We launched social media promotions for a client website. A day prior to actuallt advertising the product, we used Twitter to generate buzz about the product. We did it as a sort of countdown. If you download our toolbar, you'll be the first to hear about the promo. If you become a fan on Facebook, you'll be next. And if you're a Twitter follower, you'll be third.
As I described yesterday, this strategy produced significant buzz and interest. I didn't know it would, but it did. It tilled the marketing soil for today's sales seed, if you will.
Today's results indicate very strongly that this worked well. Make a long story short, we generated 5 sales within a few hours of the toolbar update and social media promotional updates. There is little doubt in my mind that social media accomplished this because the product promo hadn't even gone out to our email subscriber list at the time the sales were reported.
This result, to me, is nothing short of spectacular. It proved to me that I was wrong in my initial assertion. I saw the proof with my own eyes.
Nevertheless, I do think that there are other factors that come into play to make social media promotion a success. I still think, for example, that the popularity of the brand is key; the less well known or sought after a brand is, the less effective a social media marketing campaign will be.
I also think that you have to do a social media promo in a certain way. I think a good deal of groundwork has to first be laid cultivating a following on Twitter and Facebook and nurturing those relationships. If your Twitter or Facebook feeds are just full of "sales spam" and you've spent little or no time in truly engaging and connecting with followers, on a non-business level, then the marketing value of social media is diminished.
It's amazing to me, people's need for sincere relationship and useful information - even online. If your business' social media profiles don't establish these two characteristics FIRST, then I don't think these sites will be effective marketing channels.
Sent from my T-Mobile Dash
Eric Bryant, Director
Gnosis Arts
22 Ray Court
Bedminster, NJ 07921
908.787.3475
www.gnosisarts.com
2 comments:
Eric,
The key is to use social media to move through the Know, Like, and Trust pathway.
Known brands start out potentially already having established all three so their campaigns monetize sooner. Unknown brands have to start at the beginning so monetization is dependent upon reaching the Trust stage.
In both you have to have significant enough communities to engage, share value (typically content), and do it consistently over time.
It's a great feeling seeing our known brands campaigns take off, but really rewarding to see the unknowns move beyond the Trust stage. Patience for unknown brands in the name of the game.
Good point, Sean. Thanks for the comment.
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