Imagine for a second that Facebook, Instagram and Twitter go bust. Blank, no more Social Media for you, no more posts, no more likes, no more digital campaigns, no influencers… Just imagine. What would your brand do? How would you reach your audiences? How would you make sure you know others know about your brand’s existence? Read here for some Sci-Fi from Brand Reveal…
A world without social media is hard to imagine. After all this channel has become so pervasive and a magic wand to reach with surgical precision your brand audience. Imagining a marketing plan without social media seems ludicrous. And yet, this exercise may not be as crazy as it seems.
First because Social Media is an important investment in budget, people and time. Gone are the days where one thought the internet as cheap direct marketing. Agencies, bloggers, gurus, content managers, production… All have a cost. If TV media expenses is often a barrier to many, Social Media indeed offers “air time” at a lower cost, though costs per contact can go through the roof. So, Social Media is an investment, and as such it must be assessed vs. other marketing mix alternatives.
Which brings us to the second reason of why imagining a brand without social media is not a waste of time. Almost no brand measures the return on investment of social media, i.e. the incremental sales divided by the investment of a social media activity. Digital agencies and platforms are full of “click”, “likes”, “engagement” measures, and sometimes brand equity metrics, but those able to measure ROI are very few. If you do social media to build image (with no ROI measure), but at high cost per contact, then why not consider classic media? And don’t do Social Media just because your competitor does it or feel like a pioneer or because you fear you’ll the next big thing…
The third reason why imagining a world with no Social Media is not a fantasy, is linked with the content quality. Given the apparent cheapness of this channel and the need to capture – as much as we can – the consumers’ attention, many brands feel they need to fill threads with whatever. I am being provocative, but (e.g.) the drinks industry social media is littered with thousands of cocktail ideas, smart barmen or inspirational quotes… I call this Social Media Junk. Having one shot at TV or few media flights invites the brand to really think twice (or three times) about what it is going to say. Because otherwise all those moneys will be wasted. Literally. And so, the point is that it is easy to lose sight of the brand consideration and conversion messages in the digital space.
Now, don’t worry, your Social Media is here. And it’s good. And if you can justify the Social media role in your marketing mix, track its ROI and develop quality threads which connect to your target audience, then it’s even better. But sometimes imagining “what if we did not have it” helps crystalize messages and investment decisions.