Social Media is about Relationships

Each and every day many business owners ask some common questions. How are they able to measure the value in social media marketing? How much will they have to invest before seeing a positive Return of Investment (ROI)? Rather than placing a simple quantitative value on social media marketing efforts, business owners and brands alike must understand that the point of social is to provide a qualitative function.

We cannot forget the very fundamentals of engaging with a customer and building relationships. This goes back to the very basic needs of humans, and that is to connect with others. Social media provides us the opportunity to achieve human connection. We simply need to reach out and make the effort to do so with one another by looking at each other in the digital eye. That means referring to people by name, getting to know a little bit about them, or even dropping a comment on their page to let them know you pay attention to the little details. Those are the small things that separate your business or brand from the rest of the competitors. When you do things like that, your customers will not only be excited about you taking notice, they will advocate your business through the excitement of engagement they received from such a simple gesture.

Another key is being able to build a community that wants to be a part of your brand. Let’s face it, relationships are the new currency and without them, getting things done are simply a bit more difficult. When was the last time you leveraged a connection or relationship? How well did it go? Can you put an ROI value behind it? Chances are, there is not a single nominal digit that will replace the value of a relationship which is why it is essential to build strong relationships with your customers so that they start to embrace your content and evangelize your brand.

The fact of the matter is that a digital strategy doesn’t kick in over night. It takes hard work, persistence, and a lot of trial and error. If you put in the work though, chances are you will be able to reap the rewards. Put some time and effort into building a relationship with a customer, and the likelihood is high that they will place their trust, loyalty, and money in your arms when they need your help, product, or service. As social media continues to evolve, businesses and brands can no longer send out one way communication and expect to achieve great results.

Everything we do on the web must have a consideration for interaction with someone whether it be a client, a follower, or even a potential customer. By doing so, we are essentially reverting back to the old ways of marketing by getting right down to the root level, and engaging in human to human interaction. The only difference now, is that we’re using new mediums to bridge old connections.

The next time you’re curious about the dollar amount you will get back from your initial investments, consider the value of the customer’s trust, and loyalty. Also, consider the value of the relationship you’ve just created. Not only are they priceless, the ROI will ultimately come. With that in mind? What is something that you or your brand is doing on social to build relationships? Is there a strategy you currently use that’s working? Share your thoughts with us, we’d love to hear them! Drop a comment below, or tweet us @BoxlessMedia!