Social media has been all the rage in the Internet Marketing space for a few years now. We are asked about it every day by our SEO reseller crew. And it's not hard to understand why. Their customers are asking them about it every day. Just last week the President of the United States had a Twitter-based Town Hall meeting where all the questions were fielded through Twitter. Facebook is approaching a billion users. Yes, 1 BILLION! Any place with that type of audience and activity is going to get the attention of marketers (both the good ones and bad ones). Furthermore, Google has been talking about the advantages of social media for a while. See Matt Cutts talk about social media here.
So the question is can you white label social media marketing in the same fashion as white label SEO or white label email services? The answer is a big YES. We brought the Semify social media module to market in 2010. In typical fashion, we just dipped our toes into the water. But today we want to explore a bigger white label social media offering.
Here are 5 reasons why white label social media outsourcing works.- Social media is not as easy as it looks to do well. You need to engage in a dialog with other people in social media. People believe that Twitter and Facebook are just about throwing content out into the air - but it's not. It's about engagement and community. In many ways, you need to be more careful with social media than other syndication channels due to the social relationships. This means paying attention to those who call you out by name and calling others who seem like a good fit. This means staying on-topic and avoiding spammy strategies. This all takes time. A firm that offers private label social media knows all this and has learned the hard way what doesn't work.
- There is a style to successful social media. If you are brand new to Tweeting or Facebook fan building, you might be a little confounded. Perhaps this is the result of age, or just lack of practice. But whatever the reason, an outsource social media team knows how this all works. Exploit their experience and avoid the early failures that so many experience when they jump into social media marketing.
- Social media is not a silver bullet. As with any new approach, people on the band-wagon make it sound like the best thing since sliced bread. Social media is hot, but let's be clear on what it's not. It's not going to make you rich over night. It's not going to make your phone ring off-the-hook. If you're still clinging to the hope that the MAGIC BULLET exists, just get over it. But what social media CAN do is bring you viable leads. It is excellent for building real traffic from a targeted audience. It is also an great brand-building and customer relations communication channel. For these reasons, it is foolish to neglect the social media opportunity. But in the end, it is a part of your overall marketing picture.
- Tracking is critical and difficult. Many great marketing programs have been killed because the cost SEEMED too high compared to the return, when the real problem was measurement. Yes, a successful marketing campaign will be one you can measure and study. When you engage a white label social media outsourcer, they will have the measurement strategy already built. They will know just what to do to hook up your analytics, social monitoring and analytic scorecards. While these tasks may seem secondary to the task of social media marketing, without them you will not stay with it in the end - which may very well be the wrong decision for your business.
- Your return on investment is long-term. You are less likely to quit your social media efforts if you have white labeled them from an outsourced team. Simply put, make a long-term commitment through outsourcing as a method to keep you from faltering. And falter you will! Short attention spans and lack of follow-through are universal truths, especially in the A.D.D.-driven world of Internet Marketing. Set yourself up for success by engaging a team for the long-term. In your weak moments when you question the success of your social media marketing, you will be less likely to drop the efforts - which WILL bring you a return in the long-run.
While the exact, direct, impact social media activity has on search engine rankings is still being hotly debated, there is no doubt that social media marketing is good for business. This is why it is a great addition to a well rounded marketing strategy. Social media helps build a targeted audience, manages customer relations issues and is critical for maintaining a positive reputation online. And in the end, social media can bring traffic and leads to a business. But all of this requires the steady hand of consistent execution and a long-term horizon. While it is certainly possible to do this all yourself, the odds are much greater if you use a white label seo program and white label social media offering for your fulfillment.