If you're anything like me, you're surrounded by friends and businesses alike, bragging about their Twitter followers, their blog subscribers, and their Facebook stats.
But in the same breath they brag about their latest social media conquests, they complain that business is down.
Thus, an article on the disconnect between social media engagement and real, tangible revenue.
Engagement ≠ revenue
Consider the oft-talked about Pepsi Refresh Project.
You may remember in late 2009 when Pepsi announced they wouldn't be buying any Super Bowl ad time (you know that one program where the world actually tunes in just to see the commercials).
Instead, they'd be spending that money on a new social media project -- Pepsi Refresh.
Two years later, at the time of this post's publication, the project boasted 6,422,107 Facebook "Likes," and had 186,491 Facebook users talking about it (liking, commenting, sharing, etc.).
Those are impressive numbers. Truly, consider the reach of those engagement stats compared to the population of the city you live in.
Unfortunately, all those Likes and all that engagement hasn't done anything for Pepsi's revenue.
In fact, sales of Pepsi and Diet Pepsi fell 4.8% and 5.2% respectively in 2010 (WSJ).
What's the real goal?
The ultimate goal in any business is to turn a profit. To increase sales year-to-year. To see a growing percentage of repeat customers.Those are all revenue-driven goals, as they should be.
If carrier pigeons help you do that, keep using pigeons.
If obscenely-designed billboards are effective, carry on.
If social media aids your journey to a profitable business, then fantastic, keep doing what helps you sell.
But don't confuse revenue goals with social media analytics.
All the likes, retweets, replies, and shares may be encouraging, but you can't deposit them at the ATM.
Social media's role in the bottom line
I'm a vocal advocate for social media for businesses. But as a mix, NOT the sole focus.
And I think a lot of organizations have fallen prey to the lure of 'the next big thing' and ignored the real pay-off of another marketing channel (that's all social media is, another marketing channel) -- ultimately, to increase sales.
But our Facebook likes have increased 45% over last month!
Great, are you beating your quota?
We have 1,500 more Twitter followers than our competitor!
Awesome, are those 1,500 followers actually buying anything?
We have 15 Flickr sets showing off our products in hi-res!
And...? And those Flickr sets have yielded what exactly?
What you should take away
No doubt, social media allows small businesses to compete with industry giants like never before.But that doesn't mean you ignore those marketing channels that offer a higher return on your investment simply because social media platforms are accessible.
Sure, engaging with prospects may yield new first-time customers.
Just the same, engaging with prospects via social media could net absolutely nothing. Just a casual audience that's no closer to buying from you than they were six months ago.
Like I've noted before, social media isn't for everybody. And just because it's there and available and free doesn't mean you have to use it.
I've made a similar argument for why Apple doesn't need social media. And last time I checked, they had more available cash than the U.S. Treasury.
You may find you're more focused on what really matters -- your product, your customer experience, etc. -- when you're not spreading yourself too thin with phantom social media obligations.
Talk back
Agree? Disagree? Tell me in the comments, below.
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