If Social Media Doesn't Drive Sales, You're Doing It Wrong

Tara Hunt, digital strategist, writer, speaker, and featured LinkedIn article author, recently posted an article dubbed "Social Media Doesn't Drive Sales... But That's Not the Point." 

Her point is, basically,"You cannot force word of mouth." 

Her argument: "It doesn't matter the media or the amount you spend on it – some stuff just doesn't spread. And though marketing impressions make a brand awareness difference – whether it's a billboard or a paid tweet – it's never guaranteed to work."  

Tara Hunt's first problem: she is paying for social media advertising. Companies that pay for social media ads, and do not receive a good R.O.I., are stupid beyond belief. Social media is NOT about advertising. Paid posts are not going to spread simply because you paid for them. Social media, like everything in the Internet marketing "realm" (and yes, there is a realm) is about content, not the amount of money that you throw behind this content. By paying for your content to reach more people, you are already admitting defeat; you are saying that your content is not good enough to go viral on its own. 

When a business joins social media, you are part of the crowd. Your posts will remind them of a friend that they either want to interact with or not. People want to see your pictures, your success stories, your trials and tribulations.If your paid advertising isn't working,you aren't telling the right story. People want to hear a story; they want to hear your story. And they know what is a ploy for likes and what is a genuine post about what your company has achieved. They want to hear what your up to, how you're doing, but they don't want to hear about it every single hour of the day. When a customer is interacting with you page, it is because they identify with you in some way. Using this, and appreciating this, is what will help you foster long term growth on your social media accounts, and eventually allow your social media to drive sales.

Consumers do not share social media posts about company because they are too busy creeping on their ex boyfriends and reliving old memories through their timeline to be interesting in that annoying advertisement on the side of their screen. In fact, the majority of millennial generation users don't event see advertisements anymore - they simply tune them out. 

People want interaction. They want to hear directly from you, in real time. They want to have a conversation, whether on Facebook, Twitter, or (although I can't believe businesses are using it), Snapchat. That one retweet, reply, comment response, or yes, Snapchat reply, can make or break your brand in the eyes of a customer. In this regard, social media makes or breaks sales every day. But it is not your short term investment in a couple of Facebook ads that is going to do this - it is a long term commitment to interacting with your customers on the best social media platform to reach them, and convince them to spend some big bucks on your company. 

Advertising is no longer a one way street, and many businesses are just starting to realize this. It is not enough to simply but information in front of a customer - you need to give them a reason to care, and this reason needs to relate to them in a personal way. This is a whole new playing field for marketing, and investing now is the only way to drive profit through social media in the future. 

Why Snapchat Denied Facebook's $3 Billion Offer

I just finished reading two articles, one named "Why Snapchat is Screwed" (by Shane Snow, CCO of Contently) and one named "Why Snapchat Isn't Screwed" (by Azeem A, PeerIndex). From the title of these articles, we see a deep lack of understanding revolving around why Snapchat, a photo-messaging app developed by Stanford students, would turn down $3 billion buy-out from Facebook.

According to Snow, "The fact remains: Snapchat itself doesn't make money. Facebook bid the $3b on it in order to eliminate the threat of a future competitor, not because it's a promising revenue source." Would Facebook spend $3 billion to buy out a threat of a future competitor? Perhaps, but I would argue that there is much more at stake. Snow argues, "I think they're screwed. Snapchat, I predict, will be the next Formspring or Chatroulette, that mega-hot thing that all the kids were on until suddenly they weren't."

What people, and by people, I mean business people, do not understand about Snapchat is that a product like Snapchat is more than a "product" - it is a unique idea that has significantly gained traction in today's youth (and increasingly older) market. Snapchat is not just a "mega-hot thing" (sorry, Snow). The problem with so many of the articles surrounding Snapchat is that they are written by people who are obviously non-users of the product. They don't understand how - at it's core - Snapchat is a significantly different application from Formspring or Chatroulette. They don't understand why Snapchat, like Myspace, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, and it's predecessors, have gained social media lives that will endure much farther than their "mega-hot" colleagues. And how important and valuable this market traction makes this application.

Azeem (Why Snapchat Isn't Screwed) seems to be on the right track, but he underestimates the idealism that Snapchat and it's founders, Evan Spegiel and Bobby Murphey, represent. These are founders who named their app mascot "Ghost Chillah" after the Wu-Tang Clan's "Ghostface Killah." Azeem contends that Snapchat could use branded stickers, branded content, targeted advertising, a premium version, or even a gaming platform to generate revenue and eventually find a "decent, sustainable way to make money." Snapchat, however, isn't worried about making money - their ranking in the App store and their prevailing intimacy with their users proves Snapchat's value, just as Instagram before them. Snapchat has something that 95% of applications do not have - a consistent, connected audience of users that value the app and use it daily. In today's world, it is hard to put a price on that kind of engagement. 

