Some Common Concerns About Social Media Marketing - Part II - Page 2
Jumping into social circles that are not necessarily relevant or helpful for their brand will reduce the time cost-effectiveness of their social media marketing initiatives. Proper analysis including competitive analysis, evaluations and planning are extremely important. A good place to start for any business is to see which social circles their competitors are engaged in and to participate in those same circles.
Dell is probably the best example of the cost-effectiveness of social media marketing. Social Media ROI: Dell's $3m on Twitter and Four Better Examples discusses Dell’s approaches but also includes some examples from companies that are not giants like Dell.
SMM gets the message out faster to a huge audience.
Concern: This process is uncontrolled and not measured.
Response: Social media marketing should be controlled by the brand using it if they have a marketing plan and follow it. There are ways to measure the ROI of social media marketing. Examples are HOW TO: Measure Social Media ROI, 4 Ways to Measure ROI + Metrics of Social Media Recruiting, and How to Measure ROI for Social Media Marketing Campaigns.
The bottom line is that social media marketing is a very effective tool for relationship building and reputation management, and it works best in conjunction with other marketing strategies as part of an integrated marketing program. There is also a lot of hype about it because many companies simply jump on the bandwagon without the proper analysis, planning, and evaluation of their social media marketing needs and efforts. Done right, social media marketing can be very effective.
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