NEWS

Social Media Bottlenecks: 54% of Professionals Experience Communication Breakdowns Between Businesses and Agencies

Published

4 years ago

April 24, 2020

There is no secret that working in the social media field is not a child’s play. The demanding clients, frequent algorithm changes and the daily struggle to keep engagement rates high can really place a high tool of even the most experienced social media manager.

This is especially true in uncertain times like these when all brands need to worry about crisis management. Most people working in social media agencies will have to face certain bottlenecks and overcome them as fast as possible if they want to succeed as social media specialists.

In order to pinpoint these social media bottlenecks that usually happen between businesses and agencies, the team at Socialinsider has conducted a thorough social media survey, with over 320 professionals pitching in.

This data can be used by agencies to automate key processes, discover the industry benchmarks and find innovative ways to better manage their resources and time.

Whether you are working in social media for an agency or you are employed by a corporation, the information presented below is detrimental to your success in 2020 and beyond.

The Challenges of Generating Sales

Probably one of the biggest challenges social media agencies face is to translate their social media efforts into actual sales and return on investment (ROI). The client’s focus will also be on sales and ROI.

On the other hand, the agency needs to take into account several factors.

This bottleneck is quite common nowadays, with over 35% social media managers who responded to the Socialinsider survey claiming that they have a hard time delivering on sales. While views and conversions may be instant, conversions take much longer. This usually happens because social media is a medium perfect for boosting brand awareness and interacting with the target audience, instead of conversion.

Granted, social media interactions should play a key part in the conversion funnel and are usually rewarded in a linear attribution model. However, companies have to understand that they should perceive social media campaigns as a long-term investment in their brand and not as immediate means of getting conversions.

During a crisis, time is of the essence. However, communication with customers is more important than ever, despite the fact that results might not be immediate.

In order to overcome this bottleneck, social media professionals have to make their clients understand that they need to consider potential leads as anyone who engages with their posts. For example, if certain users keep leaving comments or liking posts, the company should either contact them privately or simply create dedicated lead ads for them.

Of course, while providing tangible ROI can be quite a difficult task, professionals should create bespoke performance reports that are tied to the client’s KPIs and goals. Each goal should be personalized to the unique needs of the customers.

When customers understand their goals and can see an estimate of how the agency can achieve these goals, they become easier to manage and begin to realize how things work in the social media world.

Communication is a Big Problem

Over 54% of respondents to the study, which is more than half, struggle to make their clients understand the true value of their investment. Communication is a huge problem especially when it comes to setting a budget.

Bluntly speaking, social media managers have a hard time convincing their partners that they need to invest more money in social media if they want to expect good results.

If the results are lower than desired, it might mean that businesses have to invest more money, use advanced automation tools, create a strong business strategy, have in place a customer care plan, and also focus on audience and retargeting campaigns.

Additionally, another major issue is setting up a proper customer care strategy. Without it, most of their social media leads could go away, or go cold. To make it easier to convert, positive reviews online and promptly responding to prospects’ questions and queries can make a difference.

Businesses and Agencies Perceive Social Media Metrics Differently

Some metrics are more important than others. However, many clients fail to understand which metrics are truly important in social media. This is how the next bottleneck starts to reveal itself. There is a global misunderstanding that happens when businesses fail to grasp the importance of metrics that are valued by SMMs from the agency. This bottleneck is directly diet to the two bottlenecks presented above, such as communication and the need to generate sales.

For social media professionals, the most important social media metrics are engagement rate per post, followed by comments & likes per post. The third spot is total reach, while the fourth one fans or page growth. On the other hand, clients and businesses have a totally different opinion on the importance of goals.

First, they are impressed most by page growth or the number of fan growth, they by comments & likes, followed by engagement rate per post. The bottleneck that SMMs have to overcome at this point is clearly explaining to business owners that the average engagement rate per post is considered to be more important than the number of new fans or page growth.

social media metrics for clients — Social Media Metrics for Clients

A complete monthly social media report should include growth, average engagement and reach, together with information about the audience, clicks, number of comments and of course conversions. Side by side comparisons are mandatory, especially when these show constant growth in key areas.

Spending too Much Time on Monthly Reports

Over 51% of respondents to the study by Social Insider declared that they create monthly reports for their clients. However, over 55% said that they take around 4 hours to create a full report.

