Stop Trying To Bake A Cake In A Tupperware Container!

When people measure the ROI (return on investment) for social media marketing they are looking at the wrong thing. They are looking at sales numbers and a return on money and time spent. That is not what social networking was designed for. It is like baking a cake in a tupperware storage container. Beyond a sticky, stuck-on mess, you’ve now ruined two separate assets that had plenty of value on their own. It was the combination and incorrect usage that was its destruction. Social networking first came into being to help poeple chat, share and keep in touch. It was not intended for business at all. Therefore,

social media marketing works best for generating recommendations and reviews, leading people to a sales center and spreading the story of your product.

Use social media marketing for recommendations.

Even the Google algorithm now brings you search results based on your connections, preferences and the recommendations of those you know. The treasured “virability” is simply the result of people liking something and wanting to recommend it to, or share it with, friends. When you encourage your fan base to share your better ideas to their universe, your reach grows and new people will learn about your offering. You will hear this called word-of-mouth marketing. It is remarkably effective and feeds that feeling of safety we get when working with someone who has been recommended to us.

Rarely do transactions take place on social media sites.

Usually, people learn about a product or service and become attracted or enchanted by the idea of it in a social setting. Whether they then take action to “learn more” is often considered random. A call to action helps. “To learn more, please click here” is a good way to entice people over into your store where a transaction can take place. An effective part of every social networking nugget is the invitation to come on back to your actual place of business, whether that is in a brick and mortar store or on a website where they can make a purchase with a credit card.

Thirdly, social media is the cheapest and most successful place to tell the full story of your product.

How does the product get made? Which special ingredients are involved and where do they come from? How long is each step of the process? What makes you a better provider of this service than anyone else based on your own unique experience? Social networking sites – like blogs, videos and photo sequences all allow you to tell a much longer, fuller story than a 30 second commercial on television or a print ad.

As you can see you need to measure your return on investment with social media marketing by looking at how many more referrals and recommendations you are seeing. Have you seen an uptick in traffic? And lastly, when your customers do contact you do they know more about your product; do they already see your value?