28 Mar Brand Website Traffic Down by a Quarter: Still Need Convincing About Social Media?
Two things happened to me last week that have given me further belief were it needed (it wasn’t, by the way) that social communications is the way forward for marketers. First, I read a fascinating study by Webtrends which revealed that 68% of the websites of the Fortune 100 companies are experiencing a significant decline in traffic. And second, I carried out an experiment in a client seminar that turned sceptics into believers.
At a time when the web has come to dominate the world we live in, the figures revealed by Webtrends are nothing short of astounding: some companies’ web traffic is down by over 70% in 12 months, while the average decline is 24%! And yet, I’m really not surprised. I’ve been preaching the fact that websites as we know them are declining to clients for several months now, with reactions typically varying from blank stares to outright incredulity. So it’s a bit of a relief to finally have some evidence to back this up to be honest, for my own sanity if nothing else.
The simple fact is that social media is changing the entire way the web operates. Going back a few years, if you wanted to know something about a product or service prior to making a purchase you’d read a few ads and articles, and you’d visit a couple of company/product websites. That was pretty much it. But now you’re more likely to ask your Facebook friends, your Twitter followers or your LinkedIn connections what they recommend as you are to take notice of ads or articles. Then you’ll Google for further opinions of your shortlist, which will inevitably take you to blogs, forums and review sites – more social collateral. And at no point do you end up at a brand website.
So if we’re not visiting brand websites, where are we spending our time online? It will come as no surprise to most people reading this that it’s on social media. And if that’s where people are, that’s where we need to market. Common sense, right? So why is there still so much reluctance to do so? My own belief is that it’s not been clearly spelled out and, that doing so, goes a long way as a convincer.
I decided to take a gamble and test this theory live in front of a room full of people at a seminar I was speaking at last week. It was during a seminar about the value of social communications to an audience comprised mostly of sceptics (tough crowd, huh?). Before I started, I asked each of them to imagine they wanted to find out about a product or service, and to write down their actions in order: would they a) read direct mail, b) ask their friends, c) read a magazine article, d) Google it, or e) watch/read TV/magazine ads. The responses were collated while I spoke and, at the very end, I returned to the question, making a Derren Brown style prediction on the big screen behind me that the group consensus would be d), b), c), e), a).
To my relief, the prediction was spot on. And when I explained that if they themselves Google for information and/or ask for recommendations, and that social media creates relationships, connects people and affects search engine rankings, I could see lightbulbs turning on behind the eyes of some of the most staunch cynics. It was a beautiful moment.
Let’s be clear about this – I’m NOT saying that social communications is a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s clearly not and must be viewed within the wider context of strategic marketing and the business as a whole. But if website traffic is declining, people are gravitating towards the social web and online behaviour is evolving, what more evidence do you need to start taking social media seriously?
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