Is there a downside to Social Media Marketing?
Many construction firms are gradually coming to realise the importance social media marketing can play in their overall marketing plan.
Whether the objective is to attract inbound comments on a particular project, make specific connections and build relationships, strengthen your brand or lay the foundations for a sales campaign, social media marketing provides the ideal opportunity for two-way communication, feedback and profiling which no other marketing activity could ever do.
But is social media marketing really set to overcome all the challenges previously faced by marketers? Of course, like every other marketing technique, it depends on the depth of knowledge and experience of the marketer in order to make it as effective as possible, and there are several “problem” areas which you will need to be aware of:
1. Lack of target setting – as previously discussed, many firms think they should be jumping on the social media bandwagon, without first thinking carefully about why they are doing so – and what they should be achieving. This can result in considerable time wasted, with no results to show for it.
2. Criticism – “inbound marketing”, that is marketing which allows for two way discussions through social media platforms including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and blogs, inevitably opens the floodgates of criticism, which can then be viewed publicly. This should be encouraged, however, to display your firm’s integrity and honesty, although excellent skills in communication are required, in order to respond positively and gratefully.
3. Resources – effective social media marketing is, as you know, cheap to run with regards to cash outlay, but it does need to be consistent and is therefore extremely time-intensive. This human resource issue must be factored into the equation when deciding how to calculate its return on your investment.
4. Inappropriate content – there have been several high profile instances of inappropriate content being posted on a social media site, either by disgruntled or unprofessional employees, or hackers. This can have the effect of damaging a brand in seconds, so you should have some sort of filtering/review system in place and take precautions against hacking. This means that social media marketing potentially poses a much higher risk than traditional forms of marketing.
When weighing up what your marketing mix will look like you might want to try and test. Whatever marketing tools you decide upon, do it well, to ensure that the right message is going out and potential customers can make an informed decision.
If you want any help with your marketing why not give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you.
