Why People Follow Brands on Social Media

Amidst the low quality selfies, hilarious pet videos, and mouth-watering cooking tutorials, social media users in recent years have found a new kind of post on their feeds. This post, if done right, simultaneously advertises and entertains, capturing the user’s brand loyalty as well as their spending dollars. Brands, realizing the opportunities that come with social media, have pounced on the chance to put their products or services directly in their customers’ news feeds. With 78% of consumers relying on companies’ social media posts to help them make purchasing decisions, according to a study done by Forbes, it’s not all that surprising that people would choose to mix their social sharing and shopping research on the same platform. But what compels a user to follow a brand in the first place?

Why do people follow brands? Incentives

As much as we’d like to think that consumers are following our page for a good laugh or the informational content we spend hours producing, it turns out there is a little more to it. Before they can become a loyal and engaged user, there has to be good reason for them to click the “follow” button. A whopping 56% of social media users surveyed by MarketingSherpa said they originally followed brands to see promotions or coupons regularly. In a similar vein, 44% said they followed to enter a contest, get a discount, or win a gift card. Evidently, many are most interested in what companies have to offer them.

Incentives really serve two purposes. First, they attract new users to follow your account, buy your products, or (ideally) both. Second, they keep loyal customers coming back again and again – an equally important task. Discounts or promotions serve as reminders to consumers, positioning your brand at the top of their minds.

Why do people follow brands? Content

According to the same Marketing Sherpa survey, less than half of all consumers (38%) follow a brand for their informational content. Those how-to posts, reviews, and tip sheets you slave over? Apparently they’re not as alluring as the twenty-percent-off coupon that takes you a few minutes to throw together. Even fewer (31%) follow for entertaining content such as funny videos, memes, or bits of pop culture. But don’t let this discourage you, as informational or entertaining content serves its own purpose in attracting and keeping the right customer. As we discussed in our 80/20 Rule of Content Marketing post, all of your social media efforts are in vain if you are not aware of and catering to your target market. While a discount will get you a new follower, your content is ultimately what will determine whether or not they stick around after the promotion is over.

Good content is what turns your brand’s account from a bulletin board of coupons to a social page where users can stay engaged.

♦♦♦

In the delicious and complicated soup that is social media marketing, it’s important to remember that each ingredient gives your social platform a different flavor. Pushing out too many incentives can make your brand seem impersonal, but too much informational or entertaining content might allow customers to forget that you have something to sell them. Striking a balance between the two gives you the best chance of accomplishing the dual goal of attracting a large following and keeping them coming back for more.

Factors Impacting Your Social Media Management Costs

Which major factors can cause social media management costs to go up (or down)?

Social Media costs go up and down as your social media needs change. There is no “one size fits all” approach. However, there are some factors that impact the social media costs to fluctuate. Being armed with the knowledge can help you plan and prepare strategically for times when you need the budget to fluctuate.

  • Strategy
  • Frequency of posting & engagement
  • Quality of posting
  • Scope of creative services (graphic design, video creation/editing, writing service)

 

1) Strategy

Before a social media campaign’s frequency, quality, and creative services can be determined, a strategy must be developed. How detailed should your social media strategy be? Social media strategies begin with determining the specific target audience, selecting the right platforms to reach that audience, and then defining the goals, how you will measure success, and actions are considered a conversion. These aspects can be as general or as highly detailed as you see fit, but they must both be in place to effectively determine your social media costs. In our experience, we believe the more detail in your strategy and plan, the better your execution will be, and the better you can control the social media costs in the future.

For our comprehensive guide to defining your target market, click here.
Goals, Measurements, Conversions – What are you looking to achieve with your social media campaign? Knowing your goals will help your social media team (whether they are in-house or an agency) put together a strategic plan to accomplish the goals. Some goals to consider are:
    • increasing followers to boost brand awareness and website traffic
    • engagements and interactions including comments, likes, shares, re-pins, lists, etc.
    • customer service and answering customer questions through social media messaging
    • lead generation through sign-ups, downloads, phone calls, brick-and-mortar visits, etc.
    • online sales

Continue reading

Facebook Notes or Facebook Instant Articles?

facebook instant articles and notes

Facebook Instant Articles or Facebook Notes—which should your business use?

With marketers continuously looking for new ways to leverage their content marketing strategies, all developments in publishing platforms must be evaluated. Facebook is a social media giant and an influential marketing platform. Despite its ubiquity, Facebook offers features that are undervalued for content marketing purposes. Those features? Facebook Notes and Facebook Instant Articles. First, let’s very simply define each tool. Then, we will explore the highlights with pro-con lists.Continue reading