#Protip: Set Reality-Based Metrics For Social Media Success

Every business wants their customers to show them love on Facebook, Twitter or any of the other social media platforms. As business owners and managers see other companies around them gaining traction and accumulating followings, they will likely look inward and ask why they too aren't achieving success that is to that level, if not greater. The way they see it, there's no reason why a business that serves thousands of people a month shouldn't have thousands of Likes on Facebook, or 10 re-tweets every time something is posted. They see themselves and their business as the exception, not the rule. That looks good on paper, however it is not reality-based. Author and content strategist Jay Baer wrote a post yesterday about this issue that some businesses and managers have: Most businesses massively overestimate the bond between company and customer in social media. Even your robust online community with appropriate social media staffing doesn’t create a blood oath among fans. Recognize that – especially in Facebook – your brand is literally competing for attention with friends and family and close confidants. There’s not been a company-authored status update ever written that I care more about than routine updates from my friends and family. On Facebook, Twitter and any other social media platform that your company is active in, it's important to remember that your activity will always be secondary to the things that your customers' friends and family are saying. That can be a hard pill to swallow when it becomes a reality. Jay went on to explain that ultimately your customers will approach your business' social channel with the mind set of "what's in it for me." It is desirable to have your customers want to follow you on Twitter or Like you on Facebook simply because they want to tell the world that they love you. In some cases that's exactly what happens. But the majority will need something in return for their social media loyalty. When developing a social media strategy for a company or business, don't lose sight of where you stand with your customers in social media. They might like you a lot, and will comment or reply when something catches their eye, but you will always come second to posts by their friends and family, no matter what they're saying or posting about.

Fishbowl

#Protip: Set Reality-Based Metrics For Social Media Success

Ben LaMothe

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Ben LaMothe