While the importance of monthly reports cannot be minimized, spending too much time is not a good practice. Far from it, it represents a bottleneck that affects a growing number of social media agencies.

time spent on reports — Spend Up to 4 Hours on Reporting

What’s even worse is that around 31% spend between 4 and 10 hours on the report, while 14% spend a whopping 16+ hours. This is a huge bottleneck that is affecting the performance of social media agencies and is taking a lot of precious time. The best way to overcome this bottleneck is to leverage the power of automation wherever you can: analytic tools, publishing tools, reporting tools. etc.

Investing Resources in the Right Platforms

Lastly, social media experts are facing an interesting bottleneck, by not knowing on which platform they should advertise their clients’ businesses. Normally, the client asks for recommendations from the agency when it comes to advertising mediums, so the agency needs to be prepared with a complete list.

You need to be able to identify the right social media platform that you want to use for each customer. To overcome this bottleneck, you need to start by understanding the pros and cons of each social media platform.

For instance, Twitter might work better for companies in the US & UK, so you should probably not use it for a Russia-based company. On the other hand, you should advertise Russian companies on VK and other local platforms.

For B2B sellers, LinkedIn and Quora work best, while B2C retailers can make the most out of paid ads by using Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

According to the survey, over 320 social media managers, specialists, and directors have chosen Instagram and Facebook as their main platforms, but the efforts and resources allocated for promotion on these two platforms are being reduced in 2020.

For instance, Instagram, a platform used by 71.5% as primary in 2019, has gone down to 68.6% in 2020. Obviously, due to numerous scandals and a lack of profitability, Facebook also decreased in the preferences from 66.4% in 2019 to under 49.6% in 2020.

While Facebook and Instagram are the only two losers on this equation, the other top social media platforms seem to be doing just great. LinkedIn grew in interest from 27% to 37.2%, YouTube from 14.6% to 30.7%, Pinterest from 8% to 18.2%, and even Twitter enjoyed a small growth from 17.5% to 22.6%. The big surprise comes from TikTok and Whatsapp, two new players that will grow from 4.4% to over 18%, respectively 2.2% to 10.9%.

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NEWS

OpenAI Introduces Fine-Tuning for GPT-4 and Enabling Customized AI Models

Published

3 weeks ago

August 21, 2024

Max

OpenAI Introduces Fine-Tuning for GPT-4 and Enabling Customized AI Models

OpenAI has today announced the release of fine-tuning capabilities for its flagship GPT-4 large language model, marking a significant milestone in the AI landscape. This new functionality empowers developers to create tailored versions of GPT-4 to suit specialized use cases, enhancing the model’s utility across various industries.

Fine-tuning has long been a desired feature for developers who require more control over AI behavior, and with this update, OpenAI delivers on that demand. The ability to fine-tune GPT-4 allows businesses and developers to refine the model’s responses to better align with specific requirements, whether for customer service, content generation, technical support, or other unique applications.

Why Fine-Tuning Matters

GPT-4 is a very flexible model that can handle many different tasks. However, some businesses and developers need more specialized AI that matches their specific language, style, and needs. Fine-tuning helps with this by letting them adjust GPT-4 using custom data. For example, companies can train a fine-tuned model to keep a consistent brand tone or focus on industry-specific language.

Fine-tuning also offers improvements in areas like response accuracy and context comprehension. For use cases where nuanced understanding or specialized knowledge is crucial, this can be a game-changer. Models can be taught to better grasp intricate details, improving their effectiveness in sectors such as legal analysis, medical advice, or technical writing.

Key Features of GPT-4 Fine-Tuning

The fine-tuning process leverages OpenAI’s established tools, but now it is optimized for GPT-4’s advanced architecture. Notable features include:

Enhanced Customization: Developers can precisely influence the model’s behavior and knowledge base.
Consistency in Output: Fine-tuned models can be made to maintain consistent formatting, tone, or responses, essential for professional applications.
Higher Efficiency: Compared to training models from scratch, fine-tuning GPT-4 allows organizations to deploy sophisticated AI with reduced time and computational cost.

Additionally, OpenAI has emphasized ease of use with this feature. The fine-tuning workflow is designed to be accessible even to teams with limited AI experience, reducing barriers to customization. For more advanced users, OpenAI provides granular control options to achieve highly specialized outputs.

Implications for the Future

The launch of fine-tuning capabilities for GPT-4 signals a broader shift toward more user-centric AI development. As businesses increasingly adopt AI, the demand for models that can cater to specific business needs, without compromising on performance, will continue to grow. OpenAI’s move positions GPT-4 as a flexible and adaptable tool that can be refined to deliver optimal value in any given scenario.

