Setting Social's Holiday Expectations
It happens every year. Black Friday passes by and the headline 'Social Media Doesn't Drive Sales' gains traction across the industry, but I'm not here to argue with this finding. It's true.
Read MoreIt happens every year. Black Friday passes by and the headline 'Social Media Doesn't Drive Sales' gains traction across the industry, but I'm not here to argue with this finding. It's true.
Read More“About 61% of small businesses don't see any return on investment on their social-media activities… Yet, almost 50% say they've increased their time spent on social media, and only 7% have decreased their time.”
A recent article from USA Today pointed out that many small businesses aren’t seeing the value in their social media marketing efforts, although most have increased or maintained the time they spend with social media. The most cited goals were to acquire and engage new customers, gain leads and referrals and boost awareness.
Social media’s been referred to as a made-for-small-business channel with its ability to establish and maintain relationships with passionate customers, something small businesses have in spades compared to large corporations.
So what’s missing? Where’s the gap? I’d argue that there’s a misunderstanding of what social media marketing involves and what it’s good at because for every small business out there that feels social media’s been a failure, there’s another using it successfully. Maybe we need to reset our expectations.
Read MoreThere’s been a lot of talk around social media ROI and proving success in the social space. This post isn’t about that, though. It’s about making the most out of your investment.
Engaging in the social space is a big investment of time, money and personnel resources. Much of that work goes toward gaining an audience of Facebook Likers, Twitter followers, YouTube subscribers, blog readers and so on. But instead of spinning your wheels to keep them engaged and interacting, how do you make that investment work for your brand?
Push the Button
With all of that investment in growing that following, it only makes sense to activate those who have already raised their hands to say they like your brand and what you’re all about. An eMarketer chart reveals that 55% of influencers like to be one of the first to know about a new product, and 56% of influencers find it fun to convince others to try new products. Not only do they like your brand, they probably like telling others about it.
Your followers (not just Twitter but anyone who follows your social activity) are your consumer ambassadors. Many probably share their passion for your brand without any prompting, but sometimes, you have to push the button, give permission and mobilize your followers to spread the word.
Give Permission and Mobilize
Alright, so it’s one thing to know the importance of pushing the button. It’s another thing to do it. There are several ways, but it ultimately comes down to making sharing easy.