So, your brand is up on various social media sites, but you are still figuring out what kind of content is going to work best for you? The best way to deal with this question is to simply be SOCIAL! Do not push out too much or too little content. This will either lead to a clutter or will simply be ignored. It is necessary to strategically plan what content you want to put out, at what point of time and on which platform. This not just helps increase your brands visibility and likability but also provides an amazing boost to your sales.
Confused? Let’s make this simpler to understand. If you are on various social media channels sending out important messages and distributing content among your audience, there sure is a need to measure the matrix. By this, I mean it is important to keep an eye on how well is your content ball rolling. Making sure whether the messages you send out are reaching your target audience, what kind of reception is your content getting, are people talking about it and finally are you able to convince people in your favor through these channels.
Some interesting statistics have been reveled after a study conducted by Social Media Examiner. This has not just shown a higher surge in the use of social media by various companies but also resulted in higher ROI.
Gartner Research, Interesting Findings:
1. Facebook drives 26% of referral traffic to business websites and the number is constantly increasing.
2. 20% of online shoppers prefer shopping through brands Facebook page sites rather than a brand website.
3. Close to 10 million small businesses make sure to maintain Facebook presence.
4. 89% of agencies use social media channels to advertise for their business clients.
Some More Statistics:
1. 79% of Facebook fans on a brand page are more likely to make a purchase.
2. The same conversion happens only at a 41% when non fans are considered.
3. 74% of Facebook fans are considered more likely to recommend a brand compared to a 38% non fan base.
Sales through social commerce will reach a whooping $30 million by 2015 and 50% of these sales will happen through social media channels.
However, achieving the above statistics would only be possible if the brands make a positive effort.
Keep an eye on the Metrics:
Making sure that what content you push out through various channels is reaching the target audience, is getting enough attention and also resulting in conversions should be the main target. This could be easier if you walk the path backwards, i.e. setting the goal in mind and designing the strategy to achieve the same. This contemplation of metrics should also include thoughtful allocation of funds to various social media broadcasts and promotions, keeping in mind where your target group is and how they want to view your content.
An Example: A case study from CISCO displays how social media saved them a huge amount of money, precisely $100,000, during a product launch. Use of social media to announce their latest product not just helped them reach a larger audience and get immediate feedback as well, but it also saved them the cost of inviting eminent personalities, reserving a space and making the arrangements for the launch, putting ads and announcements across various platforms such as newspapers, news channels, business magazines and more. This helped them save money, physical effort and most importantly time.
Integrate your Dashboard:
Be sure to make use of an interactive dashboard which helps keep track of even the minute changes that are constantly happening to your metrics. Whether it is a mention on a social media page or a view of your page made by someone sitting across the globe, when you have your dashboard in place, this task can get easier. Keeping track of such activities can help you find your fans and prospects easier than you think. This allows in more targeted marketing and reduces wastage in terms of money as well as efforts.
An example: An easy to manage and understand dashboard not just helps in keeping an eye on all details with ease but also makes communicating easier. This keeps the gap between complaints and replies minimum, hence providing better satisfaction to customers. The Simplify360 dashboard does this exactly the way you like it.
Make Your Audience Feel at Home:
Don’t make your conversations one directional, this will only lead to information overload and bore your audience. Increasing interactive conversations on the page helps keep your audience entertained and also increases their loyalty towards you, considering increased transparency and hence higher faith in the brand. People like to be made felt special and given attention, do so. A dedicated team which constantly interacts with the people on your page will only lead to increased conversions.
An Example: Seamless keeps the conversation going with people through simple questions answer sessions or by posting interesting images which instigate conversations. This helps in keeping the audience tied to the page. They talk good about your brand, what else do you want!
Keep your cool!
However, this also means one should not get carried away by changing opinions and increased interactions. Meaning, you should stick to your metrics and plans. You sure can tweak your communication methods, however on a bigger scale stick to the plan. It is important to understand that all plans need ample amount of time and patience to provide results.
An example: Your audience is diverse, and so are their views. They might get hyper and angry, but you need to keep your tone low and humble. They are your prospects and future customers as well, so dealing with the situation patiently and with kind words makes the best way out. JetBlue does it nicely.
So, here’s to saving a lot of money!