Forrester Says Facebook Marketing is Dying, But Here's Why They're Wrong

Facebook has be heralded as one of the greatest marketing tools ever conceived. It draws businesses from the size of your local Mom & Pop store to those the size of box giants closer to the customer for an experience the enlightens both parties.

But has Facebook reached its limit? Is the virile social media marketing atmosphere that businesses have grown to rely upon for their success dried up?

Some experts, such as Forrester analyst Nate Elliot, will tell you that Facebook is ready to crumble. Social media in and of itself is ready to fall. What businesses experienced were but a fleeting glimmer of some magnificently cruel and coincidental joke.

Frankly, we at Social Media Wizard disagree.

Let's explore why Nate Elliot and people like him are as wrong as people whom state that the sky is purple, – because they're merely looking through the wrong color of lense.

The Root of the Problem

To understand why so many people are saying that social media marketing on Facebook is dead, there's a few things you need to examine first.

Just last week, Facebook announced that purely promotional content will see less real estate in News Feeds.

Types like Forrester have exclaimed that this is the end of social media marketing on Facebook as we know it.

He's dead wrong, but let's examine why in a minute.

If you read through some of the reports from Forrester, you'll see piles of “data” that say fewer and fewer people are interacting with brands on social media. They're nonresponsive, and many people seem to refrain from doing the little things like liking or commenting.

The naysayers are wrong yet again, particularly because they've made plenty of room for error.

What's Really Going on With Facebook Marketing?

The truth of the matter is that Facebook and its userbase are as strong as ever. They're even more receptive to communications from their favorite brands and names, at least when those groups communicate with them correctly.

Let's reexamine what the “big change” that caused Elliot to make those statements really meant.

Nowhere is it stated that Facebook will be punishing all brands, nor will it be hiding posts from Pages that interact with their users. Facebook is merely cracking down on content that every smart marketer already recognizes as bad.

Facebook wants to get rid of the overly promotional messages because it degrades the general user experience. That's it.

If you're using Facebook right, then you've got nothing to worry about.

Now, let's take a look at all that statistical data that Forrester has been throwing around. The data itself is likely fine, especially when you get reasonable results that say most followers view a brand's emails, visit their website, or visit the store's physical location.

The problem is the interpretation.

These statistics could be the result of social media marketing failing, or social media marketing being used in the way it should. The fact that social media interaction is on the lower end, but not at the bottom, points to the latter happening.

Ensuring Social Media Stays Successful

There are a plethora of things you can do right when it comes to social media. Understanding your audience, sending the right messages, and refraining from actions that will count as social media blunders are among the best things you can do.

Anyone who says social media is a dying marketing platform is either doing their marketing incorrectly, trying to trick you, or just plain wrong.

To ensure that you have all your bases covered when it comes to social media marketing, start by understanding why social media is such a powerful marketing tool. We've covered the topic comprehensively, and we still think there's more to learn pertaining to social media even after you've read that.

When youv'e done that, follow Social Media Wizard to get the latest updates and dialogue on social media.

FORGET BIG DATA: Why You Should Focus on Relationships Through Social Media

While big data is a topic that everyone seems to buzz around, it's not the end-all of marketing. Even if you knew everything about your prospective customers, you still wouldn't be able to predict what choices they make.

That's why the idea that you would still need to broadcast ideas to them exists.

But where does social media fit in to this idea of broadcasting ideas? It'll all make sense when you consider one overlooked fact:

The Average Person is Now a Publisher

No longer does 99% of content come solely from media outlets like newspaper, magazines and television studios. The average person, with the increasingly large amount of access to online publishing, is now a content publisher.

The interesting idea is that they don't produce in just the form of blog posts or emails. They're bonafide authors that post to their social media accounts every single day.

What do they post about? Everything! From their lives to their last trip to their favorite restaurant. They even announce what products they hate or love, whether that action is in the form of a simple Facebook Like or a comment that decries the negative experience they've had with a particular business.

Shifting the Focus to Relationships

While having a two-way street is great for sending and receiving information, it only does so much. The thing that your business has to do is to take this a step further.

You need to begin building relationships. Take the data, information and signals that your followers get to learn how to do this.

For example, say that you have a negative comment about some service you provide. Say a customer had a god-awful experience with one of your restaurants. Turn it around by replying to their concerns and then by addressing them. This will improve your overall service for the remainder of your customers while letting them know that you care about their concerns, which is a win-win situation for everyone.

But what about building relationships from scratch? While that's harder, it's not nearly as bad as some people would lead you to believe. All you need to do is to start the conversation with a friendly smile, the proper decoration to your social media account and a few welcoming words.

Once you've got the right strategy down for developing relatiosnhips for your business through social media, the rest will come to your naturally. Your next step would be to avoid making social media mistakes that can set you back.

Utilizing Fiverr for Small Business Social Media Success

Social media is daunting to the typical small business, especially when you're someone who isn't well-versed in how to use it.

You're left starting from nothing, and that can be incredibly hard.

One of the best solutions to get your first few fans, subscribers or followers is to leverage some of the many services available for you to use on Fiverr. The point of this post is to help you understand what services you should use while giving you an idea of what you should avoid.

