Google just announced that they are shutting down Google+. In case
you forgot, Google+ was the social media platform they launched in 2011 to
compete with Facebook. After years of languishing, and now, with their belated
admission of a data exposing bug, they’ve finally pulled the plug on the
consumer version of the Google+ platform.
Google’s action reminded us of the importance of reevaluating our
company’s social media strategy and reconsider how we're communicating with our
clients and friends. After some careful consideration, we've decided it's time
to quit Facebook, Twitter and Google+ (which will still be available for some
corporate users). We’re taking this step because of concerns in three areas:
Security Concerns: As mentioned, Google just admitted a data
exposing bug. But they’re hardly alone: In May of this year, Twitter advised
all 330 million of its users to change their passwords after a bug exposed
their passwords in plain text. And in September, Facebook admitted a breach
exposing an unknown amount of data of some 50 million Facebook users. And
this is on top of the Cambridge Analytica scandal that compromised as many as
87 million Facebook user accounts.
Effectiveness Concerns: Helping clients in a dozen different
industries develop and execute online marketing strategy, we’ve been able to
draw some conclusions about what works and what doesn’t in the realm of social
media. We note a general distinction in social media effectiveness between B2B
and B2C focused companies with notably better results for the latter than the
former. Better, for B2C, but not necessarily great results. The problem, as we
it, is contextual: Most social media users are there to socialize first.
Shopping and searching for business solutions or services isn’t high on their
list.
ROI Concerns: Since advertising on most social media platforms
isn’t free, it’s reasonable to expect a measurable return on that social media
marketing investment. And again, across industries, ROI has been difficult
to track, especially for B2B companies. And it’s not just ROI on the money
invested that concerns us, it’s also the lack of ROI on the considerable
investment in time required for the proper care and feeding of these social media networks.
In
our experience, well-designed keyword campaigns along with quality SEO are far
more effective in driving targeted, in-the-market traffic to our clients’
websites while delivering a measurable, meaningful ROI.
So this will be our final post on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Of course we'll continue to share our occasional ponderings on our blog,
by email and via LinkedIn articles.
Our clients can still reach us by email
or, (as quaint as it sounds) by just picking up the phone and calling us. Come
to think of it, compared to social media, the phone is more secure, more
effective and has a higher ROI in developing client relationships.
Here’s our number: 269-409-8169. Call us anytime.
P.S. Let us know if you need assistance deleting any of your social
media accounts and we’ll share some helpful links.
