Is iNET Web Anti-Social?
Where We Stand on Social Media
You may have noticed iNET Web isn't exactly a big proponent of social media. Sure, we're on Facebook and Twitter, but we're not counting on them to bring us new business, and neither should you. Let's delve into this...
Social media has been talked up as a valuable, even necessary, component of any marketing campaign. As a business owner, you’ve no doubt heard the buzz about how a social media presence will “grow your brand awareness,” “create a relationship with your audience” or “make your prospects see you as a trusted source.”
You’ve may well have wondered how these warm and fuzzies translate to business. To put it bluntly: they don't.
The social media marketers (hucksters?) all tell us social media generates “social signals” that help to boost a website’s ranking on search engines. Fact is, there is no link connecting a social media presence with a commercial response. When pressed, even the social media gurus will admit there's no definite correlation.
Often, when we meet with prospective clients, they have the perception that if they’re on Facebook or Twitter and post things that get “likes” or “shares,” it translates somehow to higher rankings by search engines. Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way.
Per Google itself, social media is considered a weak and unreliable signal for search engines. They’re also reluctant to give it any weight due to how easy it would be to game the system. For instance, Joe’s Plumbing could recruit all their friends and family members to “like” every online post on their Facebook page. There would be sweatshops all over the place offering to get you 5,000 likes for $500. You can see how easily the platform would be corrupted.
How much are you spending wasting on social media?
If you’re paying someone to manage your social media presence, ask them to show you what kind of return you’re getting on your investment. Be prepared for a lot of stammering and a complete non-answer. That’s because there is no correlation whatsoever between any of the metrics tracked by social media and actual business transactions. The list below should put this into perspective.
The great big list of Social Media Engagement Metrics that don’t amount to diddly:
- Alerts
- Bookmarks
- Comments
- Downloads
- Email subscriptions
- Fans
- Favorites
- Feedback
- Followers
- Forward to a friend
- Groups
- Install widget
- Invite / Refer someone
- Key page activity
- Love / Like something on the page
- Messaging (onsite)
- Personalization of pages, display or theme
- Posts
- Profile page(s)
- Print page
- Ratings
- Registered users
- Report spam / abuse
- Reviews
- Settings
- Social media sharing / participation
- Tagging
- Testimonials
- Time spent on key pages
- Time spent on site
- Total contributors
- Uploads (such as articles, links, images, videos)
- Views
- Widgets
- Wishlists
Why organic search rules
No one goes to Facebook, or Twitter, or Instagram when their toilet is overflowing. They look up “emergency plumbing service” (or some variation thereof) using an internet search engine. The same goes for any other service or product. This is why it’s so important to 1) Have a website and 2) Have a website with effective SEO so it rises to the top of search results for the most common online searches.
If your website shows up on the first page of results when you type in “emergency plumbing service Milwaukee,” you have a good chance of getting a call. If it’s one of the top 3 listings, your chances are even better. iNET Web specializes in SEO-infused websites—and in getting our clients’ websites to the top of search engine rankings. It doesn't happen overnight, but it does happen and we have hundreds of clients getting more business and making more money than they ever imagined possible.
Now, you could pay to get your website listed above even the organic search results. That’s what Pay-per-click does. Your website listing will have a small but very legible “Ad” icon in front of it, though, letting all the world know you paid to get to the top instead of earning your way there. Knowing how cynical Americans have become about advertising, whose website do you think they’re going to click?
What if you really want to have a Facebook page?
By all means, have a Facebook page if you want one. After all, we have one. But don’t pay to have someone manage it for you. Use your marketing budget for something that will actually deliver a return on your investment—your website.
If you need help with designing graphics for your Facebook page, we can certainly help with that. Once you have a look you like, managing a Facebook page isn’t that hard. You can post photos of work you’ve recently done, news about your business, and links to content on your website. First, though, you’ll need a website. That’s where iNET Web comes in.
