There are a lot of billboards out there. I have never seen someone pull over on the highway, take out their phone and call the number on a billboard to make a purchase. Have you ever seen that?
By that logic, billboards are a HUGE waste of money.
This analogy is what I always say to social media skeptics. Obviously, the point of a billboard is not to create direct sales. It is to keep a business or product top-of-mind for a potential customer, so when the customer finds themselves in need of a given product or service, they think of the advertiser.
It is helpful to think about social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and email lists in basically the same way. It doesn't matter if no one clicks on your Facebook link. They are seeing your posts, again and again, for free. The same with your emails.
If you've done any advertising, you know that the more subscribers a newspaper has, and the more viewers you can reach on a certain TV show, the more those ads will cost. On social networks, you can achieve 'impressions' that rival traditional advertising methods - for free.
What's more, imagine if you saw an ad you liked in a magazine and you could share it will all of your friends simply by clicking a button. That's Facebook. And even if you would never share a magazine ad with your friends, it is what LOTS of people do on Facebook.
It is entirely possible for anyone to learn the tips and tricks of effective social media campaigns. All is takes is time and practice. If you have a ton of free time on your hands - go for it, and let us know what you learn.
If you don't have a ton of free time to read up on social media tools, figure out how they work, test our different campaigns, analyze the results, and tweak what isn't working, then you might consider working with us. We can help you set up a program in as little as one month, and you can take it from there or you can just tell us what you'd like your business to achieve, and we'll build and run a social media program to help you do it.
Either way - if you're ready to put the power of social media to work for you, send us an email here.
Nathan Havey
