This Week In Marketing: Quantity vs Quality, Instagram and Influencers Marketing

What advice would you give your younger self about social media?

1. Don’t overthink the messages and stories you want to share.
2. Followers don’t matter, aim for impact.
3. You don’t have to know everything, start and iterate from there.
4. Learn the differences between active and passive consumption.
5. There’s a person behind every screen.

How can you get an Instagram influencer to promote your brand and product?

Send that person a direct message or find their email (which is usually in their bio). Then ask them what it would take for them to promote your brand or product.

For most, it will be some monetary compensation, but not always. Free product, additional distribution, and many other types of value can be shared with influencers.

We are still at the beginning of the massive influencer market that will become ever more prominent. Though there is an overcompensation with many macro-influencers, look for smaller micro-influencers for more bang for your buck.

How long have you worked in digital marketing, and what changes have surprised you the most since you began?

I have been in the industry for two years and what surprises me the most is that we don’t talk about the fundamentals! Digital marketing is always evolving, changing, and as marketers, we have to adapt continuously, which is part of the fun. What I have noticed time and time again is that people forget about why they do what they do, aka the principles.

It’s imperative to understand elements such as:

• Brand
• Niche
• Different types of content
• Attention
• How to experiment

These are only a few. My best advice for anyone getting into the industry, understand the fundamentals and then the context of where you market.

Is quantity better than quality on social media posts?

This type of question I get quite a bit, and the answer is: Quality is subjective, quantity is not.

Unlike traditional media, social media enables you to get out there with almost no cost. This means that you can put out tailored messages to your audiences, in large quantities with virtually no cost to you. And how do you know if your posts are quality? Test, watch, and act.

Test: In the world of social media, you always have to be experimenting and testing because of the platforms/ user interest change so quickly.

Watch: Look at what types of messages and posts are doing well. Combine that with the feedback you have received from your audience members and continue to tailor your messages accordingly.

Act: Once you have officially tested and watched, you will have a better idea of what quality means to your audience. Thus I create the quantity! With so much information out there, the amount can’t be left by the wayside.

Which is the best market place to market your product?

Depends on several factors, but the main one I would focus on is the audience.

Once you understand your respective audience, then it becomes ever more clear on how and where to market it. This also means that you will have to niche down and commit to marketing to a specific group of people. It is far better to be something to someone; than to be everything to no one.

Understanding your audience will also enable you to answer relevant questions to them, tailor your messaging, and build a brand around it — all who will play into your holistic marketing plan.

What are some things that social media agencies don’t tell their clients?

I have never worked for another agency but why I can tell you, make sure you know what you are getting!

Ask questions about:

• What’s the KPI (keep performance indicators)
• Do you have a persona built
• Why are you using XYZ platform
• How will I know if the campaign is working?
• Define a successful relationship between you (agency) and me (client)

Remember you are a paying customer and if you don’t feel satisfied with the agency, get a second opinion.

Have you ever succeeded because of a social media influencer?

Great question. Influencer marketing is on the rise as an essential part of a brands overall marketing strategy.

Influencer marketing can be classified as “a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placements from influencers, people and organizations who possess an expert level of knowledge and/or social influence in their respective fields.”

The field is still “relatively young,” but this offers a great way to showcase your offerings in a more targeted, human way.

However, it should only be part of your strategy and will most likely never be the only form of marketing you do. The company should seriously focus on establishing its brand before attempting to bring in such a tactic as influencer marketing.

This post is part of a blog series where I share tidbits from my book, We’re All Marketers and expanding upon some of the themes within the book. If you’d like to join me in this discussion, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or connect with me on social: LinkedIn,Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Also, you can also find my book on Amazon — here is the link to buy it: Here