Social Media Pay to Play: When it Makes Sense

January 19, 2014 by

www.jeffkorhan.com

One of the important social media trends for 2014 is making financial investments in the major social media networks in order to accomplish specific objectives, otherwise known as pay to play.

The key is to distinguish between an investment and expenditures that deliver little future value.

LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are now public companies. They are expected to grow the investment that shareholders have made in their shares, with that money naturally coming from users of the site that heretofore have enjoyed a free ride.

It has been apparent for some time now that your reach on Facebook is limited without advertising. It is evident that while Facebook advertising may indeed reach new fans, that does not necessarily convert into practical outcomes.

If you have not yet experimented with advertising on these social media channels, now is the time to do so before the pricing gets out of reach for most small businesses. However, be aware of end game – what you ultimately want to accomplish with that investment, otherwise it doesn’t make sense to play.

#1 – Quickly Building New Communities

If you are just getting started with new social media channels, it may make sense to make an investment up front to achieve critical mass more quickly.

For example, if the business is moving into a new market, it will be helpful to attract fans that are currently aligned with established competitors. Here is an excellent article that suggests ways for advertising on the major social media networks to build traffic to your account.

In reality, you are paying to rent the attention of a specific community. Your advertising dollars are buying a look from people that are known to have an affinity for businesses or brands like yours. If your content is solid you will most likely retain a generous number of them.

Of course, other ways to accomplish this for free are to partner with others in your space who will freely help you in exchange for a non-monetary value exchange.

#2 – Growing Your Content Marketing Assets

Let’s be clear that we are all renting space on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. For most that is free rent.

So, when does it make sense to pay to rent when everyone most others are not? When there is a direct conversion from that Facebook account into new business, or when it drives traffic to another site that converts it, such as your primary website.

Too many businesses are chasing Facebook likes that merely serve as social proof. There is nothing at all wrong with this. Facebook is great for nurturing relationships. However, one should question whether it’s necessary to invest in that or allow to happen organically.

If any of the social networks can help to build properties you own that can convert that traffic into profitable outcomes, such as your blog or email newsletter, then the investment makes sense.

In other words, pay to play when it builds traffic that can be converted.

#3 – Promoting Offers Designed to Convert

If your business has a specific offer with a limited window of opportunity, then investing to ensure it reaches as many targeted potential buyers as possible makes sense.

This may be the most logical reason for investing in social media advertising because social marketing is generally used to educate, not promote. It’s a process that is designed to convert attention into revenue when the time is right. This will include engaging not only the attention of that audience, but everyone that their social graphs.

Just as there is a difference between gambling and playing cards to win in the Las Vegas casinos, so it is with advertising. Gamblers like to say they enjoying playing cards, even when they are losing money, and you will always see them looking at a list of all the free bet deals for the grand national so they could get in.

Personally, I enjoy winning.

As pay to play becomes more common, it will be necessary to establish a budget with specific objectives, presumably to earn a profit from that investment. Intermediate objectives can be building your tribe, but ultimately offers have to be made that will generate a profit.

It doesn’t make much sense to invest in getting your content shared unless you have designed specific methods for earning back the investment, plus a reasonable (or better) profit. 

Make sense?

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, is the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business – (Wiley 2013)  

He helps mainstream businesses adapt their traditional growth practices to a digital world. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Photo Credit

Celebrating the Small Business Community

November 29, 2013 by

www.jeffkorhan.com small business saturday

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday.

It’s a day that may not necessarily be on the radar of of many consumers, but it is one that is especially important for local small businesses.

Small Business Saturday is an initiative that was created to bring greater awareness to the small businesses that form the foundation of the communities in which we work and live. This day is about more than business; it’s a celebration of community. 

Local businesses are more than commercial organizations; they are your neighbors, friends, and part of the same ecosystem that supports you.

Community Conversations are Moving Online

Every business, large or small, seeks to leverage the voice of the customer. Small businesses in particular are especially sensitive to earning the loyalty and trust of each and every customer, because this “word-of-mouth advertising” is often their primary means for attracting new buyers.

Thus, the seeds of social media marketing success are practically hard-wired into DNA of every small business. The challenge for them today is learning and adapting to these new digital technologies to nurture and leverage their local relationships to build their tribe.

Nurturing customer relationships is as vital ever – only now these community conversations are happening online.

Local Experiences are Personal

When you visit local stores you can access the energy and enthusiasm of not just the staff, but other patrons too. This the magic of community that Apple amplified with their retail stores that revolutionized retail.

Apple is one of the biggest brands in the world today because it designed its stores for a personalized customer experience.

Apple used their extensive creative and financial resources to take what is best about local retail to design an experience that engages buyers that are often fanatical about the Apple brand.

Personal care is what distinguishes every local small business. Yet, it’s a quality that Apple proved any business, large or small, can use to create an experience that feels personal.

And Zappos proved personal care works to build community even when a business is not local.

Technology is Making Business more Human

It is significant to note that awareness of many initiatives like Small Business Saturday would fall short without the power of social media for leveraging the collective voice of consumers. It is ironic that technology that once created barriers between people, and especially people and companies, now brings them together.

For small business to succeed in this increasingly competitive world, they have to develop more than a brand promise. There has to be an expectation of a friendlier and personal experience. That’s one of the hallmarks of small business.

The surest means for creating this expectation is not with traditional advertising or promotions, but direct experience. This is why it is so vital for local businesses to get buyers into the store. This is something that is more readily accomplished with content marketing than traditional advertising or promotions.

When I wrote Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business, I focused on the local small businesses that I knew best, having founded and operated one myself for two-decades. The reason for this is these local, mainstream, small businesses are ideally suited for using this technology for making a difference in the communities they serve.

Author Jeff Korhan at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL before the local launch of Built-In Social


Author Jeff Korhan at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, IL before the local launch of Built-In Social

I will be delighted if you purchased a copy from your local bookstore. If you happen to be near my local community of Naperville, IL, you may be able to grab one of the autographed copies still available from my local signing event at Anderson’s Bookshop.

About the Author:  Jeff Korhan, MBA, helps mainstream small businesses create exceptional customer experiences that accelerate business growth. Get more from Jeff on LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.

Jeff is also the author of Built-In Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business – (Wiley 2013)