You hear this complaint a lot: trade shows aren’t cost effective, but if we don’t show up, the market will notice.
They even notice if you show up with a smaller booth to save money, so you splash out – with little ROI – to avoid starting a rumor that your company is in trouble.
For some companies, social media is a defensive investment as well. You need to have them “like” your company or product, just because it’s possible for them to do the same with your competitors.
Since social media involves hard costs, it will ultimately drain your organization, as defensive investments do, unless you look at it from a different perspective.
The best way is to contribute to the community – make it smarter. You could use your social media power to point to webinars, white papers, tips – anything relevant that makes people smarter.
Too much self-promotion in your social media, and you lose credibility. As I was writing this, I came upon Danny’s Brown’s distinction: he calls it the difference between engaged and engaging.
The next step is fitting your social media into your lead nurturing strategy. Be present, entice, engage, make them smarter, and nurture them.
More work, but it’ll pay off better than just blowing your own horn.
