Social Media for the Rest of Us
The Sprocket Report
This article has been updated on 5/29/2019 with the article entitled “But Will Social Media Work for ME?"
Is Social Media a promising 2013 marketing tactic for your business? Or do you suspect it’s all just hype? Read on for a case study and learn from others.
The trend-spotting experts see even more for social media in the coming year and many small businesses will waste time and money they can’t afford on efforts with low return on investment. Others will reap huge benefits. What makes one campaign work while another fails?
Sprocket launched a website for new storefront a couple of years ago with the recommendation that we support the site with social media. Like most new businesses, the budget was small and the headaches were huge, so we proceeded slowly and methodically.
First we claimed and built business listings at Yelp, Bing and similar online directories. Then we created Facebook and Twitter accounts strictly for the business and spent some time daily responding to comments. The client gave us product information, event details and photos for writing content which we reused for the website, Facebook, an email newsletter and news releases for both online and traditional news outlets.
Facebook and Twitter followers grew and Facebook Insights showed ever-growing engagement with customers who had been or planned on going to the store. Google analytics for the website also reported a steady growth in traffic, much of it referred by Facebook and online directories.
Busy with day-to-day operations, the client was having trouble getting news and photos to us in a timely manner for posting and decided to stop social media support. Engagement came to a screeching halt and Google Analytics showed a rapid decline on the website as well. After many months, they contacted us again for help, which goosed their stats, and they now have an employee who manages their social media.
What worked for them?
- Online directories and Facebook drove traffic to the website
- Photos from the store encouraged engagement
- A social media manager made sure news was posted
- Reusing content spread news among many outlets
What didn’t work for them?
- Last-minute planning didn’t leave enough time to market events
- “When we get to it” usually meant it never got done
- Not staying engaged lost them opportunities with customers
What does this mean for you? Here are the take-aways from this case study:
- Get yourself listed on all the online directories you can, even if you only do one a week.
- Create a marketing plan that includes social media so you can reuse resources.
- Think visual – take lots of photos of your store, your products, etc. for later posting.
- Make it someone’s job to check Facebook and Twitter regularly and respond to customers.
- Measure your progress.
Social media marketing is WAY bigger than this case study, but if you’re a beginner, you will see impressive results just by implementing some simple, economical strategies. If you’re putting a marketing plan together and need help with your Google Analytics or other website support, contact us today to schedule a consultation. We’re happy to help!
Kate Gingold
I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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