Facebook. It’s so popular it’s a verb, “what are doing tonight?”
“Oh, I thought I would have some dinner then go facebooking.”
No doubt Facebook has been an advertising, marketing and communication game changer. Facebook reached 100 million users in a matter of months (it took radio 35 years to reach 50 million users), and recently facebook reached 400 million users. In Fresno, there are 191,060 users within 25 miles according to Facebook’s advertising program. This is a substantial audience and if your business is not taking advantage of this opportunity, you should be.
But Facebook (a Facebook fan page for your business) is not a substitute for SMS Text Messaging. This comparision might seem odd at first, but you would be surprised at how many people I talk to confuse the two, or want to choose one or the other. My response? Both. Facebook, SMS Text Message, blogs and YouTube to name a few all offer direct contact with customers. Today’s marketing environment is vastly different than it was just a few years ago and there are new ways to connect, communicate and distribute information.
The Facebook advantages include:
1. No cost, or at least low cost when you include labor hours to manage and update.
2. Search Engine Optimization off-page linking strategy.
3. Easy interactivity. It’s not as easy as it used to be, but the News Feed is THY Facebook product.
4. Adding Contacts (i.e. Pull Strategy). This is so important. Unlike a website, you can add friends and fans, and then deliver content.
5. Intimacy & Friendly. It’s so not corporate.
Facebook disadvantages:
1. CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT. With Facebook and all social media you must supply fresh content regularly. This is where most people struggle and where an outside consultant like myself can help you.
2. Fleeting. Dude, where’s my post? As I was writing this blog I was checking Facebook for a post a client told me to watch for. 10 minutes and it was off the first page. This is probably the most frustrating part for businesses trying to send a timely message. Between the 5 Facebook pages I manage I have 2,500 friends/fans. Right now 50 were online when my client posted the offer. Recently, Facebook has made it difficult for a fan to find the pages they are following, which I hope they fix.
3. Fleeting #2 & Low Reach. Advertising is a Reach and Frequency strategy, and small businesses all too often get wrapped up in low reach, low frequency strategies. Facebook is a Customer Relationship Management tool, and (for most small businesses) it can’t replace traditional advertising for reach and frequency.
4. Lack of Content Control. Be prepared for negative comments and carefully try to turn the negative into a positive. Check any banking fan page for an example of this.
5. Online environment. For a person to see your ad they have to be online and on Facebook, which for most people is only a few minutes, or less than an hour a day. So even though the message is delivered to them, it’s not necessarily seen. Many businesses block social network sites and some people only check their profile a few times week.
SMS Text Messaging is about engagement. It allows you to engage your customers at the point of sale, be that in-store or during a commercial. Engagement is rememberable and creates action.
SMS Text Message Advantages
1. 5x more effective than online advertising – Insight Express study. This is detailed in a previous blog.
2. Engagement. An in-store or in-ad text offer encourages the person to interact. This interacting creates a rememberable experience that sticks with the customer and keeps you top of mind. For example, I can still remember voting for a contestant on American Idol last season, but I can’t tell you the last commercial I saw today.
3. Ease of use and consumer control. If a person wants a coupon, or wants to vote or participate in a text contest, they pull out their phone and do it. No registration and passwords. Customers expect control and ease of entry makes them more likely to do it.
4. Your ad message is seen. 95% of all text messages are read within 15 minutes.
5. Mobile. Reach customers wherever they are. They do not have to be online and on social media to see your ad.
6. Behavorial Marketing & Real Time Messaging. Send messages to the customer at the exact time they are most receptive to read it.
7. Incorporate into traditional advertising and track response. Probably one of the biggest opportunities – SMS Text Messaging makes every ad you place (print, radio, tv) work harder for you. It’s an easy way for the customer to participate with your brand, and it’s a great way for you to track your advertising response.
8. Cost. SMS Text Messaging is pennies on the dollar compared to traditional advertising.
9. Intimacy. When a person joins your text group they are giving up a bit of privacy. It is important to respect their privacy and use this opportunity to foster the relationship.
Disadvantages
1. Doesn’t help with SEO.
2. Reach & Frequency. Just like Facebook, SMS Text Messaging is a CRM tool and not a reach and frequency media. But, 95% will read the message when they get it, you can reach them wherever they are and you can incorporate your text into traditional advertising to maximize your reach and frequency opportunity.
For SMS Text Message pricing and info: http://mccormickmobilemedia.com.
