Are you focusing on the numbers of followers, likes, fans and adds? Social media isn’t Sudoku. Read on for what numbers matter, when and why.
Shotgun or Rifle?
There are two ways to look at social media strategy.
One is the big and powerful shotgun approach – mass marketing, broad target, big numbers. The theory is that if you pull in a large enough group of people then some of them are bound to be potential customers.
The other is focused on targeting a specific, narrow range of people who fit a specific profile. The quantity is less, but the quality is higher.
There are pros and cons to each of these methods, and ideally your overall marketing plan should contain elements of both. The key is knowing which gun you are using at any given time.
Big Isn’t Always Better
When running a campaign for clients I never guarantee numbers; I do guarantee the quality of our strategy and execution. The reason for this is that I focus on leads and not numbers.
10 qualified leads is better than 1,000 random people who may not be interested in your product.
I was shocked to read that this had only just dawned on a Twitter expert.
Social media is about engaging YOUR audience. Not EVERY audience. Sure, there may be over 5 million people on Facebook, but if you are offering a carpet cleaning service in Pittsburgh how many of them would be potential customers? The shotgun approach would advocate that it’s worthwhile aiming at everyone, as someone in New York might have a friend in Pittsburgh with three dogs, two kids and not enough time to clean, but are you willing to spend more time and effort to target people who might recommend you, or use less resources to target the people who might directly need you?
Give Me A Rifle
I have friends who work in marketing agencies whose client roster include some of the biggest brands in the world. They can afford an arsenal of 1,000 shotguns and 500 rifles, not to mention the hundreds of BB guns held by their vendors. For them, it IS about the numbers.
However, for the smaller brands and businesses that I work with I’d pick a well aimed rifle any day. I may not deliver 1,000 new fans every time, but if I can get that Pittsburgh carpet cleaner 50 new leads to interact with for less than they’d pay for an ad in a local daily newspaper then I’m happy.
This was a wonderful article, Angela. Very timely for me as I am trying to figure out which approach would work best for our business. I think i was using a shotgun, when really what i needed was a rifle with a good target.
Glad you found it useful John.