The rate of change in the digital world is in constant acceleration. New social apps and networks are coming up overnight and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell recognize the next killer app.
When our social customers like us on Facebook, 60% of them expect to find peer-to-peer experiences and 46% expect incentives or rewards. Also, 40% of consumers say they want more from brands in social media. It's really important to be aware of this. Consumers just expect brands to be there engaging them in specific ways.
42% of marketers say they are very concerned about demonstrating the value of social media to executive management. This is a problem. 35% say improving social media measurement is a top priority. But just 4% of marketers say their ability to measure the overall impact of social media is excellent. That's another problem which needs to be solved.
For example, 45% of marketers are very concerned about getting the right social media tools and technologies. And 44% of them say they are very concerned about competing for attention in social media. This is really important, especially when we know that 42% of consumers report they are more likely to share negative brand experiences because of social media!
Despite all mentioned troubles and problems with social media, it’s important to remember that marketers who dare to try to solve them, are those that come out ahead in the end with social customers.
Those who listen, engage, experiment, and approach their social media marketing practices with business goals in mind, are those best able to take advantage of all the things social does right.
One thing is certain, social media marketing is great at raising awareness. So in general, we can give the social media marketing channel pretty high marks. 35% of marketers say social media marketing helps to meet primary business objectives better than most other channels. So we all agree that even though it’s a bit problematic to deal with it, it does some things very well.
Now, Social media has given us a whole new set of metrics to track. Fans, likes, followers, volume of mentions, shares, etc. But it’s really important to note that these shouldn’t be the key objectives of your social media marketing. These are performance indicators, which can signal how well we might be driving business outcomes.
The results of your social efforts should be to drive real business outcomes—things like reducing the cost of support, improving customer satisfaction, driving revenue, etc.
For example, 26% of consumers say they connect with brands on Facebook because they want to be heard. 25% say that when they Tweet about a brand or product—good or bad—they expect to hear from the company. This is so important. Consumers want to get in touch!
And 9% of consumers report that they’ve actually heard from a brand after Tweeting about them. So, listening to what our customers have to say about us is a fundamental component of getting success with social media marketing.
Yes, social media can be scary. It’s a constantly emerging landscape where the customer is in charge of the conversation. That's why smart marketers embrace new tools and technologies and meet social customers where they already are — whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter or anywhere else.
If you business cares about customer satisfaction and loyalty brand awareness and revenue, you should meet your social customers as well.
Source: Nailing Social Media Marketing ROI - lithium.com