As a Social Media Manager I find myself using these phrases on a daily basis: “Size doesn’t matter”, “less is more” and “bigger isn’t always better”! Cliches right? Probably but when it comes to social media marketing there is a common misconception that bigger is better. It’s easy for company CEOs, directors and shareholders to be seduced by superficial figures. More followers, more posts, more text and more money equals better results right? No it doesn’t and here’s why…
More Followers
Followers and fans are not always indicative of the success of a brand because they can easily be manipulated. A Twitter account with 10,000 followers may look impressive but if the followers are not genuine and engaged then it’s not. An account with 600 engaged followers is far more valuable to a brand so don’t be fooled by first appearances! As a SMM I am interested in insights for virality and engagement so that’s likes, shares, comments, retweets, plus ones and favourites.
Tip- Forget the fan numbers and focus on the engagement statistics!
More Posts
When it comes to most social networks less is more because an excess of low value posts, videos or images can leave fans feeling spammed and irritated. Wouldn’t you rather see one high quality message than ten meaningless posts? The aim of page management is not to monopolise the newsfeeds of your followers but to captivate and engage them with the items you do post. Consider how to connect with your target audience via localized research and by utilising geographical/demographic targeting tools.
Tip- Consider fewer page posts but use age, location and interest based targeting to increase engagement.
More Text
As a SMM I often oversee content production for social media channels, forums, websites and blogs. Today’s social media users have a very short attention span so when it comes to captivating text for campaigns, education and branding keep it short and sweet! I keep articles to a maximum of 500 words of SEO savvy readable text with a visually appealing layout.. after all, your efforts are wasted if nobody actually reads it!
Tip- Get to the point with your content writing and do it quickly!
More Budget
Bigger isn’t always better in the budget department either because it’s not what you’ve got but how you use it… yes another cliché! A well planned campaign with a budget of 100 USD can be more successful than a blanket campaign with a spend of 1000 USD. Practice split testing for your target regions and keep a grip on your budget until you are confident you are channelling your efforts in the right direction.
Tip- Start with a small budget, plan your campaign and monitor CPA
Do you think less is more when it comes to marketing? Tweet me and let me know