Yes, I know what you’re thinking. “Social media gives me confidence? I thought social media created a warped perspective of reality.” Well, for businesses the opposite is actually true. Social media is an amazing opportunity to instill a new kind of confidence in companies, one that reassures them that their marketing tactics are working and up to date.
I first understood the nature of this confidence while visiting a client one afternoon. They had an upcoming open house event at their factory, which would give customers an opportunity to see where their boats were built. My job was to drive customer attendance by utilizing social media networks to advertise the open house. I had created an online event page, composed many digital ads, created a sneak peek video and photos, and I was in the middle of running a giveaway contest. Before hiring me, this company had never had a social media manager before, and their online accounts were gaining a ton of traction for both the product and the upcoming event.
That afternoon, I walked into my client’s office to gather the product I would need for the giveaway. The owner was in the middle of a meeting, but his face lit up when he saw me. He completely stopped the meeting to tell the room, “This is Kirsten. She’s our social media marketer. Have you seen our Facebook page lately? It’s blowing up! She’s been getting us traction for our upcoming event, and her work shows in the numbers. It’s unbelievable. You all need a social media marketer.”
His enthusiasm, his words, and the look on his face made me realize something. Social media does so much more than provide you with a business profile. It gives you confidence that your business is moving in the right direction. He wasn’t just complimenting me. He was confirming to himself and to the other people in the meeting that his company was up to date with the latest marketing tactics. He felt proud to be engaged in social media, and he knew that it was helping his brand overall.
He was also excited to show that he cared enough to hire someone that could take on this work at a professional level. The company’s online presence had previously been run by a family member who had left that position over a year earlier, leaving the company’s social media inactive in the meantime. Hiring a professional rebuilt his confidence because he knew the job was in capable hands. He knew that his company was heading in the right direction by staying up to date and visible to his customers via social media.
