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Social media vs. PPC - thoughts?

by ShayB
16 replies
I ran across an experiment done by Marketing Experiments Journal and it was very interesting.

It studied the effectiveness of a PPC campaign vs. a social media campaign over the time period of one year.

In a nutshell, here are the results:
  • The social media approach cost $3600 (the salary of a worker at $10 an hour). This investment brought 93,207 visitors at a cost of $.04 per visitor.
  • The PPC campaign cost $1250 and drew 2057 visitors - cost of $.61 per visitor.
  • The social media campaign gave a 1,578% better return on investment than PPC.
  • The PPC campaign was faster, because the employee had to spend time becoming a part of the social media community before promoting the company - but the social media campaign was more successful over the long haul.
I really don't want to make this a Twitter thread. I would love, however, to hear what you think of this experiment.

Also, how do you feel about hiring someone to do your social marketing for you? Great way to outsource, or not a good idea?

Just wanting some thoughts....
#media #ppc #social #thoughts
  • Profile picture of the author EndGame
    I would be interested to know what they invested in?

    Are you saying they outsourced work to some one who raised the company profile in the social media by contributing in the various online communities out there?
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    • Profile picture of the author ShayB
      Originally Posted by EndGame View Post

      I would be interested to know what they invested in?

      Are you saying they outsourced work to some one who raised the company profile in the social media by contributing in the various online communities out there?
      That is what I gathered from what I read. They paid someone (an employee) to become a member of the online communities and to promote the website/company.
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      "Fate protects fools, little children, and ships called Enterprise." ~Commander Riker
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  • Profile picture of the author FrankRumbauskas
    I'd be curious to know the qualifications of the person running the PPC campaign as that's a HUGE factor in determining it's success!

    I do basically everything to get traffic and yet PPC still accounts for 95% of my sales. This has more to do with the fact that I've been using PPC for nearly 6 years and have it mastered than whether one method is better than another.

    Note I said sales and not traffic - I'm consistently in the top 5 in Google for my #1 search phrase, but that organic traffic doesn't convert

    Interestingly, the only traffic that converts anywhere near as well as my PPC traffic is YouTube traffic.
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    • Profile picture of the author ShayB
      Originally Posted by FrankRumbauskas View Post

      I'd be curious to know the qualifications of the person running the PPC campaign as that's a HUGE factor in determining it's success!

      I do basically everything to get traffic and yet PPC still accounts for 95% of my sales. This has more to do with the fact that I've been using PPC for nearly 6 years and have it mastered than whether one method is better than another.

      Note I said sales and not traffic - I'm consistently in the top 5 in Google for my #1 search phrase, but that organic traffic doesn't convert

      Interestingly, the only traffic that converts anywhere near as well as my PPC traffic is YouTube traffic.
      I really don't know all of the details. I just found an overview of the experiment.

      I do find it interesting that your YouTube traffic converts so well. Why do you think that is?
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    • Profile picture of the author James Schramko
      Originally Posted by FrankRumbauskas View Post

      I'm consistently in the top 5 in Google for my #1 search phrase, but that organic traffic doesn't convert
      I've done a lot of testing with Title Tags and meta descriptions and the Title Tag can increase Conversions dramatically if you put certain calls to action in it.
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    • Profile picture of the author thomasukm
      Originally Posted by FrankRumbauskas View Post


      Interestingly, the only traffic that converts anywhere near as well as my PPC traffic is YouTube traffic.
      Hi Frank, it's interesting to note that Youtube traffic do convert as well as PPC traffic, that's really an interesting point which i believe you have derived from your own testing results.

      Thomas
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  • Profile picture of the author onlinemlmrockstar
    I'm interested in social media as a means to helping newbies start in online marketing on a low budget.

    If they are willing to be social, and active then social media is definiatly the way to go in my eyes.

    It also helps to brand oneself in prospects minds that helps convert further down the funnel.

    PPC can get expensive when everyone moves in that area.

    Outsourcing can save time but can end up being costly and you don't learn the skills.

    That is just my thoughts on this subject.

    Christopher Reid
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  • Profile picture of the author jrsencio
    Interesting... I actually don't do a lot of PPC nowadays, but mostly do it to test markets and get baseline data that help me put together my social strategy.
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  • Profile picture of the author thatgirlJ
    I really think this is a flawed study (from what I can gather from the description). There are too many other factors. When I was doing psych experiments in college, we always used a sample size of at least 30 (of whatever we were studying)...

    This would be interesting to see in more niches, and with many different marketers.

    I would also like to know what the ROI was in terms of sales rather than visitors. Many people have reported that their PPC visitors are more likely to make a purchase.

    Interesting stuff!
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    • Profile picture of the author ShayB
      Okay, I think I found the study used. Not sure, because a few of the figures are different.

      Here is the link - not an affiliate link.

      I am going to read through it and then post my thoughts. Would love any comments or insight.
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      • Profile picture of the author ShayB
        One thing I noticed - they talk about traffic, but I don't see any sales. Traffic is fine, but sales matter more. :confused:
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Douglas
    I think the results really depend on the product and the competition doing PPC vs Social Media. You can't take those results as the bible for all products.

    I do both PPC and social media, but I outsource the social media to a VA at $4.40 an hour while doing the PPC myself. Again, the profitablitiy really depends on the product from my experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author James Schramko
    The study has no statistical significance.

    Product?
    Conversions?
    Sales?
    Skill level?

    The most sales come from doing multiple traffic methods.
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    • Profile picture of the author ShayB
      Originally Posted by James Schramko View Post

      The study has no statistical significance.

      Product?
      Conversions?
      Sales?
      Skill level?

      The most sales come from doing multiple traffic methods.
      Yes, I agree. After looking at the study, they only mentioned traffic, nothing else.

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      • Profile picture of the author James Schramko
        Originally Posted by ShayRockhold View Post

        Yes, I agree. After looking at the study, they only mentioned traffic, nothing else.
        I am convinced now that Traffic is not a good measure of Profit.

        Having tested as many traffic sources as I can I am pretty certain that a qualified PPC expert will trounce social media for profit because it is specific, targeted, measurable and most importantly - search PPC actively connects with people who are Looking for you! Social is less direct, takes longer and is less efficient.

        I do both because each traffic source is a pillar of income.
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