I was just thinking back to high-school days, about this girl; Christina. She was pretty … and she knew it. In fact, she always played it up and made it pretty damn obvious that she wanted EVERY boy in the school to want her.
You know the type—skirt hitched up, top-button never buttoned, push-up bra, as much makeup as she could get away with, sideways glances and cute smiles… the works!
It was non-stop. Actually, it looked like hard work to me and I was sometimes left wondering how she could even keep the game going. She was investing heavily in an outcome it seemed… but what was the end-goal for her?
I think she had a deep misconception that being “wanted” would lead to being “loved”. It shows a rather sad sign of insecurity when you think about it. And it’s totally wrong most of the time.
She did achieve her goal.
She WAS popular. If she had a Facebook page or Instagram profile back then, I’m sure that her following would have been bloody impressive.
But do you know what her ROI was on this heavy investment in “fans” and “followers”? A short-lived run of shallow relationships and ultimately, long-term heartache …while other girls established meaningful relationships with decent blokes over time.
Why am I telling you all this?
Because it’s just like some of the social media and content marketing firms I’ve seen. And I feel like I should almost apologise if you’re one of those firms, because I’m pulling the lid on the scams and misconceptions that go on in the digital marketing world — probably to my own detriment!
So here it is…. Vanity metrics are painted plastic products, sold as gold in today’s desperate world of digital marketing.
That’s why our foundation and focus here at Red Sky Media is (and always has been) in business-building, not “art” or the vanity metrics touted by many media firms out there that seem to be run by post-pubescent teenagers.
Sure, big numbers are great, but are they the right numbers? Engagement is awesome, but are you engaging the right people? Fans are fantastic, but are they fans because of your business, or because of your fancy Facebook stream?
Don’t be misdirected by the glamour of fans, followers, likes and loves. Sure, they’re definitely an indicator that you’re doing something right in the world of social media and, with the right strategy, they can bring you benefit. BUT, ultimately, the only 2 questions you should be asking are these…
1. How many genuine leads am I getting from this?
Anyone can pull up your skirt, pimp your makeup and get some very generalised population of people checkin’ your feed like a frenzy of mindless, horny boys. That sh*t is easy. And, yes, we could do that too if you’re genuinely just after a few quickies in the back-seat (so-to-speak) or a career in pop music perhaps.
But what is challenging (and imperative!) is reaching and engaging the right people with the right message at the right time. Man, it almost gives me a headache just thinking about how challenging this can be (and yet that’s what my “troops” do daily for our clients).
Quality leads (in your CRM, inbox or coming at you directly via phone or in person even) are the end-goal. That’s what we work for. That’s why we help clients with a full-funnel strategy, not just throw a bunch of pretty sh*t online and hope it sticks to enough people to make us look good.
2. Who’s brand am I building?
If you’re happy to build some social media platform’s brand then, by all means, throw a truck-load of cash at some teen “engagement” queen to put a push-up on your business assets and just build your audience there in la-la land.
But if you’re wanting to build your own brand and business, then you need a carefully constructed, full-funnel strategy to get the right people thinking of you as their one-and-only.
If you’d like a copy of MY full-funnel strategy — the one my team uses every day to build businesses — then please drop me a line (and your skirt hem while you’re at it!).