A GUIDE TO MANAGING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING EXPECTATIONS

WE'VE HEARD IT ALL BEFORE

“We want 200,000 YouTube views in three months”, “I would like to sell 30,000 pieces of product in the first months” and our favourite, “I think one million Facebook fans in six

months is reasonable.”

Plain and simple, these goals are unrealistic. It’s our job as your marketing and PR team to manage your expectations properly so that you can understand the relevance and importance of our contribution towards the overall growth

of your brand. Without taking the time to do this, no one will be happy with the results, including us.

Here are some things to remember to ensure success and keep you sane.

IT'S A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT

As cliché as this sounds, it couldn’t be more true. The idea of going ‘viral’ has poisoned the general

understanding of how social media works.

While a video may go viral, meaning it garners massive visibility in a very

short time, social media is NOT a quick solution for success.

A consistent and compelling content strategy must be put into place over the long term in order for you to see significant results.

UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE BEFORE YOU START

If a client ever asks “What sort of sales should I expect to see from this campaign?” we immediately understand that there is a disconnect between what the client thinks

digital marketing does and what it actually does.

The purpose of digital marketing is to expand visibility and brand awareness and to spark new conversations about you that can lead to new fans funneling back to your

social media accounts or website.

The sole purpose of social media marketing is to engage in conversations with existing and new fans and potential customers, to build increased loyalty which can

ultimately be converted into sales.

KNOW YOUR TARGETS TO SET REAL GOALS

It is important to understand your target industry as a whole so that you know what the best case scenario actually is.

This will be an immense help when creating the goals you wish to achieve from your marketing campaigns.

UNDERSTAND THE SCOPE OF THE WORK

We can’t stress enough how critical this is. Not all digital marketing is the same, and in fact there are several ways that it can be executed, with a wide variety of focuses.

You must choose the right agency to deliver what you need it to, on the platforms that your business needs. So understand what type of firm you are speaking to before you

approach them to run a campaign.

ACCEPT THAT DIGITAL MARKETING DOESN’T HAVE ‘TYPICAL’ RESULTS

“What are the typical results?” must be the most common question we get asked when approached by any new client.

There are a lot of factors that a digital marketer can control that can really determine the effectiveness of a campaign.

However, there are a lot of outside factors that digital marketers can control,

such as demand for new stories within your specific niche, how much opportunity in that niche exists, and how well your story resonated,

that will ultimately be the deciding factors.

For us every client and every campaign is different.

COMMUNICATE. WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER!

In order to make sure your goals are on point and to further make sure that your agency are working effectively to achieve these goals, you need to be communicating!

If you come to the table with a goal and then disappear for a month it becomes incredibly difficult for them to manage your goal as they continue to work on your behalf.

If you are going to run a digital or social marketing campaign, understand that your

involvement and ability to stay productive throughout the process will be instrumental to its success.

GOOD LUCK!