For a long time, there was a perception
that social media marketing was free, or
at least very inexpensive. Starting a
Facebook or Twitter account was free,
and hiring a part-time intern to
manage them didn’t cost much.
In reality, social media marketing has
never been free. Sure, there aren't
usually any hard costs required to set up
social media accounts, but someone is
still had to create the content, engage
in the conversation, monitor and
manage those conversations, etc. As
we've seen time and time again , turning
over your brand’s reputation to an
intern isn't always the wisest choice.
Most brands now know the real costs of
social media marketing are not as great
as the opportunity costs of bad social
media strategy.
Fast-forward a few years, and we’re
seeing more and more organizations hire
entire teams to create content for
Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest,
and whatever hot new social media
startup launched last week. Content
marketing, the creation and distribution
of content to attract leads and
generate sales, has become a $118.4
billion industry . According to data from
DOMO and Column Five Media, every
minute of every day sees over 2 million
Google searches, 571 new websites, and
48 hours of new YouTube video. It’s
become overwhelming.
Unfortunately, it’s only going to get
more difficult as brands compete in a
social media arms race. Rather than
creating a slow and steady stream of
high-quality content, most brands
believe they’re better off creating a
ton of low-quality content in the hope
that one or two pieces will have real
results. Yet a recent study by
InboundWriter shows only 10 to 20
percent of a company’s website content
drives 90 percent of its online traffic.
Meanwhile, social networks realize that
brands will pay big money for access to
the millions of users in their online
communities, and they’re going to
charge more and more for that
privilege. According to a recent
Advertising Age article , Facebook
reports: "Content that is eligible to be
shown in news feed is increasing at a
faster rate than people's ability to
consume it."
This means the organic reach of any
one particular piece of content is going
to decline even more from the 16
percent rate it’s at now. Some may see
it drop all the way to 2 percent .
Increasingly, to compete effectively in
social media, brands realize that to play,
they must pay.
To keep up with social networks’ efforts
to monetize their massive online
audiences, companies are allocating more
resources to keep up. Simply creating
valuable content and then authentically
engaging with your audiences often is
no longer enough, especially when you
have to spend more to reach those
audiences. Brands know they now must
create distribution strategies for that
content, sometimes at a substantial cost.
Here are seven ways brands will spend
more money on social media and content
marketing in 2014:
1. Creating content. If brands wish to
rise above the glut of content that’s
being created, they’re going to have to
improve the quality of content they
create. That viral video that looks like it
was shot on a family member’s
smartphone was actually just a bit
created by the “traditional” media
.
2. Promoting content. Expect social
platforms to reward brands that spend
a lot of money in ads on those
platforms. It’s a vicious cycle. Paid ads
and sponsored content will help drive the
“organic” reach of your other content.
In addition, brands with more Facebook
likes are going to see a lower cost for
paid distribution because paid social ads
will show greater social context. If more
“likes” and followers = cheaper ads,
guess who’s going to start to investing
in more contests, giveaways, and other
tactics to reach more eyeballs and then
subsequently buy more ads and
sponsored content.
3. Increasing reach. As brands acquire
more and more fans, followers, and
“likes,” and as these social networks get
larger and larger, the cost to reach
them will continue to increase. When a
brand makes an investment in creating
high-quality content, you can bet
they’ll ensure it reaches the largest
number of people.
4. Syndicating content. Likewise, expect
more dollars to go companies such as
Taboola and Outbrain that specialize in
placing content where it’s most likely to
be discovered. In a sea of content, these
companies help more people find yours.
5. Monitoring, filtering, and analyzing
conversations. Social media monitoring
platforms have been around for years,
but their hefty price tags often
relegated them to a wish list for many
organizations. However, as more people
and brands create even more content,
it’s going to become more difficult to
identify and act on what’s relevant to
you. As a result, pricey monitoring and
analytics tools will be migrating from
the wish list to the approved budget.
6. Paid sponsorships. Those “influencers”
you’re always trying to reach? They’re
realizing their influence is in demand
and that it’s not cheap. According to a
recent IZEA survey, 61 percent of
marketers have paid someone to mention
their product, and that number is only
going to rise in 2014. It’s not just
celebrities and athletes, either.
Everyday people are also asking for
more money and more product, because
they can and because brands will meet
those demands.
7. More full-time employees. As more
content is created and more money is
spent promoting and distributing that
content, more people will be needed to
create, moderate, measure, and analyze
it. Demand for data scientists, SEO
specialists, media buyers, and creatives
will increase as brands try to optimize
the money they’re investing.
[RELATED: Ragan's biggest social
media conference returns to the
Walt Disney World Resort in April!
]
If you thought the days of trying to
persuade your bosses to invest in social
media were over, get ready to go back,
hat in hand, and ask for even more
money. With bigger budgets come bigger
expectations and more pressure. Are
your social media, content generation,
and content distribution strategies
ready?
