It seems like every client I've talked to recently has come to me asking "What are we doing for social media? What should we be doing in social media? I've been told my company isn't doing enough in social media. We need to do social media!" As our local favorite former Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Tice would say, "OK, calm down." Those are a lot of questions, and none of them are the right ones. So let's start asking the right questions.
Start Asking the Right Questions
As an industrial or ecommerce company, what are you looking to gain by using social media? If you answer is "MOAR SALES!!" then you probably are thinking about it wrong. If you've been told that if your industrial company uses social media that you'll see an increase in "MOAR SALES!!", then someone is lying. But if you're not getting more sales from using social media, what are you getting? And why should you participate in social media? A recent article on "
Entrepreneur" spelled out the actual benefits of social media use to companies very clearly recently. They highlighted how defining your goals on social media is critical to determining your success as a company on social media. Traditionally, many companies view social media as a direct-sale outlet, a way to reach out to consumers and contact them with sales opportunities, discounts, specials, new products, and more, so they can buy buy buy. But in doing so, you alienate your customers. People don't want to be SOLD on social media, they want to be SOCIAL. They want to participate in your company, learn more about you, peak behind the curtain, so to speak. Constantly badgering them to BUY BUY BUY annoys them and scares them off. Using social media as a direct sales tool can be detrimental. So, change your goals. Social media platforms are at their best when the goal for a company is building brand awareness and participating in outreach. Offering consumers who already like your brand - and who have probably already bought something from you in the past and who DON'T need to be badgered to buy again - opportunities to engage on a personal level with your company has been proven to increase brand commitment from customers. Telling stories, asking questions, getting free feedback on products and services can be a game changer. Enlisting the help of your customers - for FREE on social media - can help improve your company, and help retain customers. It's changing the conversation from being about YOU to being about US; all of us involved with your company, customers, employees, and employer alike.
Is It Worth It?
Is free advertising something you're interested in? As a company looking to gain visibility in advertising areas that are growing, would it be of interest to you to have your company highlighted and performing well on social platforms where key demographics spend significant amounts of time? Are you interested in life-long customer retention and brand building? Do you find value in positioning your company as an expert in your field, and having customers do your marketing for you? If any of this sounds like something you'd be interested in doing, contact Ecreative today to learn how we can help you get started and setting up and successfully managing your social media profiles. The conversations about your company are already happening out there. Go be a part of it.
