Report from Forrester Says Social Networks Dead Last on List of Customer Acquisition Tactics
One of the frequently asked questions about Facebook and other social networks is: Where is the return on investment? The truth is, there usually isn’t one. This article supports the argument that social networking nurtures existing relationships but does not create new ones. Most orthodontic practices I queried agree with this.
As my clients know, I have never been a big fan of Facebook as an Internet marketing tool for an orthodontic practice. People use Facebook to socialize and look at pictures. When it comes to marketing your business, I believe Facebook gives you great ability to build relationships with your current patient base, but it rarely has a tangible effect on new business.
For my money, Facebook has not yet earned a prominent place in well-structured Internet marketing strategies. Its role is secondary, more on the public relations side, with customer retention and brand management. New patients online is generated with clicks to your website, not your Facebook page. Spending time and effort with page ranking on Google and the other search engines with SEO is a better return on Investment.
This article cites a report by the research firm Forrester which states that only about a quarter of businesses surveyed experienced any kind of tangible growth because of social media. The flip side of that statistic is that almost 75% of businesses that invested time and money into social media campaigns saw little or no positive results. The article even states that on a list of ten customer acquisition tactics, social networks ranked last.
The article also has some interesting foresight about the growing popularity of iPads. Apple’s newest creation has been available to consumers for less than a year but the iPad and other tablet devices already represent nearly half of mobile retail traffic. What that means is nearly half of all online shopping not done on a laptop or desktop computer was done on a tablet device. That trend is expected to continue in 2011, which means website designers must now consider how a page will appear on a tablet device. Already, websites have had to adapt to increased Internet use on cell phones and smart phones. Tablets devices like the iPad introduce yet another important wrinkle to website design.
To read the article, click here.
Comments on Special Report – Social Networking Not Helping Sales For Most Businesses
Your report is outdated – what's going on in 2011? I'm in the ecommerce field and I have seen my sales increase with facebook! I found you through seo marketing search and am surprised at your article.
Facebook is great for maintaining relationships and reinforcing your brand. Certain businesses can definitely use Facebook to increase sales, however I am primarily focused on orthodontists, not salespeople. I do not believe that Facebook is an effective way to attract new patients to an orthodontic practice. Many businesses (not just orthodontists) are not seeing enough return on investment from Facebook to endorse it as an effective sales tool.
MK
Latest Televox survey reports that less than 24% of orthodontic practices in their survey can acknowledge receiving new patient referrals from Facebook. What works for many businesses, may not work the same for all professions.
The survey also states the most practices are unfamiliar with how to market correctly on Facebook and lack training. This survey falls in line with reports released on social media results from businesses.
One of the reasons, I suspect that companies are not seeing a ROI from social media is that they are not effectively using it to drive traffic to their website. Yes, FB is attempting to integrate purchasing into it’s pages platform.
Facebook is great for maintaining relationships and even can be used as a tool to increase the business sales,market share,profit,etc. But it is not effective for all the companies to use the investment in facebook as the tool for increasing brand loyalty,and increase the sale of the same.
Regards:
Jerry Elbert
Facebook is one of the most effective tool of social media.Can you tell me the reason as why Facebook is not working as an new patients to an orthodontic practice?
There is no one reason. Most of our clients track where their new patients come from and statistically they receive few from Facebook. New patients come primarily from local Internet search and Google Maps, external advertising, general dentist referrals, and word-of-mouth. Facebook for an orthodontist is a tool to build relationships with existing patients who already know you. More often than not, people use Facebook to look at pictures, share interesting or funny content, and read their friends' status updates; not to look for businesses or professional services. The ROI in Facebook has not proven to be very significant for the majority of businesses (not just orthodontics). It is important to have Facebook for your business, however in an orthodontic practice it is more for your existing patients than your prospective new ones.
Excellent to see this information about Social Networking, Social Networking is really power technique for our business.