Social Marketing Is Best Served on a Combo Plate

If you’re accountable for the dollars your company spends on social media-related marketing and you’re looking for evidence that socially engineered content and engagement marketing lifts sales, social media marketing agencies here’s some good news.A just-released study shows that consumers -- patrons of five fast-food franchises in this case -- are much more likely to pull out their wallets and purses after being exposed to social content on sites like Facebook and Twitter than those who aren’t. Moreover, when exposed to socially engineered content and other types of media (e.g., television ads, billboard campaigns and public relations efforts resulting in earned media placements) the likelihood for a bigger spend, consumption or brand perception is increased by a whopping two to seven times.These findings — from the latest Social Media Sales Impact Study (published by Ogilvy & Mather and ChatThreads) — reinforce the importance of having an integrated multichannel marketing campaign that includes creating and leveraging conversational and user-generated content.The study also shows that you shouldn’t put all your eggs into one basket. Exposure to several fast-food brands via social media reached only 24 percent of the consumers involved in the exercise. That’s low when compared to 69 percent of survey participants who reported having taken note of a TV ad for one of the restaurant brands during a weeklong test period. Billboards for one or more of the five chains (KFC, McDonalds, Subway, Taco Bell and Wendy's) caught the eye of only 37 percent of consumers.But the study shows that exposure to multiple channels — a combo plate involving social media along with television exposure, search and social media marketing billboards, public relations or other advertising avenues — positively impacts sales. For instance, consumers exposed to social media combined with public relations showed a 17 percent increase over purchases without such dual exposure. Those who experienced social media exposure along with a TV ad were two times more likely to purchase more that they did the week before.

Make your campaigns easy to share

Your aim is to capture your customers' attention and then inspire them to comment on and share your content or offer with their friends or network. That way, a whole new audience hears about your business,social media marketing applications with the implied endorsement of your customers. What a powerful way to get your message across. Add social share icons to the top of your email newsletter, so readers can easily share your content with just one click.Keep your tweets short and sweet so that others can retweet within Twitter's 140-character limit.Post sign-up links across your social media accounts.Add a "Join My Mailing List" box to your website and Facebook pages.Invite your audience to join your mailing list by texting you (if your email marketing service provider offers this feature).Pay attention to customer conversations and feedback when you post on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If a discussion catches fire, jump in yourself and fan the flames to keep it going. Engage customers in social conversations, and use their input to develop ideas for future email content that they'll also want to share.See how many people shared your holiday campaigns outside the email environment. Take note of what works and what doesn't, so you may take those valuable lessons learned into the new year.Social media gives email more reach and power, connecting all of your communications in an integrated engagement marketing plan. Combining email and social media marketing enables you to better engage your customers, and inspire them to share your content -- and do some of the holiday marketing for you. Here's to a social and successful holiday season. marketing using social media It's tough to go anywhere these days without finding a sign that begs us to "like" a business on Facebook or to follow it on Twitter. Yelp stickers in front windows are more prevalent than those from the Better Business Bureau. And all we have to do to learn about a business we're thinking of patronizing is drop its name into a web search box and wait for the results.

Customize your message for each network

Tools make it easy to share your email content across social media channels. But don't overly automate your marketing message ("set it and forget it") at risk of losing your personal touch. los angeles social media marketing Get to know your audience segments and their preferred social turf. Then, create a customized message for each network of followers. Post those links to your email newsletter on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn wherever your audience spends social time online.But exactly how are businesses using the plethora of social tools to convert possibility into revenue? I came across two examples in vastly different industries. If you have a brick-and-mortar location, here are two businesses that offer tools for turning virtual relationships into concrete revenue.Who said you couldn't cash tacos at the bank? Founded in early 2009, Marination Mobile is the brainchild of partners Kamala Saxton and Roz Edison. Coupling the vast success of the Los Angeles food-truck business with a wine-drenched evening, they hatched the idea for a truck-based dining experience that's gone gangbusters.So where does social come into play? Their business plan has never been without it. "We knew that if this was ever going to be a success, we had to include the people we wanted to serve in our business plan," Saxton says. In business-planning vernacular, that means they included social web strategies in their marketing efforts four months prior to when their food truck served its first taco.What's the secret sauce? They discovered Emily Resling, who not only had a knack for social marketing, but also understood their brand--she drives Marination's online personality in ways they could have only dreamed about. social media marketing university review She has even developed a style guide for the brand.Today, Marination Mobile isn't just mobile. Contrary to the traditional practice of brick-and-mortar restaurants launching food trucks, they've gone back-assward and now have opened a storefront location. In two years, they've gone from concept to two business locations, and the owners thank their audience for making that happen.