Why should I bother with social media? Isn’t it just a fad? What’s so important about engaging with my clients online and establishing personal connections anyway?
Many people ask these types of questions as they doubt the impact and power online engagement has when marketing to your target audience. Often dismissed as frivolous and a waste of time compared to traditional advertising methods, many businesses have yet to embrace the power of this relatively new medium.
Truth is, engaging with your fan base and establishing a personal connection leads to a significant boost in your sales. Don’t just take my personal experience and word for it, the study from Bain & Company discussed in this article, found that
“customers who engage with companies over social media spend 20% to 40% more money with those companies than other customers.”
Not only that, but these same social media engaging customers in the study also granted these companies an average 33% higher measure of customer loyalty, meaning they not only bought once but they have or plan to return. Those types of statistics don’t sound like a waste of time to me.
So, why do so many companies not see returns from investing in social media? Perhaps the problem not lay with social media, but with the strategy.
Consider these questions:
*Have you coordinated your social media engagement strategy with your business message? If your posts are all over the place your target market may have confusion on what action you want them to take. Make sure your message remains clear and consistent throughout your outreach.
*Do you use the majority of your social media posts for promotion? Follow the 80/20 rule instead, where you only spend 20% of your posts on advertisement and the other 80% on personal enrichment and sharing with your fan base.
*Are you asking open questions and providing your audience with opportunities to give their opinions? Don’t make it a one-way conversation. Give your clients a voice and a belief that you care about them and that their input matters in your decision-making.
*Does the language of your posts and comments sound robotic or “spammy”? You want to make personal connections with your audience, so add some personality. Engage as if you were an extension of your brand message.
*Do you review your analytics to see which messages and styles of posts most resonate with your followers? Tailor what you have to say in a way your would-be listeners want to hear.
*Have you dedicated yourself and your resources fully to the strategy? A minimum effort will not bring you maximum results. Go beyond just the investment of money. Invest your time in an effective, strategic manner and you will see returns on your endeavor.