Social Media Marketing Value

Revised By Edward

Is it worthwhile to target social media users?

On August, 14, 2011, Forbes released a blog article about the value of heavy social media users. The story by Nick Tabbal was titled “How Valuable Are Heavy Social Media Users, Anyway?”.

The article divides social media users into three distinct segments. The segments are based on online time spent on social media. Social media time for heavy, medium and light user segments was 26%, 4.1% and 0.42% respectively.

Tabbal provided results from an 8,000 respondent survey that was a representative of the US online adult population. The results suggested that heavy social media users are not as valuable to traditional marketing methods.

Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing efforts are geared towards getting a reaction from target audience. The target market is expected to purchase the product from a store. A perfect example is purchasing a car, or a restaurant meal.

An effective marketing campaign keeps the product relevant even if the audience does not make the purchase immediately.

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Traditional Social Media Marketing

Outdated Marketing

Social media is used by people for different purposes. One of the biggest mistakes that marketers make is downplaying loyalty. There are many social media platforms, but only a few that are very successful.

Lets use the vehicle and restaurant examples again. I might want a Ferrari and can afford one. However no amount of Ferrari advertising will convince me to purchase one simply because it is currently impracticable to own one.

Once retired I will probably own one and advertising attempting to convince me of its impracticality will not dissuade me. I love Indian food but have only eaten at four Indian restaurants in a large city. Loyalty prevents me from taking up offers of free food and discounts.

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Outdated Social Media Marketing

Conclusion:

Heavy social media users are primary focused on a specific issue. This issue can be a game, political in nature or a concern.

Heavy social media users cannot be targeted with traditional marketing alone. Marketing efforts will need to be tailored to a heavy social media user’s interests.

    Recommendations:

  1. Do not follow the crowd with promises on untapped potential.
  2. Actually understand the concerns of your target market.
  3. Keep current with current political issues.