Social MediaThis is just a partial list of sites you could add to your social calendar. Obviously, you can’t do everything. More Social MediaEven if you could include them all, could you actually develop a strategy to leverage them all? But Wait...There’s More!Yes, twitter and facebook have largely risen to the top, but there are more everyday that may one day replace them. Remember MySpace? Social MediaThe Next Big Thing…Effort.October 22, 2009
You hear a lot of hype these days about the future of the internet, the future of the species, the future of the future being social media. We did a little research, and after looking at the numbers it seems like the next big thing to fundamentally change your business is…hard work. The Main PointIf you don't have time to read the rest of this article then at least read one more sentence. After analyzing real web statistics for a sampling of clients who meaningfully engage in social media we found that 78% of their traffic comes from search engines while only 2% comes from social media sites. In case that doesn't have enough impact, imagine if your favorite sports team lost 78 to 2. Now we know that some of you who understand statistics may ask about sample size, duration of time etc, and we will be the first ones to admit that our data is limited. However our data is from real organizations and companies, of varying sizes and scopes on real websites with real web statistics we can monitor. Now don't get us wrong, we engage in and use social media too, and next month we'll be crafting an article with thoughts and ideas about how you can use social media to enhance the brand work you are already doing. However, with all the hype there are very few proven business cases that demonstrate that social media can be a real benefit to your organization. Don't Take Our Word For ItNow some of you may still be finding it hard to see past all the buzz about social media sites like twitter, youtube, facebook, myspace, etc. so don't take our word for it. We have another way for you to think about this topic. When you need to get information on the web, are you more likely to go to google and type in your search, or do you go to one of the social media websites? Some Issues to Consider:
The Next Big Thing: EffortTime is money, and to return to our sports analogy, when you are looking to invest your precious time and money to promote your organization, are you going to bet on the team that scored 78 or the team that scored 2? Because content is king and the internet is about authenticity, hard work is the next big thing. Putting in the effort to keep your website current, writing articles and engaging in your site and other site's conversations about you is the key to success. A genuinely genuine effort has always been the best bet. We're not saying that social media sites are a bad thing, but we argue that the hype may be overstated. The urge for the quick and easy cure can be a fatal distraction from needed investment in time and resources to make social media or any strategy successful. Next month we'll talk about what social media sites are good at and some strategies on how you might use them to build your brand and your website. | ||
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