Social media hardly existed 10 years ago, and it continues to undergo a sea of change. For many years, brands enjoyed free marketing on sites like Facebook and Twitter, but now social media has largely become a pay-to-play marketing proposition.
The organic reach of brands’ Facebook posts has fallen drastically from about 15% to 1 or 2%. Fewer than 5% of all fans will see a given Facebook post unless a brand pays to promote it.
Yet 74% of consumers rely on social media to inform their purchasing decisions and 92% of consumers say they trust earned media, such as word-of-mouth and recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising. Only 33% of consumers trust advertisements.
We all know content is king, and consumers are looking for authentic, engaging content to make them click, share, buy and act. So what is a brand to do? Given these statistics, the state of the industry and increased bidding competition, it’s becoming harder and more expensive to see a true ROI on social investment.
However, there is a strategy that brands like Domino’s, Godiva, DSW, Abercrombie and Microsoft are using to boost the ROI of their social media efforts, and it’s fairly simple: Use promoted posts and ads on social media to promote a targeted, strategic, gamified contest.
Download our free white paper for more information on how it works, along with stats on what you can expect when you use this strategy. (Hint: Double revenue, gain tens of thousands of new customers and see through-the-roof engagement.)