Snapchat turned down Facebook because it was the wrong company to buy them. As Spegiel said in an interview with Forbes magazine (mainly discussing Facebook), "People are living with this massive burden of managing a digital version of themselves. It's taken the fun out of communicating." The value of Snapchat lies opposite of Facebook - it is spontaneous, frivolous, spur-of-the-moment, and it is ephemeral. Your Snapchat photos will not reach your next potential employer, and unlike Instagram, your photos will not show up in a Google search of your name. Snapchat's Evan Spegiel and Snapchat users understand this more than anyone else - so please, if you are not avid users, stop writing articles about Snapchat's profitability - no one cares. 

A Commercial that Will Make You Cry - Google Reunion Video

This video will make you cry. I promise. Have you ever thought a commercial could make you cry?

Take my advice: As you watch this video, don't think of it as a commercial. Enjoy it as a what it is: 3:32 minutes of amazing content, footage, and a heartwarming story of two friends.

Feeling misty-eyed, or a lump in your throat? You're not alone. Thousands of people watching this video are ending up in tears - just look at the YouTube content.

What makes this video so effective? What makes Google's story so much more effective than the hundreds of efforts before it? Take for example, Apple's 2013 campaign for Facetime. It seems to have all the right components: relatable people of all cultures, heartwarming music, cute children, dogs, and stories.

What went wrong? Why do you feel like exiting the video at 0:22? Apple's commercial doesn't draw you in, there are no main characters, no plot, no reason to keep watching. Basically - Apple doesn't tell you a whole story. 

Consider P&G Swiffer's "old couple" commercial. Like Google's Reunion, it is 3:18 minutes. But like Apple's Facetime, you will probably want to leave within the first seconds. 

This commercial may make you chuckle, especially if you watch the shorter version. But I doubt you will watch the entire three minutes. You might think it's cute, and remember it for about a year. But the video makes some key mistakes; while there are main characters, there is no plot, no conflict, no resolution. Again, no reason to keep watching. P&G's product placement is also not as a integrated and subtle as Google - in Google's ad, you saw the characters use Google for location services, word definitions, business listings, airline flight status, and a weather forecast - and I bet that you didn't even notice at least two of those product placements. 

Is this the future of commercials? Perhaps. It is certainly great for Google's brand... A giant international corporation that computes algorithms, collects data and information suddenly has a human face and story. But if you're going to go the Google route for advertising, make sure you do it right. 

6 Important Tips for Trade Show Marketing

1. Do a giveaway.

Have a reason to collect people's emails and information and spam them for all it's worth. At least they got a pen and a chance to win an iPad. People will give you a ton of information just to spin a wheel.

Think promotions are too expensive for your company? Hire a prize insurance company to cover a majority of the cost of winning. With one of these plans, you can play a minimal cost amount and give away a much bigger prize, without the risk of having to pay out that large prize.


2. Keep your booth clean.

Do one wants to see all of you and your company's belongings, bags, cameras, dirty laundry, and general crap lying around your booth. Put it somewhere hidden and keep your booth tidy. It says a lot about your company if you cannot keep a small space organized.

Clean up your stuff! Keeping your booth professional keeps your brand professional.


3. Hire promotions people that know what they're talking about.

Promo girls are great. They're personable, friendly, and good at handing out flyers. But if they don't know what they are talking about, they are doing more harm than good for your company. There is no bigger turn off to a company than asking "So, what do you guys do?" and not getting a good, succinct, and easily understandable answer.

It is not a small mistake to forget to train promotional people, men, women, and interns on how to talk to attendees at trade shows - talking and making connections to potential clients is a huge part of successfully marketing your company. Here are some steps to take before your promotions team takes to the trade show floor.

• Train every promotional person on a thirty second company pitch. 
• Train your promotional team to answer any questions that attendees may have.
• Give your team a cheat sheet for prices, technical details, and any other important facts about your products or services.

4. Stay at your booth.

There is simply no point to your booth unless there is someone there to run your promotions and answer questions. Empty booths are like empty stores: you are losing money and decreasing your marketing ROI for every minute spent absent from your booth.
\

5. Don't eat at your booth.

Have a schedule that allows the team to take food breaks, and avoids people scarfing down food. Booths that contain people eating their lunch, dinner, or snack are much less inviting... Plus, how can you have a conversation with someone while they are eating?

