helps connect people to your website or blog to get the call.
Crowdsourcing is a whole other animal. You could use crowdsourcing to do basic research, find out what people think, or to move and or swing crowds but generally it needs a purpose to be effective.
It all depends on what you are selling, its simple as that. Blind social media approach is wasteful and its just like burning an ad in the paper hoping someone finds it and finds you and buys whatever.
I think the answer is Yes... but like most things it needs to be a measured and proactive approach rather than a knee jerk reaction. You can certainly use social to improve brand awareness and position at a lower cost that heritage media.
The first interesting question is...
If we (your marketplace) are spending more and more time on social apps and participatory media, where is this time coming from? Which channels are being eroded.
Eg in a B2C environment free to air television is obviously being impacted by online use. B2B perhaps industry or professional magazines. Either way there is a change in your customers media mix and we need to be aware of this, undersatnd this and begin targeting our social programs here.
So, in theory we could take our above the line budget, trim it based on the emerging media mix of our customer base and invest in exploring and developing social channels.
It may not happen overnight, nothing is more likely to fail as companies who say "mmm we need a blog, go out and build a blog" So entering social media is as much a change in culture and beginning many low cost tests into things that may be effective. Not unlike traditional DM testing in Social in imperative what works? what doesnt work
Perhaps the key difference in being successful in Social is asking "How do I add value in this channel". Rather than how much did I sell through this channel? Many struggle with this simple difference
I am asked a lot about measures in Social Marketing and value measure really is the only true measure of success and if you do that well you cannot but help improve your brand and one would hope bottom line.
Social Media can quickly become the best and worst thing that ever happened to your company. To most people, it may seem an inexpensive investment but in order for Social Media to work on your behalf, you must dedicate resources to ensure that it is constantly monitored. Also, success in Social Media does not happen overnight, you have to slowly feed it and let it trust you before feeding it more. Please take caution with this, because it may soon become the best and worst thing that has happened to a company. As compared to traditional media, it can be relatively cheaper, but be aware of the potential cost of repairing your brand if things go wrong. A truly optimized traditional media plan can effectively cost you less if you are inexperienced with Social Media.
So, is Social Media the best fit for your company, I think that the best answer is the most simple answer, it depends on the client or prospect. Where do they research and learn about your type of product? How engaged are they in the medium they use to research? Where do they sit in the buyers life cycle?
Gianluigi C
Web Marketing Strategist ★ Consultant @ Traffic4u
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Hallo Eric,
Yes it's suitable in one way or another, but don't underestimate the initial costs/investments (both in capital and time) which are required to allign Social media within the business&marketing strategy.
At first it can even mean a decline in productivity and upward costs before it's going to be cost-effective.
Create realistic expectations towards implementation and execution of Social Media.
Best regards,
Gianluigi Cuccureddu
Brett N
Digital Media Planner & Buyer at Next Digital
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (6), Advertising (1), Direct Marketing (1), Writing and Editing (1)
I'm going to be different - just for arguments sake...
If you are trying to cut costs at every opportunity I don' think social media will provide you with the direct sales responses you're after.
On the other hand - if you want to establish relationships, communicate with your audience and position your brand it's perfect. Of course it's all dependent on your brand, but it's not a cheap advertising alternative it's a unique open and engaging channel.
Dan G
Creative Director at The Creative Underground (Brand Development Agency)
Best Answers in: Advertising (3), Air Travel (1), Direct Marketing (1), Internet Marketing (1), Business Development (1), Public Relations (1), Customer Relationship Management (1), Sales Techniques (1), Positioning (1), Web Development (1)
Social media can be suitable for a company if that company's target audience are proven users of social networks -- but if research proves they aren't users of social media, it doesn't make sense to do, even if it is cheap. That said, if they're avid users, it makes sense to pursue -- but as PART of an overall strategy. I get the sense that there are some people who feel they can hang their entire hat on marketing via social media because it's cheap and the economy isn't good rather than for the right reasons of building a conversation in a web community and making your brand feel more authentic. I don't believe in advertising through any one method of media, no matter how cheap it is. Can social media be a cost-effective option as part of an overall brand strategy? Absolutely. But I see great risk in thinking you can replace all your other tactics with it. If the marketer's budget is shrinking, there are other low cost tactics you can couple with social media to diversify your efforts toward an audience and still minimize overall risk.
