Although social media networks have been around for over a decade, we’re all still learning about the best ways to use them to reach existing and potential customers. One of the biggest misconceptions is that it amounts purely to numbers, with success being measured only by the number of people who view your social media page. While it’s always great to have a large and widespread number of people viewing you on social media, it is more important to understand who you are reaching and target your material towards the right people.
We are all familiar with videos and advertisements that have gone viral – those funny, interesting or inventive video clips or images that get forwarded on and shared by thousands or even millions of people. In this sense it is very easy to see why many businesses want to create a social media presence which goes viral, as there is obvious appeal to getting your brand name seen by such a large audience. The truth is, however, that a bigger audience of your social media presence does not automatically translate into a bigger market for your business.
Measuring the success of your presence on social media purely on the number of visitors, followers or viewers means that you are not getting a clear idea of whether or not it has worked for you. To illustrate in simple terms, if your social media posting gets 10 viewers and 5 of those become potential leads, that’s a greater success ratio than if 100 see it and still only 5 express an interest in your business. Gearing your social media presence towards numbers carries the risk of creating a message and content that alienates your core target market.
When we are working out a social media marketing campaign for a client, we first make sure we understand their target market and customers and then develop a strategy based on this knowledge. While a social media presence which attracts hundreds and thousands of followers can feel like a success, this really is only successful if a significant percentage of them are going to engage in business with you. Our services are designed to make sure that social media works for you, rather than try to make your brand work for social media.