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The Decreasing Value of Facebook and Twitter

Internet Marketing

Josh started this discussion 9 years 12 months ago

Brands Are Wasting Time And Money On Facebook And Twitter, Report Says:
http://m.fastcompany.com/3038801/brands-are-wasting-time-and-money-on-fa...

The crux of the research suggests that brands are wasting their time, effort, and money on Facebook and Twitter to diminishing returns. A study conducted by the firm from earlier this year found that posts from top brands on Twitter and Facebook reach just 2% of their followers. Engagement is even more measly: A mere 0.07% of followers actually interact with those posts.

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Grant PDX

9 years

So if e-mail is the "old-fashioned" tried and true method why is Facebook still one of my top referring sites? I think it's important to realize our target demographic in marketing here as the article was written for a broad audience. I'd say the numbers of engagement would be much higher in the hostel business because we have a target market that is highly engaged and "plugged-in" Also, on the target of e-mail. What e-mail blast systems are folks using out there? Has anyone tested all of them and able to provide some feedback?

The ones that are known to me:
MailChimp
ConstantContact

Some third party stats: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2453354,00.asp

I'm not currently using e-mail strongly in my marketing campaign so I'm interested to hear what folks are using and what they think.

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Josh Hostels

9 years

I'd focus on Google more than Facebook.

I'm looking at the stats for one website I run at the moment. Facebook was my "highest referrer" there too. This phrase is misleading though: Facebook only sent 350 visits. Two of those people registered an account.

In that same period, Google sent well over 20,000 visitors and over 100 registrations. Google just doesn't show up as a referring site, because it's search, not a link.

I think that Facebook has its uses, but it's mostly a huge time waster:

* It is increasingly becoming expensive to reach people.

* It's a walled garden -- content posted there doesn't show up well when people search Google.

* It doesn't necessarily reach people who are looking to make a booking.

* The time spent on Facebook could be spent building community around your own site.

* If good content is posted on your own site, people will share it on Facebook, possibly saving you half the trouble.

People may have different experiences with it, but I don't think it's very efficient, and the costs for businesses to reach people on Facebook will surely continue to increase.

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John Moriarty

9 years

Yes while i think Facebook and Twitter have their uses it can be a huge time waster for what you can get out of it.

Definately Google and Google Plus and Reviews.

I think Google Reviews are very important and now is the time to start before it gets very popular to send people there to review you.

Google Reviews and other Google parts help your SEO.

I think Facebook and twitter should be used to share your content.

So firstly create the content on your own website in a blog and then share the link with some text referring to it on facebook and twitter.

This creates traffic to your website and also keeps your social media involved.

If you create the content on social media then it is not directing the traffic to your website.

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rjd1983

9 years

I have read 2% is the average CTR and that is considered good.

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mbongwe

9 years

When choosing a hostel the recommendation of someone you know can have great impact on your decision. So social networks can be powerful here. Running ads however is another matter - what is the chance that your ad will be shown to someone who is going in your area and looking for a hostel? Slim.

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John Moriarty

9 years

Well the one thing Facebook does have in regards advertising is very specific marketing aims.

So firstly you can select Age/Sex and Nationality of person to show the ads to.

Also you can select what interests them.

So if they like other pages or groups in your area they might be planning a visit or returning and you can advertise directly to them.

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andreaappin

9 years

While I wouldn't completely write off Facebook and Twitter, I would use Google's URL builder to make sure that you know your ROI on your social media campaigns.

I would also make sure that you list your hostel on as many outlets as possible, such as:
OTAs
Discount Sites (Groupon, LiveSocial)
Review Sites (TripAdvisor and yelp)
And practice in link building (find relevant outlets and articles to provide back links to your site)

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