Nicolaas P
Tourism, event industry. Social media marketing & branding, web 2.0 & mobile. Speaker. Founder Crossmint/MyLimburg.
They are more than ever absolutely suitable to reach people. Companies (or marketers) that do not realise this will rapidly lose out. Social media have become much more effective than traditional channels to reach people. However, these channels do not work for advertising or traditional (online) marketing strategies (bannering, etc.). People distrust advertisers and marketers more than ever. They are tired of getting over 3.500 commercial messages per day. They don't listen anymore to chest-thumpers. Anyone can say they are the best. Companies should therefor focus on effective branding strategies by joining the conversations on the web and leading them in the right direction and creating a message never heard before. Google for 'Stormhoek' and you will get an excellent example of using social media to build brand power. (And, by the way, this has nothing to do with a credit crunch; this was also true before that). Communities dominate brands! The days that advertising agencies, marketing organisations or branding consultants determined brand image are over.
Links:
- http://www.crossmint.com
- http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/16/22668.html
- http://www.eyefortravel.com/news/africa/social-media-wake-and-smell-engagem...
Nicolaas P also suggests this expert on this topic:
More Answers (13)
Everything is connected. If it's a matter of survival, I would go with the Internet product plan. I would imagine with all the layoffs, there will be many more people on computers.
My answer is a simple but vocal YES!
The answer is yes. There are value-added benefits within the digital realm that can improve the overall performance of your organization. However, there must be a quantifiable strategy that leverages this technology to improve the performance of your business.
The problems come more from the non-technical processes within the organization. ARE YOU READY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES?
Yes it does but it requires significant investment of time and resources by the management itself. It's easy to say that Blogs/Wikis/Forums/other engagement programs are cheaper to set up but the setup also involves a content strategy which forms the core of any social media strategy. Most companies fail to work on the core and the result is shoddy engagement programs, lacking in focus which then leads to failed marketing initiatives
Yes it can, it worked for us.
We needed to hire some good copywriters, instead of going about the normal route of hiring a placement agency to get us resumes for which we would have to pay them a percentage, we came up with an idea of making all our collegues change their status in their orkut, linkedin and facebook profiles to "looking for kick-ass copywriters", within a month we hired 4 very good copywriters for free!
Yes, they will really help to cut down the cost and increase profits by redirecting quality traffic to the company website.
half yes and half no...
social media is not a silver bullet... you will still need advertisement
We have found social media marketing can become one of the most cost effective channels available to brands - even compared to PPC
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No. Unless your advertising strategy is very good and well focussed, i dont believe people look at online advertising much at all. I think you run the risk of alienating your product if you do it incorrectly.
Obviously people who run marketing companies/departments will not agree with this as they are making a bundle of cash for little outlay.
Robert P
Serial Entrepreneur, Start-up pilot & proven specialist in establishing new business segments
Yes - thats what we do: We put the companies in front of the consumers (B2C). We add some loyalty programs and the option to offer mobile services to the enhance recurrency.
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Yes, definitely. Comparible expenditure differences are substantial. But let's be honest, so are the returns. So measure, measure, measure then perform the proper analysis to determine the ROI differences. You'll like the results. We can help if need.
Links:
John M
Experienced Marketer | Social Media and Search Engine Marketing | Devoted to Decisions based on Analysis and Results
Best Answers in: Internet Marketing (1), Business Development (1)
A smart CEO will look beyond the marketing department and apply social media technology across the enterprise. For example, a Wiki could be an invaluable resource for frontline customer service personnel. Vlogs can be used for self-guided internal training. A company Facebook page can be useful for HR.
Marcel C
Director Content at Truvo
Best Answers in: Education and Schools (1), Advertising (1), Internet Marketing (1), Graphic Design (1), Project Management (1), Web Development (1), Using LinkedIn (1)
Depends on the effect. Yes it is cheaper. I feel that cutting costs is not the sole objective or at least it shouldn't be. It should be about effectiveness and measurement of effect. It will only be rewarding if the effect is what you desire for and more than that.
