The inability of management to properly understand the characteristics of social media, including YouTube, is a major factor hindering the development of a comprehensive Internet strategy. Then, what kind of criteria should SME managers evaluate and work on social media that appear one after another? We will compare three representative social media, YouTube, blog, and Facebook from the following three perspectives.

(1) Reflection on Google search results

(2) The spread of the number of users

(3) User stay time

 It can be said that the strategy that SMEs should take is to compare social media from these three points of view and to explore how to make use of its characteristics.

(1) Reflection on Google search results with YouTube, Facebook, and blogs, there are some differences in reflecting Google search.

　Simply put, while YouTube and blogs evaluate the keywords used for posting time and article titles on Google search, Facebook posts information by logging in only by users who have acquired an account. Due to the nature of the media being browsed, in particular, the “personal wall” where users are eagerly disseminating information is not reflected in Google search. The effect of Google search on Facebook is limited to the title of the Facebook page and the text on the event announcement page.

　First of all, is the information that you are sending on social media is “the information that you want to reflect in Google search” or “the information that is sent  to others even if it is not reflected in Google search.” It is necessary to properly distinguish and post. Working blindly without understanding the nature of social media, such as “I want to do Facebook because everyone around me is doing”, or ” I have to do new social media, such as Instagram. ” Things lead to wasted time. If you put on YouTube or a blog and the title of the posted video or article itself is reflected in Google search, it is necessary to select and set appropriate keywords for the title as well as the content. YouTube, blog titles need a strategy.

(2) The spread of the number of users

　No matter how good the characteristics of social media, if there is no concentration of users in the first place, it will not be effective. You also need to be aware of what kind of market deficit social media is or is perceived by the market. According to the “2013 Information Communication White Paper” announced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Internet users in Japan are 96.52 million, and 80% of the whole population will use the Internet, excluding infants and old people It can be said that most people use the Internet. Among them, it can be said that YouTube is used by about 40 million people a month. On the other hand, Facebook has 24 million users and 27 million blogs. However, for blogs, it is the total number of blog creators, and when it comes to “blog market” including blog readers, it may be a bit more.

　However, the figure shows that YouTube boasts an overwhelming number of users. Although there are not many video contributors overall, many internet users devote most of their Internet connection time to watching YouTube, and YouTube will continue to gain citizenship in the country as well. It will be. Also, there is no difference that Facebook and blogs are media with a large number of users, and in particular, Facebook is not evaluated on Google search, but it seems to be a medium that exerts great power as a place of information diffusion.

3) User stay time  

 Facebook’s average stay is 208 minutes a month. On the other hand, YouTube has a survey of 340 minutes and a blog of 62 minutes. Depending on the time of measurement and conditions of the survey, I think that there will be differences, but access is generally via social media, and from that, there will be a minimum of about one minute of the stay. With blogs that are text- and image-oriented, there is no time to stay there. Also, YouTube tends to increase its stay time by displaying and playing related videos. In the future, not only video viewers but also more posters will be added, video content will be enriched, and other functions will be expanded. As a result, it is expected that YouTube’s stay time will further increase. SMEs should make use of the features of their social media, work on each other, eventually expand their exposure on the Internet, and work on mutual strategies that lead to the acquisition of responses.

First, consider the difference between social media marketing and mass marketing and online advertising. If social media marketing is compared to rice cultivation, it is suitable for “growing” and “rice planting”. In other words, mass marketing and online advertising are good for “harvest”. In other words, mass marketing and net advertising “make today’s sales”, and social media marketing is “make tomorrow’s sales”.

The important thing is to understand the difference in roles. If you do something like mass marketing, it will fail on social media. You should not be confused because the measures, methods, and tools are different. Each one is different. That is why it is important to be aware that each role is shared.

Social media is the place where consumers are the leading role.

So how do artists, record companies, etc. in their social media do marketing? First of all, “one-way information transmission” is NG. It appears prominently even if it sends out content information one by one. What you don’t like in the real world is hated in social media as well. And that is the same not only for artists and record companies, but also for users. Just as there is a law in the real world, a law also exists in social media. You may not understand this sense, but it is also the difference between “I know” and “I use” mentioned at the beginning. (Even if you use it, you may be distributing information with mass media idea).

The key to marketing with social media is to take a closer look at the consumer, to get close and engage with them. In other words, it can be considered as a good place to use as a place to create long-term relationships and engagement with users. Social media marketing tends to look at sales and awareness in the short term, but in fact it is important in social media marketing to create the trust that is nurtured and nurtured over time.

As social media marketing is a consumer-oriented place, it will require more different communication than traditional mass-marketing approaches.

By the way, social media is a place to deepen engagement with consumers, but social media is a place to deepen engagement with consumers, but when trying to carry out something promotion or information using that social media What we expect is the propagation of word of mouth. But this word of mouth is not really one.