In a world where no one can keep their hands off their phones for more than a few dozen times a day, social media marketing is non-negotiable: even the best brand can suddenly find itself stepping in its hashtag. Our team of experts at Frame Makerzzz has seen both sides of this digital coin—brands that have soared to viral stardom and others that have, well, tripped over their own hashtags.

Here goes: the good, the bad, and the ugly of social media marketing. We’ll also throw in some real-world examples of when social media worked its charm – and when it made brands wish the internet came with an ‘undo’ button. 

Advantages: 

1.Unmatched Brand Awareness: 

If you want to be seen, is there any better place than on social media where more than half of the world’s population is scrolling through Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook? With 4.8 billion active social media users in 2024, social media has become a powerhouse for your brand visibility.

Take Coca-Cola, for instance. When they swapped out their logo for popular names in their #ShareACoke campaign, the world couldn’t help but share their personalised bottles on social media. More than 500,000 photos flooded the social networks from appreciative fanboys, and Coca-Cola added 25 million new Facebook followers. Now that’s a success story to uncork a bottle over. 

2.Customer Engagement That’s Instant: 

With social media, it’s no longer about hoping that a disgruntled customer will call you on the phone to air his grievances. Now, customers can Tweet or post a complaint on your Facebook page the moment they encounter an issue. This means that brands can quickly deal with customer problems, build relationships with consumers, and even add it to their interactions. Did you know that 71% of consumers who have a good experience with a brand on social media are likely to tell others about it?

Ever want to talk to your favourite brand? Social media allows you to do just that – just ask Wendy’s. Their Twitter clap backs are legendary. It started when one fan asked: ‘How many retweets for a year of free chicken nuggets?’ Wendy’s responded: ‘18 million.’ Even though they missed that lofty number, the Tweet still went viral, gaining 3.6 million retweets—making it one of the most-tweeted tweets in history. But as this example shows, smart social media banter doesn’t just earn a few hearty chuckles – it earns serious buzz. 

3.Cost-Effective Marketing: 

It is a no-brainier; social media marketing is much cheaper than traditional advertising. According to a Statista projection, global ad spending on social media is forecast to increase to $268.70 billion in 2024. This means that even the smallest of brands will likely flourish with the right campaigns.

Airbnb did this perfectly with their We Are Here Instagram Stories campaign, which spent a fraction of the cost of traditional adverts and still saw 13 million engagements in two weeks. Small spend, big effect – it’s like the marketing equivalent of taking a carry-on case and still having everything you need for the trip. 

4.Laser-Focused Targeting: 

Social media ads can help increase brand visibility by 1.7 times when targeted right! One of the key benefits of social media is the ability to target demographics narrowly. You can create ads for the users based on their interests, behaviour, age, location, and many other things so that your marketing efforts reach the right audience.

For instance, Spotify tapped into this with its annual Wrapped campaign, where they pulled from listener data and created customised user stories that led to more than 1.2 billion streams being shared. They didn’t just nail it, they wrote a whole symphony of user engagement. 

5.Boosts SEO and Website Traffic: 

Social media marketing is helpful to improve your SEO activities since it attracts more people to your site, hence helping you to improve your ranking in your search engine. Recent studies reveal that traffic generated by social media can augment a brand’s organic search traffic by 15%. 

L’Oréal’s #WorthSaying campaign during the Golden Globes urged women to share stories of empowerment. The campaign resulted in a significant boost in website traffic, positively impacting their SEO rankings.

Also Read: – Top 10 Influencer Marketing Agencies in Mumbai

Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing: 

On the flip side, for every viral win, there’s a train wreck in the making. Here are some of the potholes on the road to social media glory: 

1.Time-Consuming: 

Yes, you might think social media campaigns are fun – until you start churning out content to keep up with that metaphorical treadmill. With 63% of marketers reporting that social media takes up the most time in the day. It’s all fun and games until you’re running out of memes. 

Bonus tip: Use social media automation tools such as Hoot suite or Buffer to post automatically to save you precious hours, and keep your material consistent without constant oversight. 

2.Public Backlash and Negative Feedback: 

Social media puts you in direct contact with your audience, but it also means that your mistakes are broadcast for all to see. 47% of consumers now use social media to air their anger about brands. Speed and authenticity of response are vital if things are to be quickly diffused.

Pepsi’s notorious ad starring Kendall Jenner, showed the supermodel walking out into the street to join a protest that she diffuses by offering a can of Pepsi to a police officer, was roundly panned for its tone-deaf appropriation of social justice movements. By the next day, Pepsi pulled the ad, citing its ‘inappropriate’ portrayal of the Black Lives Matter movement, and it was later reported that the brand suffered a series of setbacks in its consumer-perception rankings. 

3.Inconsistency Can Hurt: 

Maintaining a consistent presence and message is crucial in social media marketing. Inconsistent messaging or tone can confuse audiences and damage brand loyalty and trust.

Take the example of Snapchat’s 2018 Would You Rather? ad, which asked users whether they’d prefer to “slap Rihanna” or “punch Chris Brown.” This tasteless reference to Rihanna and Chris Brown’s domestic violence case. The backlash was swift, with Rihanna publicly criticising Snapchat, leading to a loss of $800 million in stock value. It was a harsh reminder that inconsistent content can quickly tarnish a brand’s reputation.

4.Frequent Algorithm Changes: 

Because social media apps like Instagram are constantly changing their algorithms, it has been difficult to keep that momentum and stay consistently relevant for brands. Instagram recently changed its algorithm to show more video content (Reels) than image posts.

The change particularly affected brands such as National Geographic which had relied on their stunning imagery for years to keep their audience engaged, knocking them back a peg with its wildly shifting algorithm. It’s a reminder that social media’s whims can alter so quickly. 

5.Risk of Low ROI: 

Nearly 28% of businesses report that social media marketing has failed to meet their ROI expectations. There are times when, despite our best efforts, social media campaigns just don’t live up to the investment. 

When Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast in 2012, GAP urged people to stay safe and shop online. The campaign was widely criticized for being tone-deaf in the midst of a natural disaster, leading to GAP receiving some negative publicity and poor ROI. It was a lesson that social media requires careful timing and sensitivity, especially in crises. 

Is Social Media Marketing Worth the Gamble? 

In the end, social media marketing is like finding your way through a fun house of mirrors. There are moments of brilliance when everything reflects perfectly, and there are times when things get distorted. 

At Frame Makerzzz, we know the ropes of the unpredictable landscape of Social Media Marketing. Whether you aim to create a viral campaign or avoid a social media meltdown, we’ve got you covered. 

Let’s chat—because when it comes to social media, you want the pros in your corner!