I’ve always told our clients a clear call to action, including a destination where customers can go for more information, is crucial to a marketing campaign’s success. This is because marketing must do more than sell a product. Marketing must engage.
For years, companies have offered ways to engage with their clients via phone, email, customer service call centers or at a brick and mortar location. These days, companies are using social media as a resource to keep their customers engaged.
Social media sure has its objections. Many companies are hesitant to allow the customer to have a voice. They are afraid of bad reviews or negative press. Let’s face it: in this online world, if people have something to say, they will find a way to say it. By being present on Facebook or Twitter or having a company blog that allows comments, you are providing your customers an opportunity to do it on your turf, so you know what they’re saying, and so you can continue to improve.
Another objection – social media isn’t revenue generating. Revenue is key to a business’s success, so why invest in something that can’t make money? The beauty of social media is that it is primarily not a large out of pocket cost. This doesn’t mean it is not an investment, because you must be willing to invest the time.
So why invest the time in social media? Think of it as a conversation and the answer becomes clear. By increasing your fans and followers, you are giving your customers the chance to tell you what they like, what they want and why they choose you over your competitors. Just as importantly, they’ll tell you what they don’t like, giving you the chance to absorb their input, offer feedback or clarification of your own, and help build “sticky” customer relationships. What would you pay to conduct research that will answer these questions? How many customers would you have the opportunity to connect with on the phone or in person on a daily basis that would offer that type of quality interaction?
To put it plainly, the numbers show that social media delivers results.
Hubspot recently conducted a study analyzing the relationships between various inbound marketing activities and the volume of website traffic and number of leads that business generated. Several factors were considered. Hubspot found that by blogging 16 – 20 times per month, traffic was more than double those who blogged less than four times a month. Blogging also earns three times more leads. No surprise, social media reach had a strong correlation with web traffic and leads. For example, businesses with 301 to 1000 Twitter followers had over five times more traffic than those with 1 – 25 followers. Businesses with 501 to 1,000 Facebook fans had three and a half times more traffic than those with less than 25 fans.
Finally, with all these strategies and tactics available as we dive into the era of engagement, one social media goals that should always remain is to turn customers into brand advocates. Customers now have the largest voice, and any one person can make a difference. By using social media engagement to build these brand advocates, you’ll watch your marketing messages go further than you ever have before.