What is the goal of Social Media for brands?

Repeat after me - building a community of people who share your vision. That is the first and prime goal of your companies social media communication. Forget about lead generation and direct sales. If you keep this attitude, you might achieve it all.

So many articles or podcasts online give you pretty obvious lists of social media marketing goals for B2B businesses. They usually start with brand awareness, lead generation, revenue growth, and of course, website traffic improvement. That is indeed the easiest metrics to present as proof of social media worth, however, their benefits to the overall success of your company are controversial. Product/event promotion campaigns may help you to wrap up the quarter. Having said that, after 5 years of achieving these short-term goals, you will see that your social media platforms are worthless.

I know that what I will tell you in this article is not going to be easy to accept. Very few people enjoy working without the ability to see results instantly, or at least at the end of the month. Nevertheless, the only way of integrating social media into your marketing plans is by intending to host a community. Just to give you a simple example, we will be creating a nice venue for parties, taking care of everything needed for a blast night. Music, snacks, activities, some A-level stars that attract your audience's attention and communicate your values - these are all the things you will have to take care of. No one can promise that it will work every time, at least at the beginning, but with every additional party, more people learn about it. With time you will have a proper audience to target there but don't get twisted even after you have enough people marketing should stay as seamless as possible. Let others talk for you, let your frequent visitors tell their stories, and show their unique projects made with your products or services.

So what is the outcome of this strategy? How do you measure the success of your investments in social media marketing? Of course, you can still track website visits, attendance of your hosted events, and others. However, something you should take into consideration is the growth of your social media channels audience growth. It is a valid metric to track every quarter for every separate channel you use. Another measure to look after is the usage of your brand's name (product name) and some of the most important keywords you use online. Additionally, take a look at your clients (product users), are they getting enough attention? I have one more for you - organize an event that is as general as possible for the industry you are targeting. This would probably include some keywords from your brand's vision, and the panelists will be people who use your product/service. Very important to take into account to not promote products and only use a product placement strategy. Results of this event will give you a nice overview of your community and how it changes through time (an event once a year for a few years should show if you did a good job growing your audience online).