What social media DOESN’T DO for you

When you jump into social media, you may have a high level of expectation that your company will experience growth as it has never seen before. But if you’re a fairly savvy business person, you know that there is literally NO MAGIC TRICK and social media is not any different.

Since the beginning of commercial activity, there has always been one factor that has worked to your advantage in terms of marketing, and that is CONSISTENCY AND TIME.

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of the situation now that you’ve rolled your eyes and let out that exasperated sigh. I went back to some of the marketing texts I had read in college to see if there had been much of a shift in the field since then, and I was reminded of a few fundamental tenets.

Everything has changed, yet nothing has changed.

Do you still have an understanding of what the phrases “channel” and “medium” mean?

The term “medium” refers to any kind of verbal or non-verbal communication in the context of marketing; for instance, a print advertisement, broadcast on the radio or posts on Facebook.

A channel is where it gets distributed. A print ad might go in a newspaper and obviously, a Facebook ad would go on Facebook.

These phrases aren’t used as frequently as they once were, yet their meaning hasn’t changed at all.

You are aware that you need to be consistent, professional, and give it time in order to be successful with the medium that you have chosen, whether it be social media updates that consistently publish to Facebook or a weekly radio spot on your local station.

Here’s  what social media does not do for you:

• • There is no way to guarantee that every single person who likes or follows your page will see every single post you make. According to Hootsuite, a Facebook page organic post, for example, has an average reach of about 5.20%. Increasing your advertising budget is the easiest way to increase distribution and direct sales.
  • It’s possible for posts on social media to go viral, but it’s pretty rare. If you are serious about seeing viral content, you will need to devise a plan to vigorously promote the idea that you have in mind and put in a lot of effort.
  • Reduce the level of protection on your website or brand.

Why should I bother participating in social media if my reach is so limited and none of my posts ever go viral?

— here’s a little nostalgia for you —

If you’ve been in business PRE-2010, you might remember advertising in the local newspaper. If you ran a huge 50% off sale, you likely got many customers that walked through your door from that ad. But if you ran your weekly 1/4 page ad that included your brand and regular products, you may have been hard-pressed to know exactly how many people came through your door as a direct result of that ad. 

You might also remember that that full-page ad cost you over $1,000 per week.  That was no colour, you were limited to their distribution and you had no key performance indicators.

— let’s get back to the question —

Why bother doing social media if my reach is low and nothing ever goes viral?

Ever heard the quote:  “Doing business without marketing is like winking at someone in the dark. You know what you’re doing, but nobody else does.”

If you aren’t present in the places where your target audience spends their time, they won’t be aware that you exist. To make matters worse, if you are not consistent, they will forget about you and turn to your competitor.

Remembering the distinction between marketing and sales is yet another essential point to keep in mind:

• • Marketing raises brand awareness and attracts potential customers to your company; it is an ongoing campaign of persuasion aimed at convincing consumers to use your company at the precise moment they are ready to make a purchase. In the context of marketing, this would mean making a daily commitment to being active on social media.
  • The sales department is responsible for a quicker conversion of leads into paying customers, typically through the use of a specific pitch. A better analogy for this would be a paid ad campaign on Facebook.

Marketing supports sales and sales depend on marketing.