Social media for sales? Can social media activity really drive sales for a business? - Mark Leech
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Having stepped out of the PR world a few years ago to help establish MicksGarage.ie, an eCommerce business, it was very interesting upon my return to see a significant increase in discussion throughout the communications industry around the emergence of social media. Having been immersed in an online retail business for several years, our social media activity had become one of the bread and butter tools of the trade and we had probably stopped viewing it as a new element of the marketing mix.
As an online retailer we certainly saw the merits and sometimes reaped the rewards of our social media activity, but we probably didn’t give it the kudos, attention or resources which many retailers and organisations are currently investing. The reason was that in the early days of an online retail business, PPC advertising and SEO form the backbone of online sales, and the focus is very much on survival and activity that will drive sales. With a large database, e-mail marketing can be very powerful. And social media channels will bring in some ancillary sales but will be more important from a branding and ‘business personality’ perspective.
Websites have gone from being an afterthought bulletin board to being one of the first channels to be considered in any communications campaign. Companies now lean heavily on websites, Facebook, Blogs, Twitter etc to communicate the message to the digital population. And the digital population now encompasses all demographics.
Over the years in MicksGarage.ie we set up our Facebook page, YouTube channel and Blog and we used email marketing every week. We were one of the first Irish companies to advertise on Facebook - we were so early that people used to e-mail us to ask us to ‘stop hacking into my Facebook page’! Facebook was good for branding but advertising rates increased and we weren’t doing so much advertising on it in subsequent years. However once you reach a tipping point you will see some sales queries generated through Facebook – but don’t base your entire business plan around it! And don’t forget that it is ‘social’ media, not ‘sales’ media – your fans won’t appreciate non-stop sales patter.
And don’t just ‘do social media’ for the sake of doing it. What’s the point in Blogging every week if you’re not getting feedback or interaction? Social media platforms are supposed to be interactive so use the interaction to gain valuable information. For example, running a competition on your Facebook page where you ask fans to suggest a new tagline for your company will provide you with important feedback on their perceptions about your business. Interact with your audience, don’t just post content. Recent research by Millward Brown and the World Federation of Advertisers revealed that Facebook fans value regular posts, trustworthy brand news, new product information, contests and special offers.
Social media activity can be very effective for business, but it shouldn’t be seen as the saviour for companies who see it as rejuvenating flagging sales. From an eCommerce website, consumers value rich product information (details, videos, reviews), easy and effective functionality, trust / security and good old-fashioned customer service. In my experience social media will certainly impact on sales, but it is more important in terms of branding and the long term achievement of sales through reputation building and consumer engagement.