Social media is like a TV show that is all about your customers and their family and friends. Your customers watch it intently...
...often for many hours a day
They derive at least some part of their own sense of identity directly from this show. It’s the show they will immediately switch to whenever there is an ad break in whatever else they’re watching. It’s the show that has been engineered by some of the world’s top psychologists to keep your customers’ attention, effectively suspending time. And it’s the show that is one click away from your customers starting a conversation with you.
This is the power of social media, and the only reason it’s not more expensive to advertise here is that most businesses still haven’t realised its full potential. But that’s not to say that achieving success is as simple as throwing money at Facebook.
Having managed hundreds of highly profitable social campaigns, we’ve learned that business owners usually struggle with two main challenges:
01
Qualify the audience
The first challenge is to qualify the audience, so that you’re only talking to those who are most likely to buy your product. With thousands of targeting options, this not only requires technical skills; it also asks for a creative mind. Because there are parameters that might not be immediately obvious. For instance, let’s say that you’re in the hydroponics business. Filtering for people interested in plants or growing their own produce is a given. But if you also filter for new homeowners in areas with a large proportion of single-dwelling houses, you are more likely to find prospect buyers who have spare room for the relatively bulky hydroponics. Consider all aspects of your customers’ reality, and you’re bound to see higher conversion rates.
02
Understanding how others
perceive your brand
The second challenge is understanding how others perceive your brand and speak to them in a way that is appropriate to the medium. Appearing in someone’s social feed is akin to crashing their private cocktail party. Do it well, and you will be an appreciated guest. You might even become the life of the party, spark a conversation and establish rapport. But do it poorly, and you will be perceived as an intruder. Getting the creative execution right is as important as finding the right audience.