Know What Your “Fans” Want To Improve Your Social Media Marketing Results
You just can’t get away from Social Media anymore! Online marketing, especially through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and now Google + has gone mainstream today. Don’t believe it? Spend the evening watching television, get pen & paper, then keep track of the number of commercials between 6:00 pm and 10:30 pm CST AND how many of those commercials include their social media sites. Big or small, a growing number of companies are trying to connect with potential customers through social media and spreading the word about their sites in a variety of mediums.
BUT…the question is: What do those pesky potential customers EXPECT when they “LIKE” your brand and why should it matter? Read the rest of the article and see the THREE THINGS FANS SAY THEY WANT!
By Herb Lawrence, Center Director Arkansas State University Small Business and Technology Development Center…”Liking” Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs From the Delta to the Ozarks in 2012!
Online or Offline…successful marketing is all about communicating with potential customers and delivering a message that appeals to the reader. The problem with online marketing through social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and now Google Plus is to really understand what your customer WANTS from you.
More and more small businesses today are trying to figure out how to use social media, especially Facebook as a way to expand their marketing efforts and to develop connections with potential customers. Unfortunately many of these small businesses are not getting the results they hoped for when they launched their page.
Why? They haven’t bothered learn exactly what it is that their Fans want from the small business’s Facebook page. I don’t know about you but I did not sign up for Facebook just to go “liking” business pages! I signed up on Facebook as a way to communicate with friends, relatives, family and others.
Obviously I do “like” a number of business pages but I “like” their page because I GET SOMETHING for my trouble! In a recent blog post from Econsultancy.com “Consumers want “free stuff” from social, Marketers think they “want to be heard“, the writer discusses the disconnect between what business marketers (YOU) THINK your fans want and exactly what (THEY) Your Fans SAY THEY WANT!
A short but powerful article…the author, Vikki Chowney provides the results from 2 surveys from Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Counsel:
- 1st survey was from over 1,300 consumers (your fans), versus
- 2nd survey of 120 Chief Marketing Officers and here’s what they found
If Your Social Media Marketing Isn’t Giving Fans These 3 Things…You May be Missing the Boat!
Your fans (consumers) said if you want to connect with them on Social Media they WANT:
- to be eligible for EXCLUSIVE OFFERS (67%)
- have an opportunity to INTERACT with other customers wh share the same experiences (60%)
- GAIN ACCESS to games or contests (65%)
Take away here is: If you want me to be involved with your social media marketing (and get me to make your cash register ring!) understand what I WANT from you!
The problem is the Chief Marketing Officers (YOU) think your fan wants:
- To be heard (41%)
- Want news or information about your product or service (40%)
Only 33% of Marketers who responded thought that they wanted Incentives or Rewards, and only 27% thought customers wanted special savings or experiences exclusive to followers.
Bottom line: There is a BIG disconnect between what us marketers THINK people want from Social Media and what our FAN HAVE SAID they want! Getting more fans, having fans push the “like” button or leave comments is fine…but that doesn’t necessarily put cash in your cash register.
Want to get your Fans to “like” your cash register? Then start paying attention to what Fans say they expect from Social Media!
Now it is your turn! I would like to hear from our readers. If you are a small business using social media, what do you do to connect with fans and what do they tell you they want from you? If you aren’t a small business but you follow, Like or subscribe to small business social sites…WHAT DO YOU WANT from a brand?
Want to learn more about leveraging Social Media Marketing for your small business? The Arkansas State University SBTDC offers a number of hands-on workshops to help small businesses leverage online marketing and social media marketing more effectively. Go to the ASU SBTDC January-February Training Calendar and sign up for a workshop near you!
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