Is My Social Media Marketing Working?

Most businesses get into social media marketing expecting to see a big return on their investment. The expectation is that new customers will come in by the hundreds, and that the revenue generation will be huge! However, this is rarely the case. It takes time to build momentum with social media, and the benefits aren’t always as obvious as you would like.

Here are 10 reasons why it may be working better than you think…

1. Branding – One of the best ways to use social media is as a branding tool. With social media, you get to decide how you want to position your company and what you want people to know about what you do. With consistency, frequency, and great content, you can build a reputation for your brand around your company’s values, benefits, and advantages.

2. Build Your Own Community – There is nothing like social media when it comes to building a community. When your followers become part of your community, you gain access to them. That means you can find out what challenges they are facing and what they like and don’t like about your offerings. You can engage in conversation that can be more valuable than any kind of paid market research.

3. Consistent & Frequent Exposure – With traditional marketing tactics, it usually takes ten to twelve “touches” before a customer decides to buy. A clear benefit of social media is repeat exposure with your network at a low cost. You can remind them over and over again about what you have to offer.

4. Be the Local Expert – Social media can be very powerful in helping you establish authority in your field—making you the go-to resource (or local expert) for your target audience to seek out for help. Share great content, answer questions, and serve your audience, and you will build loyal fans. Don't be afraid to give away some value.

5. Influence – As your following increases, your influence grows. Having a substantial social media audience creates a snowball effect that can attract new customers, joint venture partnerships, and all kinds of other opportunities. It’s like when you see a crowd hovered around something. You can’t help but want to see what all the fuss is about, so a large audience will only attract more interest.

6. Storefront & Website Traffic – Most business owners don’t realize that social media can be a traffic generator. When you share blog posts, videos and other content from your website, you give your audience a reason to visit your site. Once there, you have the opportunity to influence those visitors to take action. Also, make sure that your visitors receive a clear call to action when they visit your site so that you can convert that extra traffic into business opportunities. The same goes for your storefront. Contests or “giveaways” that you promote on social media can be great ways to increase foot traffic to your store!

7. Being ahead of the Curve – Whether you realize it or not, your prospects and customers are checking to see if you are engaging in social media. I always find it a bit odd when I’m investigating a potential service provider online and I can’t locate a social media presence or worse, I find Facebook pages that haven’t been updated in months, empty Twitter feeds, and a clear lack of interest in engaging. Social media isn’t a fad and it’s not going away any time soon. Even if it’s not your top priority, if you are consistent, your prospects will notice.

8. Unseen Prospects – There will be days when you wonder if anyone is paying attention to your social media networks. But if your efforts are consistent, I guarantee that more people are paying attention than you realize. You will eventually hear from people who say, “I’ve been following you on Twitter for ages” or “we’re friends on Facebook!”

9. Competitive Advantage – The truth is that most of your competitors aren’t doing a very good job with social media, which gives you the chance to stand out but if you avoid social media, you leave a big opening that allows your competitors to capture your audience.

10. Big Wins – While many businesses are trying to justify the cost and time for managing social media marketing, an important benefit often gets overlooked: Big Wins! For example, if someone from LinkedIn connects you with a long-term customer, then that would certainly qualify as a “Big Win”. If a large size business finds you on Twitter and wants to create a partnership, then that is also a “Big Win”—one that you can’t measure based on revenues directly generated.

Be patient, Social Media Marketing takes time. However, if done the right way, and if you’re consistent with your message, the benefits and “big wins” can and will be huge. You must commit to Social Media Marketing in order to be successful. Remember, if you’re not doing it, your competitor is, and has already begun to try and capture YOUR potential customers.

The bottom line is this, you can hire a full-time social media employee for around $4,000 a month or TWG Social can provide the same level of service at a fraction of the cost!