The Best Social Networking Websites for Customer Acquisition
Filed Under Networking | Posted on September 10, 2011
Business owners seeking to use social networking for marketing purposes often ask, “What is the best social networking site to use to get new customers?” In the early days of social networking, experts advised entrepreneurs and business owners to choose the networks they felt most comfortable using and explore their resources, analyzing their acquisition campaigns to see which ones performed the best. While this remains good advice, new research from CMO provides data on which sites tend to perform best for acquisition.
What Is Customer Acquisition in Direct and Online Marketing?
Networking
Customer acquisition refers to a business’ ability to gain new customers. Businesses set different goals for acquisition campaigns. A business to business company that relies upon direct and online marketing methods to gain leads for its sales force may measure their acquisition campaign success by how many leads each campaign generates. A consumer catalog may measure acquisition by how many new customers order from a recent catalog mailing. The main point to remember is that acquisition always refers to something new added to the company’s database, either a new customer or a lead.
Companies must run acquisition campaigns constantly to refresh their databases and improve profits. Customer attrition, or customers who leave to go to a competitor or never order again, is a fact of life for most businesses. Acquisition campaigns fill the lead or sales pipeline and must exceed the attrition rate for true growth.
Social Networking Sites Best for Acquisition
According to the CMO reseach, two sites stand out for driving traffic to websites and thus qualifying as acquisition tools: Digg and Stumble Upon.
Digg is a social networking site that allows users to submit links to content. People browsing the social networking site can click the link and “Digg It” or like it, sharing the link with their followers. This creates a swell of viral marketing and pass-alongs at no cost to the company posting the link. StumbleUpon works in a similar fashion.
CMO states that although it’s tough to get your company’s content links shared by users of either site, once they do, it’s like hitting a grand slam. It’s worth the effort to use both sites.
How to Maximize Social Networking Sites for Customer Acquisition
Digg and StumbleUpon capture the power of viral networks in social networking. As your link is shared, thousands of potential new customers view the content and the link. The viral marketing effect exposes your content to people who might not otherwise have found it online.
To maximize exposure, here are some tips to generate Diggs and StumbleUpon pass-alongs:
Open accounts on both Digg and Stumble Upon
Complete your profiles
Every time you publish your blog, new content to your site, or content marketing articles, add the URL to the sites
Create catchy titles that draw the reader’s interest
Post consistently….the more your content is seen, the more chance you have for viral marketing
Although you cannot control social media campaigns for acquisition as you would an email or direct mail campaign, you should still track response rates and test various methods and messages to determine which produces the best result. With time and consistency, your efforts may pay off through maximum low or no-cost marketing exposure on social networks.
The Best Social Networking Websites for Customer Acquisition
Jeanne Grunert, the direct and online marketing authority, provides writing and marketing services through her company Seven Oaks Consulting: http://sevenoaksconsulting.com. Jeanne’s latest book, The Tripartite Marketing System, teaches entrepreneurs how to promote their online content and websites using free and low-cost marketing methods. Visit Seven Oaks Consulting, sign up for their monthly marketing tips newsletter, and get your FREE eBook on creating great marketing messages. Visit http://sevenoaksconsulting.com
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