Social media has evolved to become a spider’s web. With people being caught up in this web, so are most businesses. Brands, today, ensure a consistent presence on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. And they probably should. However, businesses on social media are chasing what people are chasing. And they certainly shouldn’t – likes, follows, views, and all the other vanity or “feel good” metrics could be highly misleading for a business.
Successful social media platforms trigger the human sentiment of feeling appreciated. It is natural for humans to like being appreciated. It is natural to seek validation and to get our voices heard. So, isn’t it great, that businesses and people have ready access to these platforms? It truly is. Social media does have the power to make the unapproachable approachable, and of opening up opportunities that did not exist two decades ago.
But, the narrow lanes of social media cities are slippery and slimy and it’s easy to fall for all the wrong reasons. Here’s why chasing vanity metrics could be dangerous for brands:
Feel Good Metrics May Have Nothing To Do with Conversions
Even if you own a beauty, apparel, or similar brand that uses social media as its primary selling channel, feel good metrics could portray a skewed picture regarding the performance of your business and may give you a false sense of satisfaction. For other businesses, the numbers could be even more off the mark. Many small businesses die out despite massive reach because eyeballs don’t convert to sales.
A Major Distraction from the Actual Plot
Vanity metrics often become one of the most distracting elements in marketing. Your brand managers, marketers, and agencies could end up putting all their energy and efforts just to show some huge numbers, which may not have any correlation with your sales figures. Several young startups drain a lot of money chasing social media numbers without having an objective that ties back to some real cash flow.
Creates a Negative Ripple Effect
With all brands, big or small, chasing vanity figures for the sake of thrill, a negative ripple effect is created in the industry as well as the society putting undue pressure on other businesses and people to become highly active on social media. Suggested frequencies on these platforms have become insanely high to beat the algorithms, especially for the new on-boarders. And the major beneficiaries are the platforms wanting people to stay hooked.
Adds to Mental Health Problems
There is no dearth of research pointing out the correlation between social media and clinical depression. Studies have shown how reducing the time spent on social media can have a positive impact on one’s emotional well-being. There are millions of social media managers, executives, founders and marketers who spend more than the required time trying to keep up with new trends on these platforms. While this activity is certainly required to a certain extent, the more our world squeezes into our tiny palms, the more lost we are bound to feel. Information overload and social media overtime could be the next big workplace hazards.
Is a Risky Bet
Social media presence is good as a hygiene factor. It is great when used in a targeted manner to get the right leads for business growth. But if that is your only investment for income and your business is highly reliant on it, you might have bought a really risky proposition. People use social media as a source of entertainment. Once they get bored, they move to newer sources of entertainment. We never know which platform could be standing on the brink of a slow death. Add to that Government regulations and uncertainties in this space and you have the perfect recipe for an unpredictable disaster. Do evaluate your dependencies on every platform that you’re present on and think of how your business will cope if any of these stops functioning the way it does today.
Let’s agree on one thing. Businesses cannot rule out social media from their marketing strategy completely. But there are ways to tread the quagmires of social media cautiously and in ways that align with your business objectives. Your eyes need to be on your revenues. And the metrics that you give importance to should trace back to their impact on sales, customer acquisition and customer retention. Being a brand loved on social media is the cherry on top.
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Written By: Bhavana Pandey
