Mon 31 / 07 / 17
You're so vain...
James from Lets Meet Brighton talks about the importance of engaging with your social media followers and to stop reporting on the metrics that don't matter!
You're So Vain.. I bet you think this blog is about you, don’t you? Don’t you?
Well if you’re still only using vanity metrics (stats that look good on paper but don't really mean anything important) like reach, impressions and followers to measure the success of your social media efforts then it is!
The number of followers you have and the eyeballs your content passes means next to nothing without them doing something, taking some action, engaging.
Sadly businesses have got into the habit of reporting on metrics such as impressions and reach because the numbers are always higher than those who have engaged, so for the uninitiated it looks better than replies, link clicks and shares.
We’re obsessed with likes and follows, to the extent that there are even services out there that offer them for a fee. Yep! You can buy likes and followers, but not real ones, not authentic ones, not ones that will engage with your content and bring true return on investment.
So what does it matter anyway? Followers are followers right?
Nope! Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all favour engagement over reach. The more your followers get involved with what you’re doing the more they’ll see your content. That’s just how their algorithms work - they want to show users the content they’re most interested in.
So, not only do you want to attract people who are really interested in your business, you also NEED to measure the engagement you’re receiving. To increase it you should make 80% of your content valuable to your audience, and the other 20% more valuable to you - encourage sales etc.
After measuring engagement (likes, comments, shares, link clicks) you need to know whether your social media efforts are actually contributing to your bottom line. Is it getting people through the door?
Okay, so how do you do that? Here’s just a few ideas…
- Offer followers a freebie the next time they visit (if they show you they’re a follower)
- When trying out a new social media campaign don’t do any other marketing – if you see an increase in customers you can attribute at least part of it to that campaign.
- Do something exclusive for your followers – an Instagram exclusive cocktail or coffee for instance! Don’t put it on the menu, just offer it to your followers - if they request it you know they’ve come from Instagram.
There’s a whole host of ways you can not only engage your followers but show the true worth of your investment into social media marketing.
If you’ve been basing the success of your social media content on vanity metrics hopefully this blog has made you think again. Meaningful engagement is where its at.
For more social media marketing insights and goodness, just drop us a line.
Thanks to James from Let's Meet Brighton for providing us with this blog. For more information email contact@letsmeetbrighton.co.uk or follow Let's Meet on Twitter at @LetsMeetBtn
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