Leveraging Social Media for Business Success
When you consider the business side of social media, a lot of emphasis still falls on the traditional model of trying to get advertisements in front of viewers. How many users will see your ads? What are the click-through rates? What are the conversion rates? These are important questions to ask, and online advertising is a powerful tool. But it is also critical to remember that social media goes far beyond that and gives you an unprecedented range of tools to use and ways to engage with people. You need to understand how best to apply these tools based on your industry, brand and potential audience.
Transparent Market Feedback
For instance, using polls on platforms like Facebook and Twitter allows you to get transparent market feedback. People who respond aren’t paid for their opinions. They’re not getting anything out of it. They have no agenda. You get real-world feedback from people who actually use your products.
You also get feedback from people who see your ads, find themselves interested in your products or interact with your brand. These may not be people who have directly used your products. In that sense, they are the exact market segment you’re trying to reach. What is working? What isn’t? These critical questions have always plagued advertisers because it’s harder to get feedback from people who do not end up making a purchase, even though that’s perhaps the most valuable feedback you can get. Why didn’t they buy? How can you change that? With social media, you have a chance to find out.
Audience and Profiles
Social media also gathers an incredible amount of information about users and provides a glimpse into their preferences, desires, social groups, financial statuses and much more. In order to advertise effectively and really reach your intended audience, you must know exactly what that audience looks like. While past advertising efforts focused on a broad audience — looking at what age group may watch a certain TV program at a certain time of day, for example — social media gives you a chance to hone your efforts a bit more carefully. This type of targeted marketing may have a smaller overall reach, but it may also have a vastly higher conversion rate because everyone who sees the ad or online interaction is predisposed to making a purchase of that particular product.
A Sense of Connection
Social media has always been about connection. Facebook started as a connection among college students, for instance. Now it builds connections among friends, family members and co-workers, as well. For your brand, it is a way to actually connect directly with a specific consumer. One online interaction in which the buyer feels noticed and appreciated by the brand can be enough to create a repeat customer for life. It breaks down the walls and the perceived distance of the past. It allows people to feel like the company actually cares about them and their opinions. Do not underestimate how strong this sense of connection can be and how much brand loyalty it can create.
Your Campaign
At Content Customs, we have our finger on the pulse of social media. We can help you create online campaigns and run a profile that is effective and engaging. We give you the tools you need to leverage social media to its full potential in any industry.