This year marks 15 years since I first got on social media.
Not only have I used it for personal reasons, but I have managed social media accounts for companies and organizations. In fact, I’ve managed accounts for dozens of clients with a collective followership in the hundreds of thousands. I’ve managed Facebook pages, Twitter and Instagram accounts, Pinterest and Google+ profiles, and even YouTube accounts.
During the time I’ve been managing client social media accounts, I’ve encountered a few clients who wanted something out of social media, and when they didn’t get it, they decided it wasn’t worth it to continue having me manage their social media.
Honestly, I think some people have unrealistic expectations of social media. They think if they post a photo of their new product, they’re going to have tonnes of people banging down their front door. For them, every metric on social media must result in a sale.
If they get 10 likes on a post on their Facebook page, they think they should get 10 sales. If they have a monthly reach of 85 people per day, they think they should get 85 leads every day.
And when they don’t, they dismiss social media as a waste of time.
Yet, we don’t do that with any other medium.
Take the Lethbridge Herald, for example, a local daily newspaper. They claim an average weekday circulation of over 18,000. No business owner who takes out an ad expects that they’re going to receive 18,000 leads every day. They probably don’t even expect that many leads if they ran their newspaper ad every day for a week.
Or the local radio station, 94.1 Juice FM, which apparently has a listenership of 44,000 weekly. Again, no one advertising on this station will expect 44,000 leads from their ad.
And while no one expects everyone who hears or reads an ad to become a customer, there’s also the point that social media isn’t really the same as traditional media. It’s—well—social.
People expect that your company will engage with them: you’ll like their comments, retweet their testimonials, answer their questions, and respond to their messages. They don’t expect that with a TV spot or a print ad.
Social media is more than just getting sales. It’s being social. It’s engaging with both customers and non-customers, about your products and about things that aren’t your products.
And if your reach is going up and you’re getting more likes and retweets, it’s a good sign that you’re engaging, that you’re being social. Even if you aren’t getting a lot more sales.
Because I specialize in social media management, rather than advertising or marketing, my growth strategy is organic and long-term. I try to populate your social media accounts regularly (at least daily) with content that people want to see. And over time, you’ll see reach increase and followers increase.
If you want to grow your followers as quickly as possible, then you might want to look for a social marketer. But if you’re interested in increasing a quality follower pool using engaging, relevant content—without having to resort to bandaid gimmicks, like contests—then consider using a social media manager. It’s cheaper than hiring full-time.
Actually, on that note, I’ve had several clients who have gone from using my services to hiring in-house someone dedicated to their social media, because I was able to show them the potential of social media.
If you’re not in a position to hire a full-time person to manage your social media, but you’re too busy to manage it yourself, contracting it out to a social media manager could be the solution you need.
Email me today at info@hotpepper.ca to discuss what I can do for you, or DM on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.