Thinking about using social media to market your business? Social media can be a terrific marketing tool, but make sure you have the right expectations.
The truth is that social media marketing is not for everyone and can be a big waste of time!
#TruthBomb dropped.
You’ll have a tough time monetizing your social media efforts if you don’t have a strategy, a realistic expectation, and an understanding of the points I’m about to discuss.
You may not like what I have to say and it may differ from everything you’ve learned or heard about social media marketing. But embracing these ideas will help you be more successful in social media marketing.
The Truth About Social Media Marketing
Businesses expect social media to be the holy grail of sales. However, that’s an unrealistic view. Let’s get any misconceptions cleared up so that you can judge for yourself whether social media is a good option for your business.
1) You’re Investing In Relationships
Social media is a platform for getting to know others, exchanging information, and being social. It’s not a sales platform.
For social media to help your business, you need to use it to build relationships.
People make purchase decisions based on emotions and buy from those they know, like, and trust. What can you do to foster relationships online?
- Be social
- Have conversations
- Give away free value
- Share personal stories
- Be human
- Serve as a resource in your industry
- Show off your personality
- Inspire, educate, and entertain!
People want to interact with other people. You have a huge advantage because you’re the head honcho in your business. Your audience gets to directly engage with your brand since you are your brand!
Your social media fans are humans, not dollar signs. Aim to help rather than to make a sale. Click To TweetYour fans want to be thought of as humans first, not as dollar signs. They’ll be able to tell if you’re using social media to sell as opposed to using it to help others.
To be successful, accept and embrace the concept of relationship building at the core of social media.
2) It’s a Social Environment, Not a Sales Opportunity
It’s called “social” media for a reason…you’re there to be social and engage with others, not to sell at every moment.
For example, how would you feel toward a guest at a birthday party trying to sell you a life insurance policy?
A birthday party is a social gathering. The context is fun, laid back, personal, celebratory. It’s neither the right place nor the right time to push your product.
Yet many businesses interrupt their audience’s news feeds with sales-related content. Don’t expect a favorable, positive response when you’re intrusive and talking out of context.
Is it ever the right time and the right place to sell directly on social media?Click To TweetYour job as a marketer is to move your fans off of social media to your owned media, such as a website or email list.
Once a fan from social media chooses to exit the platform and move to your ‘house’ then the context changes. You can start to incorporate more sales into your strategy.
But until that happens, remember that social media is where you offer you’re spending time entertaining, educating, or inspiring your audience.
3) There is No Quick Path to Sales on Social Media
Months. That’s how long it takes to start seeing results from your social media efforts.
And that’s only if you have a tight strategy and other channels to support your social media marketing, such as online funnels, email lists, and a conversion-focused website.
You just learned that social media is for building relationships and having conversations unrelated to sales. Well, it takes time to nurture relationships and have discussions.
There are many steps before a person buys from you, including discovering you exist, learning about what you offer, and getting to know and trust you. Navigating through these steps usually takes time.
It takes times to reap the benefits of social media marketing. Be patient!Click To TweetMany marketers compare the sales process to dating and marriage. This analogy makes sense, especially where social media is concerned. Much of the sales process is about discovery, relationship building, trust, familiarity, and emotion before any commitment happens.
Just like there is no quick path to marriage when you’re dating someone, the same goes for the sales process on social media.
You’ll need time to see the fruits of your labor! You best be patient before marketing on social media. Because you’ll need at least 3-6 months before the benefits start to kick in.
4) A Financial Investment is Required if You Want to Succeed
One of the biggest myths about social media marketing is that it’s free.
One of the biggest myths about social media marketing is that it's free.Click To TweetSure, the platforms are wide open and free for participants. But whether you’re managing your own social media or you’ve hired it out, the effort requires a financial investment.
The more you invest, the better your results. The less you invest, the less successful you’ll be.
Businesses really don’t like to hear this. They give social media a try but don’t invest in what it takes to see results. Then they blame social media for not working.
Being successful at social media marketing means:
- Killer graphics
- A ton of unique, relevant, and interesting content
- Targeted advertising
- Tools and Software
- Time to engage (not optional!)
- Research
- Live streaming and video
- A highly converting sales funnel
And don’t forget money to buy courses and information about doing these things yourself. Because, as head honcho, you’ll want to do it all yourself. 😉
I’m not even factoring in your time as a cost.
While social media is free, the cost of doing business on it is not. That’s the truth, like it or not.
5) Content is Key, But Engagement is a Factor
Broadcasting your blog content and motivational quotes on social media is not a winning strategy by itself.
That doesn’t mean you can’t use this strategy, but don’t expect a sustainable flow of new and repeat business.
We discussed relationship building as a core tenant of social media marketing. That’s why engagement with your audience is a ‘must’ when it comes to effective marketing.
People expect A LOT these days. And the brands that are giving it to them are winning.
As a solo entrepreneur, you don’t have time to do everything, You don’t have money to hire out for everything either. I get it. (Neither do I, which is why you don’t see me on every social media platform.)