1. Don't Buy Into False-Hope Gigs

The first rule of Fiverr is the same rule that you use in any business situation: don't buy into something that sounds too good to be true.

You'll see Gigs that offer to get you x followers and fans. These Gigs are the kind you should stray from, as they will often provide you with numbers alone.

These types of Gigs are only effective if you have another strategy in place to grow more followers. Don't rely on them to jump-start your business.

2. Know What You're Buying and Why

Our personal favorite, as far as Fiverr Gigs go, are those that publicize you to real people. This can be your message, your fan page or just your company. The point is that these types of Gigs have a purpose that contributes towards what should be your overall social media goals.

The best part about searching for these types of Gigs is that they tend to be the ones that make the most money on Fiverr because they provide results.

3. Look for Gigs with Reviews

Reviews are going to be one of the best metrics for deciding if a Gig is worthwhile, aside from the earlier points we've discussed.

Why? Because they will allow you to see what type of service you'll be getting. The last thing you want is to order several Gigs' worth of social media-related orders only to have them take several days to be delivered.

By that time, your message or whatever action you want them to complete for you may be outdated.

Wrapping Up How to Use Fiverr for Small Business Social Media Goals

The important thing to remember about Fiverr Gigs is that they're only small stepping stones. They're not going to give you everything to need to build a bustling social media network, but they will help make the first few steps a lot easier to deal with.

The last word of warning we have for you is that you should never become dependent upon the services that anyone provides you when it comes to social media. Even if you hire someone to manage your social media campaigns, you want to still have a say and an understanding in how things should be properly run.

Social Media Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

Social media mistakes are generally ones that can easily be avoided. A bit of proofreading, listening to your followers and learning how to appease them will go a long way towards making your social media campaigns exponentially more effective.

Visualizing the Details of Social Media

The following infographic should put into perspective some of the things that your audience really cares about. Pay careful attention to the differences between your general audience and the younger age group, as you might notice a few startling things.

Click to Enlarge

Avoid These Common Social Media Mistakes

Steering clear of these mistakes is as simple as making a blueprint for how your social media routine should go. Below is a sample routine that our professionals have agreed upon that mirrors elements that they've needed to focus on across the various social networks:

#1. Spellcheck

Use a spellchecker, such as those found in most word processing programs, before you submit anything.

More advanced proofreaders like After the Deadline can also be a huge help. Small businesses in particular will find this website useful.

#2. Don't Focus on Sales

Ensure that your social messages aren't outwardly trying to sell someone something. Nobody likes to be spammed with “Buy this now!” when they're trying to look for updates about things they really care about.

#3. Sincerity Comes First

In social media, people prefer to follow those whom are sincere. This means that you shouldn't try too hard to be funny or to try to post too often.

#4. Make a Routine

Regular posts at the right time will facilitate proper social media followings. Learn the time that gets you the best reaction, then consistently post new updates at that time.

#5. Do What Feels Natural

While social media marketing likely doesn't feel natural in the beginning, give it time and it will. You'll learn how you should post and how often you should post. Take it slowly, and just do your best not to step on anyone's toes.

Understanding What Your Customers Hate About Social Media

Avoiding the above mistakes when you send your social media messages is as simple as taking a few precautions. Do so, and you'll prevent upset, lost fans and a myriad of problems that even the giants like Walmart and McDonalds regularly have to contend with.

Why is Social Media One of the Most Powerful Marketing Tools?

There are a myriad of tools available to the modern business when it comes to advertising. There's television, newspapers, billboard, Internet ads, pay-per-click ads and more.

Yet, none of them come quite close in terms of the versatility and power that social media can provide.

Let's examine just what social media is, and give a brief overview of why it's something that the modern business shouldn't ignore.

What is Social Media?

The easiest way to understand social media is to first understand the core concept of social networking.

Social networking is all about people connecting to other people. This means friends finding friends, relatives finding relative, and co-workers finding other co-workers. When enough connections are made, these people become networked.

Social media is the practice is leveraging social networking to get a message across. While this means that it's not confined solely to the purposes of business, businesses tend to use it for the purpose of increasing brand recognition, advertising products and the like.

Why is Social Media So Powerful?

Imagine that you could get an audience of devoted individuals to do all your advertising for you. You wouldn't even need to supply them with discounts or coupons; they might choose to simply do so because they like the perceived values that your brand gives off.

This is the major draw of social media from a one-sided viewpoint.

It's when you consider that social media is a two-way street that you can see the reason as to why it trumps any other type of advertising entirely.

Social Media Gives Your Audience a Voice

The one thing that every business aroudn the world spends countless man-hours on is the idea that they can discern what their customers are thinking. They look for trends, ideas and desires so that their marketing can better appeal to these types of people.

Social media gives your business direct access to your customers' thoughts. You can hear what they want, and even influence how they think.

That's the amazing power of social media, and that's why it's likely to become the most powerful form of marketing that anyone has ever seen in the near future. Businesses of all sizes will benefit from just a little investment in it.