While many articles online regarding online marketing speak of the freeness of social media marketing, the fact remains that an effective campaign requires a combination of time and skill. These qualities can be purchased, but without them, a social media effort is little more than a trickle after a light rain. Getting over that hump is one of the greatest challenges for small businesses that venture unaided into social media.
To be sure, some business owners take to social media enthusiastically. Frequently their efforts pay off. Having a strong social media presence signals to your customers that your business means business. It is a way to communicate confidence and strength, both of which are personas that attract more customers. If success begets success, then active social media marketing is a way for a fledgling business to jump on the virtuous cycle of success.
Newcomers to social media advisory often wonder about the pricing, and the cost of a robust social media campaign. Costs range nearly anywhere your imagination can wander. Some media companies which focus their operations on one or two types of activities (Content Savants, for example, specializes in meme production and blogging), whereas other media companies can provide a full range of services, including PPC marketing strategy, SEO and overall campaign management.
Businesses which seek a narrow solution may pay a minimum of around RM 1,000 for regular content development (Content Savants offers daily meme production at less than that for monthly contracts), while full service campaign management may start at around RM 10,000 per month. Both services can offer great value in marketing, depending on your scale of business and capacity for growth.
From a practical perspective, it is useful to look at outside marketing support as falling into three categories:
Category 1: Making noise: publishing blogs and memes or other social media posts on a regular basis can make a significant difference in your online business profile. If we were to graph the number of businesses on a horizontal axis showing the number of posts per week, there would be a tall bulge at the early part of the curve, indicating there are many businesses, many of which are your competitors, that engage in occasional social or online media posting. Many businesses rely on location and word of mouth for their business growth. Social media is an online word of mouth advertising, and with occasional activity, your presence can gradually grow. Nonetheless, having a consistent and steady presence can move your business past the initial bulge of social media posters into the territory of value-added posters – businesses which are known for their activity and whose messages bring value to their respective communities and followers. The first level of support from social media consultants can bring a business to this level.
Category 1 typical service cost: RM 1,000 to 2,000 per month
Category 2: Getting serious: services which provide the second level of support often include more detailed tracking of social media engagement with potential customers, with analysis of a wider range of online activity to both inform development of content as well as to track success of the overall campaign. Businesses which seek this level of support are those which see social media as being an important part of their marketing (if not, the major part of their marketing). Businesses which see social media marketing as significant to their success frequently have staff in-house who are at least skilled in content development and who dedicate a significant portion of their time each week to ensuring that content is developed and published. Often times their campaigns are also managed in-house, but they may seek outside support in the form of blog writing or other content development, which on its own would fall into the first category above.
Category 2 typical service cost: RM 2,000 to 5,000 per month
Category 3: Focus on the core: businesses which already pursue sophisticated marketing campaigns and which have chosen to focus on their core business (without investing in advanced in-house marketing capabilities) would require outside support to fulfill a wide range of marketing activities. While a senior in-house individual would oversee marketing campaigns and their success, an external media agency (or a combination thereof) would be used to design, develop and implement the campaigns. While these services come at a substantial cost, businesses which have achieved this level of market maturity would require – and be willing to pay – for top-level service so as to enable long-term growth or protect market share against equally-ambitious competitors.
Category 3 typical service cost: RM 5,000 to 20,000 per month (and above)
What is true for all categories of social media service is that there are very few businesses which cannot benefit or do not need additional support in their online marketing efforts. More people than ever are relying on social media and online research to guide them in purchasing decisions. Online marketing strategies are having greater impact than ever before in moving people toward not only preferring certain products or brands, but to even want certain products at all.
Fashion is an example of an industry that is fast-driven by social media marketing. Fashion trends are defined by popular usage, and increasingly driven by influencers. For fashion in particular, influencers have substantial… influence. Unlike celebrities, they are seen as being normal people who, through hard work and brilliant content, have worked their way to a position of respect within the industry and among its user base, and for this reason their opinions are highly valued. While a social media star may be in fact another type of celebrity, there is no denying their ability to sway and drive public opinion on fashion, trends and style.
With the rise of popularity of social influencers and the endorsements they offer, this niche online activity is becoming a mainstay of the industry, where businesses of all types will soon have a lead influencer for their category of business, and with even greater granularity to follow, for their category of business within their specific geography.
For businesses, the start of the social media strategy is category 1 as described above, making some noise. Most business owners will choose to do this themselves at the start. In time, the demands of business and the need to focus on core customers and activities will require that they consider external support, mainly for the “grunt work” of regular and frequent content development. When they see the potential of social media and its ability to bring in new customers, the next logical progression will be toward Category 2 and 3.
Alternatively, some business owners will see that actually, doing the social media work in house is quite fascinating, and when you get the knack of it, can be a lot of fun. Either way, greater activity online is a win for the business and a win for the online community.