But, you can take your existing social media strategy and make it more effective by adding engagement. Spending time with your fans cannot be automated.
If you don't plan on engaging with your fans, then don't bother with social media marketing.Click To TweetEven if you can only give ten minutes three times a day, it’s worth it.
All I’m suggesting here is that engagement helps, it matters. You will not be able to form relationships without it. So if you don’t want to do it, don’t bother with social media.
6) Your Sales Are Mostly Indirect
Social media marketing can be super helpful for your business except as your primary source of direct sales.
I’m not saying that social media marketing never results in sales.
What I am saying is that social media is better at things other than direct sales, such as:
- Increasing website traffic
- Extending your reach
- Improving your authority and influence in a particular niche
- Helping you get found in search
- Gaining targeted leads
- Building a community of fans
- Elevating your social proof
In addition to these benefits, you can use social media to attract leads into your sales funnel to get more sales.
This scenario illustrates how social media drives traffic to your site and gets people into your sales funnel where it’s easier to sell to them on an ongoing basis.
Plus, you have now moved the relationship off of social media and onto your own asset, in this case, your email list. BIG WIN!
Your goal is to move fans from social media to your site and email list.Click To TweetWhich is more important, making a direct sale or owning the relationship with your customer? The latter!
You don’t want to depend upon social media platforms to talk to your customers. If something changes on the platform or people stop using it, you’ll lose access to an audience.
Moving a fan to your email list means you can access the relationship on your terms and have more conversion opportunities. You can also continue to build your relationship with each customer using email.
You can see that moving a lead to your “house” is better than getting a one-time, direct sale from social media.
Over to You
Using social media for business is one strategy in your marketing plan. Often it works in tandem with another strategy, but it’s not meant to be your one and only marketing channel.
Do you agree with my assessment? Or have you had a different experience with social media marketing? I’d love to know in the comments. 🙂
This is excellent, Meghan. Finally, someone who spells it out as to what social media is all about. While many of us have been focusing on content, you make an excellent point about how important engagement is and how sales are indirect. You’ve made me re-think how I’m not taking advantage of social media.
So true, it is all about being social, engage, create relationships…not all clients understands that though ;-). As a solopreneur without enormous funds, I would say it is a slow process that builds in tiny steps and takes much more than months. However, when the results come, they tend to come in a steady manner too.
This is reality. Money, time and engagement doesn’t really equal to sales. Moreover, it takes a whole village to do social media. Many have tried and are still trying to make things work but it takes a lifetime dedication and dollars.
Very helpful info! You hit on one of the things many just skip over and that’s moving to the email list. Well done!
Meghan, I agree with your assessment. These are all great points. The biggest reward comes with consistency…
Great insights as always, Meghan! I’ve been really focused on building relationships, sharing valuable information and engagement. The area I would be wise to continue developing is in what you call a ‘sales funnel’. I personally am not drawn to people where this is an obvious part of their strategy, don’t like landing pages, etc., etc., so for me, I need to find a gentler, more subtle way of moving people from educating them and building trust, to actually taking action and committing to themselves!
Megan.
Great article and I like the where you wrote there are no one way conversations , this is social media we are here to communicate. I like the way you phrased it and an inspiring article.
Lori English
Thanks Meghan. It helps me to remember the word Social at all times. When I engage with followers and give them something to talk about, it makes all the difference. And when I slack off for one reason or another, I can see the drop in engagement.
Great information as always, Meghan. I really like the way you explained the importance of moving people to your email list. This was something that had me a bit confused but since reopening my school I really appreciate the importance of gaining subscribers. I’m also finding there’s a fine line when it comes to promoting your business on social media – too much push and people lose interest, too little and they don’t know what you are about.
This information is so helpful Meghan. When I first started my business I set up several different social media accounts, but find that I can’t engage in them all. Building relationship is important and now there are so many tools to help with that.
“Your fans want to be thought of as humans first, not as dollar signs.” Truer words were never spoken, Meghan! It is all about relationships, whatever the medium or the vehicle for the connection!
So well said, Meghan. And that’s what I’ve found entirely. Of course, I went in thinking this was a sales tool! Lol. But after years of social media marketing, I can absolutely attest to the indirect sales. It’s funny how often I hear: “I’ve been reading your blog for years, and now I need an editor . . . ”
Great explanation!
Yes, exactly! Sending social media users to your blog and converting them on your site is an effective marketing strategy. Obviously, it takes time, as you point out. The other point you’re confirming is the value of content marketing, which takes a while to work but is a proven approach to attracting and converting leads. So happy to hear that you’re getting results!
Great info! And I have found it is so important to hire people who know what they’re doing so you don’t wast money in a ton of trial and error!
So true and I try to explain this to clients and small biz owners all the dang time. It isn’t… spend X on social media and get 10 new clients.. it just doesn’t work like that. They aren’t seeking buying your widget on social media (that’s what Google search and PPC is for) but it’s to engage with others.