Is social media overrated?

 

Has the impact and relevance of social media marketing been wildly overstated and generally accepted without question? This November at iBlog, we are questioning the hype and attempting to put social media in perspective.

Taking views from business owners who have launched expensive social media campaigns, to artist managers who have used social media to promote entertainment brands- we look at the real value social media adds to a company, individual brand or product and see what is real and what is a puff of hot air.

The hype about social media appears to suggest that every brand should use it, that there are no drawbacks to the approach and every social media campaign is likely to succeed but how critical is social media really to the bottom line, client base and a brand’s visibility?

Should a business be focused on five thousand hits a month on its website or actual product sales?

Do the traditional questions of brand positioning, target segmentation and communication effectiveness apply to social media marketing?

Is social media the secret of success or a catalyst?

How do you measure the impact of your social media investment?

  

Let’s take the big International banks as a case study. Westpac’s head of online consumers, Ean Van Vuuren, recently told journalists he was increasingly expected to respond to customers’ comments and complaints in real time and had created a team of six people to manage the bank’s Twitter account.

 

All well and good, until you look at how many followers Westpac actually has on Twitter – a grand total of 6,400 consumers. That might sound like a large number but it’s approximately 0.6% of their customer base, meaning about one Westpac customer in every 160 is actually using Twitter to connect with their bank. Does that even justify a team of six marketers?

  

For the business wondering if the effort in creating and then promoting a social media presence is really worth it, this is an opportunity to find out.

Venue : 805 Restaurant, Opp. NNPC filing station, Aminu Kano Crescent,Wuse 2, Abuja

Time: 5:30pm prompt

Gate: N1,500

RSVP: 08023550822



References:  http://www.bandt.com.au/opinion/opinion-social-media---oversold-and-overrated