25% of search results for the World’s Top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content.
- Nielsen BuzzMetrics
Only 18% of traditional TV campaigns generate a positive ROI.
- Marketing to the Social Web, Larry Weber
If Facebook was a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest, just after the United States! And Facebook is just one of the major Social Media platforms. Imagine the number of potential customers you can reach out to when you market your products and services through social media.
A firm commitment to Social Media Marketing provides significant gains for business:
- Increased exposure for business
- Rise in website traffic
- Higher search engine rankings
- Generation of quality leads
- New business partnerships
- Lower marketing expenses
Many of these benefits are interrelated, and affect the bottom-line directly or indirectly. For example, higher search engine rankings lead to increased business exposure and consequently, reduced marketing expenses.
Social Media Marketing has a very low cost of entry. For many marketers, this is the next "gold rush". But given the nebulous nature of Social Media based on relationships, influence and word of mouth, it is very difficult for you to measure the exact return on investment.
Successful businesses in social media listen first, and sell later. This is a new medium which is constantly evolving, and will give significant, cumulative results only over an extended period of time.