Value of social media – grow offline “Influencers”

A visit to a doctor’s office almost always starts with a finger on the pulse. I liken "net promoters" as that starting point to learn about the health of a business, before diving into a wide array of tables and charts, and making recommendations to optimize website and/or business operations. 

Harvard Business Review talked about “net promoters” as one metric businesses should measure – the idea being that if the user is talking about your product/service to friends and family, he/she is most likely to return and bring new traffic to your store; which brings us to the concept of one metric that can be used as a “pulse” of the business. I promoted a concept of “repeat visitation” as that one metric to define your website’s performance. Another one that I have believed strongly in is the “bounce rate” that is a good indicator of our success at engaging our users the moment they set foot in our experience.

Interestingly enough, all these metrics tend to define user satisfaction with your product or service, implying that the users are willing to talk about it – think “social media.” I found that a recent eMarketer report talked about influencers in the same vein. Here’s the quote “Marketers trying to boost their earned media online are on the hunt for influencers, those customers who are ready and willing to spread the word to others about products and services … they looked for new experiences, liked to know about new products first and told their friends when they had problems with a brand …” 

The study noted that word-of-mouth happened offline, however, it all starts online and we can employ some of the following tactics to build differentiated social media plans in our online marketing strategy.

1. Identify the target audience in your social media mix that can be categorized as “influencers.” These are typically the ones who are most engaged with your products/services/brands.
2. Build a company blog, if you already don’t have one, which speaks to this user segment.
3. Target the influencers through both social media and company blog with product information and updates, relevant offers, etc.
4. Sustain their interests through polls, surveys, offers that offer them a forum to speak and also talk about your product/service - this will drive new users to your site through the word-of-mouth.
5. Offer special sales and promotions designed for this group to thank them for their loyalty and support.

Improving lifetime value, high engagement, and brand loyalty never sounded this easy … all the more relevant in B2B environment.

Would love to hear your thoughts on the topic, things that worked in your business, new ideas!