By offering fine-tuning, OpenAI not only enhances GPT-4’s appeal but also reinforces the model’s role as a leading AI solution across diverse sectors. From startups seeking to automate niche tasks to large enterprises looking to scale intelligent systems, GPT-4’s fine-tuning capability provides a powerful resource for driving innovation.

OpenAI announced that fine-tuning GPT-4o will cost $25 for every million tokens used during training. After the model is set up, it will cost $3.75 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens. To help developers get started, OpenAI is offering 1 million free training tokens per day for GPT-4o and 2 million free tokens per day for GPT-4o mini until September 23. This makes it easier for developers to try out the fine-tuning service.

As AI continues to evolve, OpenAI’s focus on customization and adaptability with GPT-4 represents a critical step in making advanced AI accessible, scalable, and more aligned with real-world applications. This new capability is expected to accelerate the adoption of AI across industries, creating a new wave of AI-driven solutions tailored to specific challenges and opportunities.

GOOGLE

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Published

2 months ago

June 30, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

This Week in Search News: Simple and Easy-to-Read Update

Here’s what happened in the world of Google and search engines this week:

1. Google’s June 2024 Spam Update

Google finished rolling out its June 2024 spam update over a period of seven days. This update aims to reduce spammy content in search results.

2. Changes to Google Search Interface

Google has removed the continuous scroll feature for search results. Instead, it’s back to the old system of pages.

3. New Features and Tests

Link Cards: Google is testing link cards at the top of AI-generated overviews.
Health Overviews: There are more AI-generated health overviews showing up in search results.
Local Panels: Google is testing AI overviews in local information panels.

4. Search Rankings and Quality

Improving Rankings: Google said it can improve its search ranking system but will only do so on a large scale.
Measuring Quality: Google’s Elizabeth Tucker shared how they measure search quality.

5. Advice for Content Creators

Brand Names in Reviews: Google advises not to avoid mentioning brand names in review content.
Fixing 404 Pages: Google explained when it’s important to fix 404 error pages.

6. New Search Features in Google Chrome

Google Chrome for mobile devices has added several new search features to enhance user experience.

7. New Tests and Features in Google Search

Credit Card Widget: Google is testing a new widget for credit card information in search results.
Sliding Search Results: When making a new search query, the results might slide to the right.

8. Bing’s New Feature

Bing is now using AI to write “People Also Ask” questions in search results.

9. Local Search Ranking Factors

Menu items and popular times might be factors that influence local search rankings on Google.

10. Google Ads Updates

Query Matching and Brand Controls: Google Ads updated its query matching and brand controls, and advertisers are happy with these changes.
Lead Credits: Google will automate lead credits for Local Service Ads. Google says this is a good change, but some advertisers are worried.
tROAS Insights Box: Google Ads is testing a new insights box for tROAS (Target Return on Ad Spend) in Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns.
WordPress Tag Code: There is a new conversion code for Google Ads on WordPress sites.

These updates highlight how Google and other search engines are continuously evolving to improve user experience and provide better advertising tools.

FACEBOOK

Facebook Faces Yet Another Outage: Platform Encounters Technical Issues Again

Published

6 months ago

March 20, 2024

Max

Uppdated: It seems that today’s issues with Facebook haven’t affected as many users as the last time. A smaller group of people appears to be impacted this time around, which is a relief compared to the larger incident before. Nevertheless, it’s still frustrating for those affected, and hopefully, the issues will be resolved soon by the Facebook team.

Facebook had another problem today (March 20, 2024). According to Downdetector, a website that shows when other websites are not working, many people had trouble using Facebook.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has had issues. Just a little while ago, there was another problem that stopped people from using the site. Today, when people tried to use Facebook, it didn’t work like it should. People couldn’t see their friends’ posts, and sometimes the website wouldn’t even load.

Downdetector, which watches out for problems on websites, showed that lots of people were having trouble with Facebook. People from all over the world said they couldn’t use the site, and they were not happy about it.

When websites like Facebook have problems, it affects a lot of people. It’s not just about not being able to see posts or chat with friends. It can also impact businesses that use Facebook to reach customers.

Since Facebook owns Messenger and Instagram, the problems with Facebook also meant that people had trouble using these apps. It made the situation even more frustrating for many users, who rely on these apps to stay connected with others.

During this recent problem, one thing is obvious: the internet is always changing, and even big websites like Facebook can have problems. While people wait for Facebook to fix the issue, it shows us how easily things online can go wrong. It’s a good reminder that we should have backup plans for staying connected online, just in case something like this happens again.