When working on with clients on digital branding and marketing campaigns, we frequently encounter the “skeptical executive” – one who rose through the ranks long before the social revolution took off, who “just doesn’t see any value” in incorporating a social media component into the brand. For those in the B2B and B2G marketing sector, that perspective is probably woefully familiar. Here are five quick, compelling points that can help convert the skeptical exec into a social media believer.
- Social = Sales: Revenue is the bottom line for many execs. If it makes money, it’s worth it. This is perhaps the most convincing rationale for incorporating social media into an integrated campaign. Social media activity improves search engine ranking, it drastically improves brand awareness, and viral shares mean more leads and more new business – all for a fraction of the cost of some traditional methods.
- Customer Service: Social media is a conversation. It offers business a unique opportunity to actually engage and discuss a product with consumers. By responding to questions and concerns on a highly-visible platform such as Facebook or Twitter, companies can drastically reduce call center volume and mitigate customer service issues more effectively.
- Analytics: Every post, comment, like and share is tracked and accounted for using detailed analytics. This gives companies a unique account of who their customers are, where they’re located, what they like, and how they think. This is data can be invaluable in developing new products and targeted campaigns.
- The Competition is Doing It: Regardless of the market, industry or service, if the competitor is doing it better, they’re earning the new business. That truth applies to social media as well. Get on board or get left behind.
- Immediate Market Research: Once companies establish a social following, leadership has access to immediate and responsive audience to test new products and ideas before launch. The questions can be as simple as “what are your thoughts on this new color?” or “we’re working on X – how would you use it?” Companies can obtain feedback on products, and fix flaws in existing lines of business quickly and effectively because the guess work is eliminated.
Of course all of this depends on the company’s ability to earn and cultivate a social media presence. That’s where we come in. The Borenstein Group was recently voted winner of Washington Business Journal’s Social Madness challenge for the Washington, DC region – surpassing nearly a dozen other local creative agencies. We’re experts at getting results from social media marketing. If you’d like to talk about ways more ways to fight social media skepticism, give us a call at 703-385-8178 or visit our Contact Us page.