Is Social Media Worthless? • Hacker News Board

Re: Is Social Media Worthless?

#21

Post by davidroberts » Fri, Apr 12, 2013, 4:18 PM UTC

no_gravity wrote: post #3

I know many stories like these. When I ask companies "Do you generate revenue via social media? Facebook, Twitter, G+ or anything?" the answer is always no. I would love to know about counterexamples if there are any.

The Old Spice social media campaign was very successful:

http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/08/30/11-social-media-marketi...

As anecdotal evidence, both of my late-teen/young adult sons have started using Old Spice deodorant since that campaign started.

Edit: I think Barak Obama's campaign would be another example of well-spent social media dollars.

Re: Is Social Media Worthless?

#22

Post by fabrika » Fri, Apr 12, 2013, 4:20 PM UTC

Social media won't bring a whole lot new customers but it is a great tool to build a brand or to provide support.

Re: Is Social Media Worthless?

#23

Post by thelegit » Fri, Apr 12, 2013, 4:20 PM UTC

SumoLogic wrote: post #2

It really depends on who your target market is.. but I can see the pros of this article.

agreed... this article ignores the fact that lots of people simply don't like pepsi, Diet Coke sells more than pepsi

If you're in third place... you have to make it a choice until you're first

Re: Is Social Media Worthless?

#24

Post by bhanks » Fri, Apr 12, 2013, 4:20 PM UTC

dmgrow wrote: post #14

drewying wrote: post #7

Direct benefits from Social Media are very low, yes. But this article ignores the fact that a lot of modern SEO relies very heavily on Social Media. So even though direct links from Social Media are worthless, the effect it will have you more likely making it on page one of a Google Search result makes all the difference.

Have there been any studies definitively showing a link between social media links and increase in search rankings? I've been doing SEO for a number of years and I'm always a little skeptical of what is proclaimed as the latest trend. I agree it would certainly make sense for Google to do it (and I imagine they are, and giving favor to G+), but I haven't seen any compelling evidence myself.

ditto. There are huge problems in filtering authority with such a massive source of real-time information that is so easily gamed. The barrier to tweeting a link is magnitudes easier than putting up a new webpage. I would argue that the only real value they are getting currently is rel="author" information with plans for giving value to other signals later. I really think the SEO hype about social media is an extension of the hype the article talks about.

Re: Is Social Media Worthless?

#25

Post by TylerE » Fri, Apr 12, 2013, 4:21 PM UTC

qwertzlcoatl wrote: post #12

drewying wrote: post #7

Direct benefits from Social Media are very low, yes. But this article ignores the fact that a lot of modern SEO relies very heavily on Social Media. So even though direct links from Social Media are worthless, the effect it will have you more likely making it on page one of a Google Search result makes all the difference.

Isn't that what DuckDuckGo is for?

What does a Bing reseller have to do with social media?

Re: Is Social Media Worthless?

#26

Post by thelegit » Fri, Apr 12, 2013, 4:21 PM UTC

eliza1wright wrote: post #15

thelegit wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get 100% of all my sales through Facebook... as a small business owner social media is the lowest price entry point directly to your audience

That's a great point. But Facebook is starting to stonewall business owners with promoted posts, and the value of the channel seems to be dipping lower and lower. So business owners work to build up these audiences, and then they're charged a premium to get any eyeballs. At this point, a simple website and a good SEO expert might be a better long-term investment.

I've literally stopped my SEO efforts.. most are just price checking anyways, looking for 'the lowest price' (web design services)... I tend to find building a relationship and educating my potential clients better than trying to get a sale from SEO window shoppers, I can do that best with social media... I've started driving people from my website to my social media profiles, and I'm doing the same with my clients

Re: Is Social Media Worthless?

#27

Post by andrenotgiant » Fri, Apr 12, 2013, 4:21 PM UTC

davidroberts wrote: post #21

no_gravity wrote: post #3

I know many stories like these. When I ask companies "Do you generate revenue via social media? Facebook, Twitter, G+ or anything?" the answer is always no. I would love to know about counterexamples if there are any.

The Old Spice social media campaign was very successful: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/08/30/11-social-media-marketi... As anecdotal evidence, both of my late-teen/young adult sons have started using Old Spice deodorant since that campaign started. Edit: I think Barak Obama's campaign would be another example of well-spent social media dollars.

Most of the money spent in that campaign was spent in TV Ad spots. I would call it a TV campaign with a successful Social Media component.

Re: Is Social Media Worthless?

#28

Post by iamleppert » Fri, Apr 12, 2013, 4:23 PM UTC

The Pepsi example is a brain-dead application of social media. Of course it didn't matter when people are deciding on healthier beverage choices and the market is increasingly saturated. Not to mention Pepsi hasn't iterated on their product in years, and people simply are getting bored.

No social media campaign in the world can save a shrinking business.

Re: Is Social Media Worthless?

#29

Post by davidroberts » Fri, Apr 12, 2013, 4:26 PM UTC

andrenotgiant wrote: post #27

davidroberts wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Old Spice social media campaign was very successful: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2011/08/30/11-social-media-marketi... As anecdotal evidence, both of my late-teen/young adult sons have started using Old Spice deodorant since that campaign started. Edit: I think Barak Obama's campaign would be another example of well-spent social media dollars.

Most of the money spent in that campaign was spent in TV Ad spots. I would call it a TV campaign with a successful Social Media component.

Exactly. Their social media dollars integrated very well with their overall campaign and brought a high ROI.

Re: Is Social Media Worthless?

#30

Post by antninja » Fri, Apr 12, 2013, 4:30 PM UTC

I discover almost all new music via Twitter, be it by following other musicians who share who they like or magazines like Pitchfork who publish critics.

Both musicians and magazines are businesses selling something.

Just today I discovered Microsoft's Infer.Net for probabilistic computations. It's not a commercial product but it's a product nonetheless, and it's a tweet that made me read their documentation.

Social media is definitely not inefficient, if done properly.