You have to fish where the fish are!
As we mentioned in our last publication — Social Media Marketing 101: A Jargon Primer, Social Networks are important because they capture the attention of many people. People are shifting their time from reading newspapers and watching television to engaging with their personal social network of friends on mobile phone or computer. To best reach people today, you inevitably have to commit to Social Media Marketing in various forms. Some are very expensive and others less so. Though you are increasingly compelled to commit to Social Media Marketing, in many ways it is a faster, more efficient and more effective way to target and win new customers. You can tailor your message and leverage key influencers and their social personal networks to do all the heavy lifting.
Marketing 101 — Remember the historic purchasing decision process by Kotler
Philip Kotler, one of the most recognized and distinguished marketing authors and experts, first published “Marketing Management, Analysis, Planning and Control” in 1967 and, though in its 15th Edition, it remains one of the core must-read marketing text books for most Graduate School programs. Kotler identifies the 5 key steps that consumers go through – Needs Awareness, Information Search, Evaluating Alternatives, Purchase Decision and Post-Purchase assessment.
How the Traditional Purchase Decision Process Changes with Social Media
If an existing customer has a tremendous experience – at a restaurant, a sport event, or social gathering – and posts photos and perhaps supportive words about it to their personal social network, he becomes an influencer. He also becomes an ambassador for the company and its product/service. The downstream impact of this action is tremendous, and those firms that both facilitate this and leverage it will unequivocally win new customers.
According to HubSpot, 71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase/selection decision based on a social media reference. Twitter claims that 50% of Twitter users have “visited or shopped with a website of an SMB (Small Business) they follow”.[1]
This gets back to deeply embedded human psychology. Social Proof by way of a recommendation from a known person within a social circle of friends gives us comfort and we feel more secure about making a purchase/selection decision. People are always looking for validation in their decision process, and a public post from a trusted friend delivers that in great form.
All of a sudden, the Needs Awareness gets delivered in the form of a social post right on the mobile phone or computer screen in front of you. While the Information Search could be important, the validation from a trusted friend and authority will generally shortcut that step considerably. The same is true for evaluating alternatives. If your closest and most trusted friends are thrilled with their choice, then this is a likely indicator it’s the best choice for you as well.
As you can see, the traditional purchasing decision process can be compressed in time due to the power of the influencer and his social endorsement.
Reeling in the Fish – Yes, Social Media Marketing done right will win new customers!
Ideally, when the prospect is staring at this social endorsement, he would be influenced further by engaging directly and taking immediate action. The difference between a passive selfie taken by your customer and a smart-post done by an advanced Social Media Marketing platform is the key to acquiring the new customer. If the prospect can click on the smart-posted endorsement and jump to a location where he can get additional information, view the next upcoming activities, or collect a coupon to save money, then the conversion from prospect to customer becomes increasingly likely. Clicks are important and when the action begins with the referral from a trusted source, the value of the click is substantially more likely to blossom into a new customer.
[1] Mike Ewing, “71% More Likely to Purchase Based on Social Media Referrals [Infographic]”, www.blog.hubsport.com, 2012
Coming up Next…
In our next part to this series, we will cover the most important things to focus on and know about in Social Media Marketing.
Volume 3: The 5 most important things to know about Social Media Marketing
Volume 4: The Content Challenge in Social Media Marketing
Volume 5: A Picture is Worth 50 Engagements
Volume 6: A Case Study – A small business succeeding wildly with Social Media Marketing
Additional Resources
Volume 1: Social Media – A Jargon Primer
Case Study: A Movie Theater
Case Study: A Brewery and Restaurant – Oasis Brewery
Case Study: A Baseball Team – The Frisco Rough Riders