Social media has taken off in popularity over the past few years and it’s no surprise that business owners are all looking for their own way to profit from the use of it. If “everyone’s on social media” then of course brands want to be there as well. The problem lies in the fact that most social media experts don’t know the first thing about marketing. They may know how to build followers and fans or engage an audience but they don’t know how to turn that into sales leads, improving customer retention or growing the business.
Here are some things most so-called experts won’t tell you.
There is no real way of directly measuring social media ROI. In terms of ROI for a business, you really want to look for three things: sales, lead generation and customer retention. Social media is great for list-building and these methods are trackable. You could measure your leads and signups as well as which of those leads actually end up in sales and/or become repeat customers. Holding your social media accountable based on ROI can be tricky or even impossible without the correct methods of tracking. It is preferred you measure your social media efforts based on goals and objectives. Goals are quantifiable. Social media is not for every business.
That’s right; I said it. Not every business needs social media. Is there room in social media for every business? Absolutely! Could you benefit from effective social media? Yes. But this still doesn’t mean it’s a requirement for every business or brand. You don’t need to be on every network. In fact, it’s probably best that you are NOT on every social network because you won’t be able to focus your efforts if you’re spread too thin. 10 Steps to Get Your First 100 TikTok Followers are provided to the business people. The putting of the best efforts at the platform is possible for the people. The gaining of the best results is possible with the following of the steps. The social network is wide to offer the benefits to the people at the social media platform.
Followers/fans of your competitors don’t matter. Really, stop comparing yourself to your competitors and focus on you. Also, the number of fans and followers is not a direct correlation to how well social media is converting for a brand so those numbers mean next to nothing.You must have a goal. You cannot go into social media haphazardly and expect to reach any success with it. Far too often businesses put up a page and expect masses to flock to it, eager to buy their goods or services. Then when this doesn’t happen, they proclaim social media a failure and they quit.
The real truth is that like any other marketing method, social media takes work and planning. It’s not a magical fix and it should not be the only marketing you are using. Instead, it should complement other marketing efforts.
It’s important to remember that social media marketing is not one size fits all. A qualified social media expert will analyze your business and your goals and help you create the proper plan for your specific needs, rather than trying to sell you on some cookie-cutter package.
Some social media professionals don’t want to tell you these things. Sometimes it’s because they don’t really understand it themselves. Other times they may want to manipulate the situation to make a sale or close a deal. Whatever the reasons, it’s important that you are informed about how social media works and how it can help your business or brand in marketing.