And no, you are not hiding your food. When you're on the trade show floor, you represent your company, and everyone is watching you while they peruse the exhibits.


6. Follow up with ALL leads.

No matter who the person is, what their title happens to be, or what company they work for - follow up with them. You will be surprised at what connections will help you out in the long run. Don't judge a connection by it's title.

See some more advice from Elizabeth Warren's Blog.

Share this advice with the links below.

6 Free Ways to Increase Your SEO

1. Make a Google Plus Page

Let’s be honest, Google basically created and currently owns search engine optimization (SEO). Whatever you can do to make Google happy will increase your Page Rank on Google, and translate into a better rank on other sites like Yahoo and Bing. Not only make your company a Google Plus page, but post your content regularly on Google Plus to increase your content's Google Page Rank. It always amazes me when people say that they think Google Plus is useless; Google Plus is great for giving Google your content (especially YouTube videos) and proliferating that content on Google search engine results.

2. Choose Precise Keywords for Every Page

In the past, meta-keywords were known as the best way to tell Google and other SEO spiders what your page is all about. Meta-keywords are words that are embedded at the top of the html on every website. If you want to check a site’s keywords, simply right click the page and “View Source.” You will see something that looks like this:

The “content” you see after meta-name = keywords is that page’s meta-keywords. In case you were wondering, this is the source for the Bank of America page.

Meta-keywords are not directly applicable to Google searches today (Google reports that it does not use meta-keywords to rank pages); however, planning these is a good start to mapping the best keywords for each page of your website.

3. Incorporate your Keywords EVERYWHERE

Once you have your precise list of keywords for each page on your website, utilize these keywords as much as possible in all of the following content on your webpages:

• Page Titles
• Page Descriptions
• Image Names
• Image Descriptions
• Image Alt Text
• Page Text and Content

The more your keywords are linked to your website's text and images, the more that Google spiders will recognize what your context or image is about, and rank it accordingly when users are searching for those keywords.

4. Google Trends

Constantly monitor Google Trends for trending keywords that relate to your company’s industry, and update your keywords accordingly. Don’t just use these trending for meta-keywords and AdWords, but also incorporate them in social media and blog posts as well. Google will pick up on your content and give your content major boosts on search inquiries for your topics.

5. Link EVERYTHING

Google and other search engine determine Page Rank by relevant links out on the web that link back to your website. Google also rewards pages for good "link juice," or the flow of the links on your page. Ideally, the user should be able to get anywhere on your site in three to four clicks, even less if possible.

6. Use a Site Map

Site Maps not only help your user navigate your website, but they help Google's spiders track your page as well. Site Maps are the orderly links that can be found on the bottom of websites. Site Maps allow user, and Google, to get anywhere in your site from any page on your site in one click. Brilliant!

Like what you read? Follow my blog, or connect with me on the links to the right.

What Gen X and Y Don't Get About Social Media Marketing

As an MBA student taking many marketing classes, all day, every day, I hear about how businesses should use social media. As a marketing student, I completely agree. But what I hear a lot, and COMPLETELY disagree with, is that businesses should utilize EVERY type of social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Google Plus, Pinterest, Foursquare, LinkedIn, even Pinterest, businesses should be there. No matter what business, they should join every social media site out there and upload, post and gain a following (and they should do it today).

I completely disagree with this sentiment. In my eyes, as well as many of my fellow Millennials, trying to accomplish this feat is totally ridiculous, not to mention a bad business practice for many companies. Many professors recommend that businesses join every site, friend everyone, post everything, no matter what company you are, and what marketing strategy your company has. I think this really shows the generational gap when it comes to social media and social media marketing.

Some social media sites are simply a waste of time and employee hours for certain types of companies. John’s mom and pop sub shop does not need to tweet four times a day, and McDonald’s does not need a Snapchat account. In fact, responses to the hashtag promotion campaign, #McDstories, makes me wonder if they should even bother with a Twitter account at all.

Like everything in marketing, social media needs to be carefully planned and strategized. Joining a social media website for no strategic reason is a waste of time, and the lack of followers your account gains (due to the inappropriate nature of your company’s relationship with that social media website) will actually hurt many customers’ view of your company. To be successful, choose the right platforms, create good content, and monitor your feeds and likes. If you cannot manage to do so, and I sure many of my MBA marketing classmates would be happy to be hired to do it for you.