Steve Radick is vice president,
management supervisor, public relations
at Cramer-Krasselt in Chicago. Follow
him on Twitter @sradick .courtesy-www.prdaily.com
that social media marketing was free, or
at least very inexpensive. Starting a
Facebook or Twitter account was free,
and hiring a part-time intern to
manage them didn’t cost much.
In reality, social media marketing has
never been free. Sure, there aren't
usually any hard costs required to set up
social media accounts, but someone is
still had to create the content, engage
in the conversation, monitor and
manage those conversations, etc. As
we've seen time and time again , turning
over your brand’s reputation to an
intern isn't always the wisest choice.
Most brands now know the real costs of
social media marketing are not as great
as the opportunity costs of bad social
media strategy.
Fast-forward a few years, and we’re
seeing more and more organizations hire
entire teams to create content for
Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest,
and whatever hot new social media
startup launched last week. Content
marketing, the creation and distribution
of content to attract leads and
generate sales, has become a $118.4
billion industry . According to data from
DOMO and Column Five Media, every
minute of every day sees over 2 million
Google searches, 571 new websites, and
48 hours of new YouTube video. It’s
become overwhelming.
Unfortunately, it’s only going to get
more difficult as brands compete in a
social media arms race. Rather than
creating a slow and steady stream of
high-quality content, most brands
believe they’re better off creating a
ton of low-quality content in the hope
that one or two pieces will have real
results. Yet a recent study by
InboundWriter shows only 10 to 20
percent of a company’s website content
drives 90 percent of its online traffic.
Meanwhile, social networks realize that
brands will pay big money for access to
the millions of users in their online
communities, and they’re going to
charge more and more for that
privilege. According to a recent
Advertising Age article , Facebook
reports: "Content that is eligible to be
shown in news feed is increasing at a
faster rate than people's ability to
consume it."
This means the organic reach of any
one particular piece of content is going
to decline even more from the 16
percent rate it’s at now. Some may see
it drop all the way to 2 percent .
Increasingly, to compete effectively in
social media, brands realize that to play,
they must pay.
To keep up with social networks’ efforts
to monetize their massive online
audiences, companies are allocating more
resources to keep up. Simply creating
valuable content and then authentically
engaging with your audiences often is
no longer enough, especially when you
have to spend more to reach those
audiences. Brands know they now must
create distribution strategies for that
content, sometimes at a substantial cost.
Here are seven ways brands will spend
more money on social media and content
marketing in 2014:
1. Creating content. If brands wish to
rise above the glut of content that’s
being created, they’re going to have to
improve the quality of content they
create. That viral video that looks like it
was shot on a family member’s
smartphone was actually just a bit
created by the “traditional” media
.
2. Promoting content. Expect social
platforms to reward brands that spend
a lot of money in ads on those
platforms. It’s a vicious cycle. Paid ads
and sponsored content will help drive the
“organic” reach of your other content.
In addition, brands with more Facebook
likes are going to see a lower cost for
paid distribution because paid social ads
will show greater social context. If more
“likes” and followers = cheaper ads,
guess who’s going to start to investing
in more contests, giveaways, and other
tactics to reach more eyeballs and then
subsequently buy more ads and
sponsored content.
3. Increasing reach. As brands acquire
more and more fans, followers, and
“likes,” and as these social networks get
larger and larger, the cost to reach
them will continue to increase. When a
brand makes an investment in creating
high-quality content, you can bet
they’ll ensure it reaches the largest
number of people.
4. Syndicating content. Likewise, expect
more dollars to go companies such as
Taboola and Outbrain that specialize in
placing content where it’s most likely to
be discovered. In a sea of content, these
companies help more people find yours.
5. Monitoring, filtering, and analyzing
conversations. Social media monitoring
platforms have been around for years,
but their hefty price tags often
relegated them to a wish list for many
organizations. However, as more people
and brands create even more content,
it’s going to become more difficult to
identify and act on what’s relevant to
you. As a result, pricey monitoring and
analytics tools will be migrating from
the wish list to the approved budget.
6. Paid sponsorships. Those “influencers”
you’re always trying to reach? They’re
realizing their influence is in demand
and that it’s not cheap. According to a
recent IZEA survey, 61 percent of
marketers have paid someone to mention
their product, and that number is only
going to rise in 2014. It’s not just
celebrities and athletes, either.
Everyday people are also asking for
more money and more product, because
they can and because brands will meet
those demands.
7. More full-time employees. As more
content is created and more money is
spent promoting and distributing that
content, more people will be needed to
create, moderate, measure, and analyze
it. Demand for data scientists, SEO
specialists, media buyers, and creatives
will increase as brands try to optimize
the money they’re investing.
[RELATED: Ragan's biggest social
media conference returns to the
Walt Disney World Resort in April!
]
If you thought the days of trying to
persuade your bosses to invest in social
media were over, get ready to go back,
hat in hand, and ask for even more
money. With bigger budgets come bigger
expectations and more pressure. Are
your social media, content generation,
and content distribution strategies
ready?
Steve Radick is vice president,
management supervisor, public relations
at Cramer-Krasselt in Chicago. Follow
him on Twitter @sradick .courtesy-www.prdaily.com
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