7 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Still Underrated

More than half of small businesses plan to increase their social media marketing budget in 2017

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The numbers when it comes to social media marketing are impressive: Over half of small businesses plan to increase their social media marketing budget in 2017, and the number of businesses using social media marketing has increased every year for over a decade.

Yet, social media marketing is underrated. Business owners and marketers often treat it as something the intern does, rather than a strategic way to build buzz and attract new traffic. Some have abandoned the idea altogether, refusing to invest time or money into strategies that will bring them the greatest positive ROI. 92 percent of the companies that use it.

So what's the problem? Why isn't everyone buying into that strategy?

1. «trend» angle.

Believe it or not, there are still people who believe that social media, or its use as a marketing strategy, is nothing more than a passing fad waiting to go out of style. This was an understandable argument back in 2007, when social media platforms were only used by a small percentage of the population.

But Facebook is more than 1.2 billion It's hard to defend Facebook, with a large and growing user base and a company infrastructure comparable to that of Apple and Google: Users are accustomed to social interactions online, and the platform continues to evolve in new ways to keep users engaged.

2. You get what you pay for.

Psychologically, people tend to place a higher value on more expensive things. For example, in a blind tasting of identical wines where the only difference is the price, people will claim that the more expensive (but with the same ingredients) wine tastes better. Applying this principle to social media marketing, registering and building a business profile and posting regularly is free (unless you use paid advertising). So people don't value social media marketing as much as paid advertising. And because they know that social media campaigns can technically be run by anyone for free (even if they don't), they are less likely to pay an expert to do it.

3. Effects that cannot be measured.

I have to admit, social media return on investment (ROI) is hard to measure. One of the biggest goals is to attract a large, engaged following for your brand, improving both your brand reputation and brand awareness. While these aren't as objectively measurable as on-site conversions, they do lead to increased consumer interest, which ultimately translates into sales. Pinning down the exact value of all these benefits is nearly impossible, even for professionals, which is why the value of social media campaigns is most often underestimated.

Illustration: Radiatemedia.com

4. Anecdote.

People also use anecdotal evidence to support their opinions about a strategy – for example, they may avoid social media now because they know another company that used it but didn't see results – but these anecdotal examples often don't consider the types of tactics these companies used, and they don't represent the average across multiple companies.

5. Apples and oranges.

Ironically, these same executives often point to the fact that anecdotal evidence can't prove a strategy's effectiveness to everyone. They point to powerful social media influencers or large corporations and explain that social media works for them because it's a natural fit for their industry or they have the resources to invest in large-scale campaigns. Sure, some industries may tend to perform better on social media than others – tech companies and consumer-facing businesses are good examples – but social media marketing can be used by virtually any business. You may just need to adjust your approach.

6. Poor targeting.

Some businesses look at their own success and use the results as a gauge for the long-term potential of their campaigns. But they may not realize that their strategic targeting is hindering their success. For example, When you purchase 1,000 Followers I use a super cheap follower addition service. only Four or 5 Even if some of them interact with your posts or visit your site, the rest 995 They may not belong to the demographic relevant to your business or you may not be using the right engagement strategies to generate interest. Don't underestimate the potential of a well-researched and strategically focused campaign.

7. Lack of investment.

Effective social media marketing isn't something you can do on a whim. It requires planning, research, and strategic execution. This means you have to invest a significant amount of time and money to see results. Many business owners don't want to make that investment, and so they never see even a fraction of the potential results. At that point, they know what a small investment can do, and they don't want to commit to a bigger investment.

Social media marketing is not an “underground” strategy. There's a lot of talk about it (I know that) and no shortage of content on its feasibility and best tactics. But marketers' and business owners' awareness still lags behind the evidence, and they're hurting themselves in the process.

The more we learn about the effective implementation of social media marketing, the more its benefits become clear, but if we want to properly explore it, it needs to be treated as a legitimate marketing strategy.