08 Oct The Value Proposition of Social Media
With the buzz of social media, I’ve seen companies post their 30 second TV spot on YouTube and call it a social media campaign. Working for a social media agency, I’ve called many out on it. 
Now – I’m noticing another similiar trend. It’s a trend that says that Facebook = social media success. And with this notion, companies are saying, “Heck, let’s start a facebook group!” or, “lets post some banner ads that are demographically targeted!”.
I guess I understand the appeal. Facebook is relatively inexpensive, it reaches a particular demographic, and it’s customers interact with it daily. But unless you’ve got a brand that your customers tattoo on themselves, I’m a little skeptical of these types of approaches. Yes, you may get customers to join your group – but what does that mean anymore? Are your customers interacting with your brand? Are they suggesting it to their friends and family? It’s hard to tell.
In an article by The Sideroad, Jill Konrath discusses that a businesses’ value proposition should be a , “clear statement of the tangible results a customer gets from using your products or services. The more specific your value proposition is, the better.”
This same value proposition should be applied to every social media campaign and tactic. In fact, every tactic should provide some value back to your customer. Below is a list of questions I suggest you ask to yourself to keep yourself in check:
1. Why? What are your goals and objectives?
2. What need or want does this tactic fulfill for your customer?
3. What level of interaction and what frequency will your customer have with this tool?
4. What outcome might your customer take to bring the value back to your company?
As you may notice, the most important question to ask in all of this is , “Why?”. If your answer is “Just to do it” or because “everybody else is” – you are already subject to an unsuccessful campaign, or perhaps another Facebook group. If, however, you have a unique value proposition – you could have a social media application that provides value to both you and your customer.
