The popularity of Social Media as a marketing tool, rose in the last decade as more and more companies realized its true potential and began using it to their advantage. Is SMM really that important?
If you are asking that question, then thank goodness you are reading this blog post.
Yes. SMM is about connecting directly with the consumer. If you ignore SMM you do so at the peril and demise of your business.
‘Social media marketing has reduced costs for 45% of Businesses.’
How do you take your social media marketing campaigns from a customer service and branding tool, and turn them in to lead generating machines? Think of lead generation as gathering intelligence on your customers. You’re getting to know:
- What your target audience is interested in
- Which products you could potentially sell to them
- What their pain points are
- How you can eventually turn them in to paying customers
Social Media Strategies for Lead Generation
- Consider numerous channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc.
- Each channel should have a long-term strategy implemented.
- Make sure you conduct pertinent research, which includes keywords and information about your demographics.
- Ensure content is focused and highlights your company’s proficiency.
- Create a community by engaging with social media followers.
- Cross-promote your social media channels with one another.
- Monitor social media results.
- Further understand and improve your SEO.
ROI and Social Media: Monitoring Value
“Everything that can be counted doesn’t count and everything that counts cannot be counted’- Albert Einstein
Interacting on social media can be fun. However in business, the goal is not to maximize fun, executives want to know the qualitative and quantitative data that drives ROI or the results of interacting with customers and potential customers in new forums.
Data is everywhere. We can measure just about anything; however all measurement is not necessarily meaningful. Furthermore everything that may appear to correlate may not necessarily be a direct relationship.
Myths uncovered about Social media leads!
Key Drivers
social media lead generation statistics
Perform an audit to help shape your content strategy. An Organization may measure the number of Likes, followers and fans; however, these are not necessarily key drivers of the Business’s bottom line, online or off-line. Unless there is an established direct correlation, these counts should not be used as factors for decision- making. What drives the bottom line then?
Are your followers and fans engaged with your Brand?
Are you experiencing increased Brand loyalty and increased revenue?
What percentage of new fans and followers became life time customers?
Key Metrics
Instead of knowing general information, for example, there were 10,000 site visitors last month, management can determine how many visitors are new customers, how this compares to prior periods. For SMM this metric plays a critical role in measuring the effectiveness of an Organization’s efforts to reach their target audience whether it is via content creation, a loyalty program, an ad campaign etc.
Bounce Rate and Average Time
Tracking the average time spent on a site and the percentage of individuals that bounced, then comparing the results against prior periods provides insight in to whether or not efforts are well targeted.
In 2015, Social Media Examiner Poll that conducted revealed 91 % of respondents said that SMM- worked on for at least 6 hours per week- increased exposure for their Business.
Social Media ROI is not like Traditional marketing. For a variety of reasons, you may not always want to focus solely on monetary return within a fixed period. Consider metrics such as Brand awareness, traffic driven to your website via social media, strengthening loyalty and engagement with existing customers. These can all be valuable in the long run.
The stronger someone acquaints with your Brand on Social Media, the more likely they will remember you and pass the positive word on to their friends and family. Be consistent; present real and genuine in all of your communication if you want to foster genuine interaction with customer on a slow and steady path to create loyalty sales and brand advocates for life.
