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Your agency is not going to successfully prove to your target audience that you know what you’re talking about by having 3,000 Twitter followers or 2,500 Facebook ‘likes’. The only thing that this proves is that you know how to get 3,000 people to follow you on social media. What you really need to focus on is the agency’s core message to your target audience and realizing whether or not they are listening and responding to that message. In order to accomplish this, you need to produce quality content that your Facebook fans and Twitter followers will read and share. Focus on quality first, and then quantity second.
Quality vs Quantity
Obviously the best outcome you’re looking for is a large and engaged community following who is eager to consume and share your agency’s content. Simply put, we want them telling our story, and we can achieve this through having quality combined with quantity. However, it is much better to have 250 fans or followers that like you, listen to you, and care what you have to say, than to have 5,000 followers who only liked your Facebook page because you begged them to do so. We see many agencies who try so desperately to grab followers on social media, but the real and proven way to get a return from quantity comes from knowing and understanding your audience. At my agency, we reach out to our clients on Facebook after we have sold them a policy. Since we have some common ground with these clients, it’s much easier for us to know and understand our audience.
Another way to add quality to your agency’s social media presence is through Pinterest. This site allows you to find other individuals that have similar lifestyles and beliefs that you have, and then you take those interests and utilize them on other social media outlets. Finding quality is not an easy task, but it is key to having social media success and, especially at my agency, a successful ROI.
If you want real results through your agency’s social media accounts, then you must focus on the needs of your audience. Help them achieve their goals and objectives. Inspire them to connect with you and your agency, in hopes of helping them achieve their objectives. When they achieve their objectives, you achieve yours. Inspire – connect – achieve! Remember social media is never about you or your agency, it is always about others.
Is Your Audience Listening?
Does your audience care what you have to say? If the answer is ‘no,’ then maybe you’re targeting the wrong audience. Here at my agency I personally spend time every single week reviewing my audience and gauging their ever-changing likes and dislikes in order to accomplish two goals- 1) decipher who are fake connections, and 2) ensure that I am actively engaging with my targeted audience. Make sure you’re asking these questions: Are they truly listening to me and/ or responding to my posts? Do they follow the advice I’m giving? Am I giving them good reason to think outside the box? Am I inspiring them to be better people, or, more specifically, be something greater than what they currently are through the content that my agency is producing? Once again, if the answer is ‘no,’ then you have the wrong audience and your agency’s marketing strategy will suffer significantly. Take time to understand your audience- don’t simply ‘friend’ people just for the sake of ‘friending.’ Always be active with your audience and listen to them- never ignore them. Remember, go after quality,because with it you can turn a client into someone that not only has a vested interest in seeing you succeed, but who can also become a center of influence on behalf of your agency.
The bottom line here is simple- there is no short cut to business results. Social media is not some panacea that is going to cure all of your agency’s problems. There is no social media ‘easy button’ that is going to project you to the top overnight. It is simply a medium for your agency to better communicate with your clients (or future prospects) and provide value to your audience. It is a necessary bridge that can foster lasting and successful relationships, so do not utilize this invaluable tool the wrong way.
