One thing is for sure. Change will happen. As the Social Mediums grown in their life cycle from start-ups to revenue producing there is bound to be plenty of change. The algorithm changes in Facebook have increased their revenue while at the same time decreased the exposure you can expect from marketing on that medium. Twitter has made some changes to their design while making the technical aspect of using the medium for marketing another challenge.
With all these changes, is the ROI still apparent for New Media or Social Media advertising?
Great question. Potentially Facebook and Twitter could have a significant part of ecommerce if the model was there, but they have not capitalized. Black Friday is a great case and point for this discussion. According to Blodget with Business Insider, last year Facebook Contributed 1.68% to sales, this year they lost an entire point (2012:1). Could this be due to their change in algorithm? Possibly. Twitter on the other hand contributed in 2011 a whopping .02% to sales and lost all that ground this year. Why? Have these mediums lost the influence? Or are they mediums designed for a different kind of ecommerce?
Social Media, Facebook & Twitter, are both word of mouth mediums. I may look for input as to where someone is going on Black Friday, but I’m going to get sales information directly from the source. Why? On Black Friday the regional nature of some stores means prices may not be consistent throughout the entire area, Facebook and Twitter can do little but encourage you to check out their local sales. Retail is difficult for social. A website with a check out basket may significantly increase the odds for this type of business.
So where can social and new media best be applied?
Social and new media may find the best application in the service industry where word of mouth is the best source for information. Several times a day I see people using social media to request information on local service providers. Once the recommendation is made, the search moves to the business’ new media and social media pages. The service providers I serve in real estate, title insurance, new homes and accounting all have seen significant rewards in the design of marketing plans for their social channels and new media platforms. My clients and I have seen the value of being interconnected on many mediums to spread the word.
New Media Marketing is interdependent like a rubber band ball. When you start pulling off the bands you are bound to get snapped. (click to Tweet this quote)
Each layer of new media requires that you be interconnected for maximum exposure. This interconnectedness can maximize your micro-marketing and image enhancement. When done correctly you eliminate noise, expand audience and convert lookers into buyers. Does the investment equal the reward? Having sold over $8M worth of real estate on new media, specifically social media, I can say it does work. Tailoring the message to fit, engage, enhance, and convert is only the beginning. There are several additional steps that can be identified through a marketing analysis, but we will leave that discussion to another day.
Contiguity is a new media marketing, branding and strategy provider in Richmond Virginia.
Blodget, H. (2012) ‘Guess What Percent Of Black Friday Online Sales Came From Twitter Referrals?’ Business Insider p.1. http://www.businessinsider.com/black-friday-online-sales-from-twitter-referrals-2012-11#ixzz2DIGGmO5C [accessed 25 November, 2012]
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Making the most of each picture is difficult, especially when there are so many moving pieces. Getting the subject to sit, pose, relax and then place the food perfectly can be a seriously difficult procedure. In this scene I had a difficult time with lighting. No artificial lights, studio lights or flashes were used to take this pose. Being a small company has its challenges. The main being building up equipment for an adequate photo shoot.
