With Twitter doubling in size and Facebook ramping up new users as it were free, the hype surrounding social networks has reached, well, Internet proportions.
Social media “gurus” have begun popping up like weeds in spring, and yes, a certain backlash to the linky lovefest was inevitable. Thus, we point you towards a report from online researchers Knowledge Networks, which suggests social media’s affect on the population is vastly overrated (via a Media Post article):
Among other things, the study finds that less than 5% of social media users regularly turn to these social networks for “guidance on purchase decisions” in any of nine product and/or service categories (see table below), and that only 16% of social media users say they are more likely to buy from companies that advertise on social sites.Based on the findings, Knowledge Networks categorizes the value of social media advertising “somewhere in the long tail” of marketing options, way below TV ads and personal, word-of-mouth recommendations.
“Obviously, a lot of people are using social media, but they are not explicitly turning to it for marketing purposes, or for finding out what products to buy. It’s really about connecting with friends, or connecting with other people,” says Dave Tice, vice president and group account director at Knowledge Networks, and the top analyst behind the report. “What we’re seeing is that word-of-mouth is still the No. 1 most influential source, followed by TV. The influence of social media isn’t at the bottom of the list, but it is somewhere in the long tail of marketing – about the same as print ads, or online [display] ads.”
The online marketing boot camp I’m teaching to small/micro business owners tends to bear out the above contentions; only two of the 28 entrepreneurs in my class know anything at all about social media.
Next week’s classes look hard at social media channels, and the students – while eager to learn – are asking questions like “how much time will this take?”
I developed my online marketing curriculum with the realization that – unlike so many of those touting the power of social networks for corporations – my students have businesses to run, which often involves not staring at a computer screen for hours on end.
I love the engagement potential of social networks, but find the hype – and the raft of “experts” who have zero experience generating revenue for a company – troubling.
Then there’s the troubling ROI question dogging social media (explored on the Ad Contrarian blog). The ROI of email and search strategies is relatively well known (or at least relatively easy to measure). Social media remains two steps further removed from the media stream, and until that connection can be more firmly established, I’m advising my small business clients to experiment
Like water, hyper-connected social networks will eventually find their own level in the marketing watershed. Until then, I’m advising my students (and clients) to step carefully – and to carefully evaluate their time investments in social media against the returns they could find elsewhere.
Stay engaged, Tom Chandler.
The real backlash will occur when the customers (and prospects) turn off to the brand completely as a result of the so-called engagement.
Actually, I think that is already happening.
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Interesting as I’m seeing a lot of my friends source products and services through Twitter and Facebook. At my day job-a national trade association, we receive amore than 50 tweets a day from people asking us for services from our members (dental insurance benefits) and info on which dentist to use. We’ve seen requests from Twitter grow from zero to 50+ in less than two months. It’s the number one place we turn to to get more information about a company, product or service for our company. I’m not so sure I agree with Knowledge Networks research.
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The problem is not that social media isn’t effective as a marketing tool. The problem, that even Knowledge Networks fails to understand, is that many marketers are choosing to look at social media as another stage for their monologue instead of what it’s really about: building community and relationships and developing brand trust. There isn’t a line between word-of-mouth and social media. Social media IS word-of-mouth, but only if utilized correctly.
I think some businesses have done a very good job connecting to consumers on a personal level. They don’t manipulate tools such as Twitter to broadcast their website all day, but instead use them to talk directly with people. The same people that will then turn around and talk about their experiences with others. Want social media to work for your business? Then quit treating it like a free ad platform.
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I agree with Rachel. How did the study differentiate between word of mouth and social media? If someone tells you they love this movie and you should go see it, it is word of mouth regardless if they posted it on your Facebook wall or they told you in person.
It is not about advertising on social sites or giving consumers information to buy. Social media is much more about building your brand image, up to the second PR and customer service than it is about direct sales.
Other marketing methods can directly get new customers and business, but social media helps you retain these customers and give them an avenue to become brand enthusiasts. It is not a substitute to traditional marketing, but a new tool in the arsenal.
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Coincidentally, I wrote an article on the bda blog week last week questioning whether social media lived up to the hype:
http://www.thinkbda.com/2009/05/22/conversational-marketing-should-you-believe-the-hype/
Ironically it’s had more Tweets than any other post.
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Michael: Visit the Nike+ site, and report any turn-off you see there. Customers will engage with a company or they won’t; unlike a Super Bowl ad buy, it’s not exactly something that can be forced, but it does happen.
Jeff, Rachel & CJ:
I agree: some aspects of the Knowledge Networks report felt a little gamy, or perhaps just dated.
That said, I think too many social media proponents are relying on hypish language promoting impossible-to-measure brand benefits, especially in the context of small businesses, whose marketing capacity is very limited.
At some point, social media channels will have to show measurable returns.
This becomes even more true once you realize those succeeding in social media channels (like Twitter) are investing a fair amount of time in it.
In terms of a backlash, well, everybody knows it’s coming. Attacking the medium is a little silly – and nobody at Thanksgiving likes the cranky uncle who seems to hate everyone and everything – but asking the tough questions about ROI and ROTI qualifies as simply due diligence.
And there’s little denying the echo chamber effect currently hyping social media (providing ample fodder for the backlash).
I’ve read social media “experts” counseling small businesses to invest an hour every day checking their social media status; an unreal expectation for a small businessperson already trying to run a non online business (they still exist).
In my consultations with clients and (now) students, I’m looking for ways to integrate social media into their existing programs in ways that actually lighten the load.
For several, we’re in the process of setting up a nice little “content loop” that leverages the same or similar content (they call it “work”) across social networks, a blog, e-newsletter and even offline channels.
When you view social media channels in that context, they become just another media channel that may or may not justify the sizable time investment they seem to require.
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Matt: This article and a few others are part of an upcoming post, which I’ll probably finish about the time Twitter’s been replaced by something newer.
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