As a social media marketing agency one of the biggest things we focus on communicating to new clients is that social media is not about hardline sales. Many of our clients come from different business backgrounds from all over the world and for many it is difficult to correlate money going out with ROI. As business owners they are trying to conduct a constant cost-benefit analysis on social media marketing, but they fail to realize several problems with correlating bottom-line sales and social media marketing.

1. Marketing and advertising include integrated multi-channel strategies.

Social media is not the be-all-end-all marketing medium; it is one tactic in an overall integrated marketing strategy. A brand’s social strategy, email campaigns, print campaigns, Google Adwords, blog posts, and any other form of marketing should all be interconnected and seamless. If your strategy is properly intertwined you should be able to point back to the overall marketing campaign as the reason for an increase in sales or brand awareness. Placing all of the pressure for a sale on one marketing medium is a mistake far too many business owners make. Whether it’s with social media or any other marketing medium, you shouldn’t place all of your eggs in one basket.

2. Marketing and advertising are long-term, not instant.

As with any form of marketing and advertising, social media marketing should be viewed through a macro lens and judged from a long-term standpoint. Traditional ad agencies create campaigns that typically last a minimum of three months, however I would argue that a proper social media strategy requires at least six months of data in order to make any concrete decisions about the value of the current strategy. Many clients are expecting instantaneous results of varying measurements. Some expect immediate sales while others expect to receive 1,000 Facebook likes overnight. Many agencies choose to conduct what I would call “black hat” social media strategies such as buying likes for a low price in order to inflate the appearance of the brand’s online community. The problem with this is two-fold: first this “community” (if you can call it that) is comprised of fake accounts with “users” who will not engage, interact, or see your brand’s message and secondly, Facebook recently cracked down on this fraudulent activity by removing the fake likes from brand pages. These likes provide no value to the business and anyone with a bit of common sense can see that no one is interacting with the brand’s content. At Kuhcoon we create real communities of people who are actually interested in our client’s product or service. This doesn’t happen overnight, but rather organically overtime with a consistent content strategy and targeted ad campaigns. 

3. Users are not on social media to be sold.

Nobody logs on to Facebook and says “what can I be sold today?” People are on social media to interact with friends and family, receive real time news and updates, and to be entertained and educated by brands they love. In order to foster a thriving community, brands need to provide some sort of concrete value to their customers or users through their social media accounts. Chances are if the user connected with your brand on social media they already know what product or service you have to offer. They are more interested in what value you are going to provide them outside of a hard sale. At Kuhcoon we use a combination of our proprietary technology and strategies to help brands stand out in the noisy feeds of social media users. Our agency provides our client’s communities with educational value, entertainment, exclusive deals and coupons, direct feedback or input on new products or services, insight into the culture of the company, data-driven content, optimized ad campaign scheduling, and a two-way window of transparency placing customer service as a top priority.

4. Social media marketing and advertising are about building brand equity.  

For many brands social media offers a clean slate to begin fostering a new community of brand advocates and long-term customers. For the first time social media has placed every business on an equal playing field, forcing businesses with years of built of reputation to start from scratch and build up a customer base on various social media platforms. When a business starts a social strategy they should think back to when they started their business: they had to build their reputation and customer base one by one over a period of several months or years. Building a social media community is no different; your business needs to build up the brand reputation and community overtime; not overnight. At this stage in the social media revolution, business owners recognize the need to be active on various social media platforms; but often lack the understanding, time, and money necessary to execute a strategic plan revolved around building the digital version of their brand.

So what is the point of social media marketing?

Social media has forever changed the way we communicate and conduct business. Facebook has over one billion users, whether the social network king stays on top is up for debate; but it’s pretty safe to say social media won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. According to BIA/Kelsey the local spending on social media was valued at about $3.8 billion in 2011. By 2016 this spending is going to reach $9.8 billion as local business owners knowledge and understanding of social media increases.

The value social media provides to a business is very dynamic. It goes beyond the basic sales cycle and delves into the complex relationship between a customer and a brand. It serves as a platform where current relationships with customers can be nurtured and new relationships can be formed. Traditional advertising is the marketing medium that creates awareness for a brand, whereas social media takes the customers that are already aware and molds them into loyal brand advocates. Customer retention is important to any business and social media provides the medium for a two way street of interaction, value, and superior customer service. The business must interact and provide external value outside of the “sale” itself. Social media is about humanizing your business, building relationships, and creating a conversation around your brand with loyal brand advocates. 

Tagged in social media marketing advertising sales business community management community managers customers relationships.

Whenever I travel outside of Northeastern Pennsylvania and tell people I’m from Scranton I usually receive the same response: “Oh Scranton, like The Office right?” After about four or five times this response becomes mind-numbingly old. To those of us who grew up in NEPA, Scranton is much more than a successful comedy show on NBC. Unfortunately to the rest of the world Scranton has become the butt of a depressing joke, which is no laughing matter. 

At twenty-one years old I’ve effectively spent my entire life in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I was born in CMC hospital in 1990, spent my childhood learning about trains from my Papa at the Delaware Lackawanna Railroad, went to high school in the suburbs outside of Scranton at Riverside High School, chose the University of Scranton for my undergraduate degree, and opened my business in the Scranton Enterprise Center on Lackawanna avenue in downtown Scranton.

Simply put, Scranton is my home and I’m proud of it.

Over the last five years I’ve watched as my beloved city crumbled beneath my feet. Local businesses closing and cutting jobs, talented individuals leaving the area after graduation, and a lack of fiscal responsibility and accountability in local government are just some of the many problems leaving a negative impact on our local economy. 

This summer was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back.

Early in July 2012 Mayor Chris Doherty cut all city workers’ pay to $7.25 an hour, claiming that Scranton had “run out of money.” What followed made International news, highlighting Scranton to the world as an incompetent fiscally irresponsible city. Gawker media, an American online media company and blog network, went as far as to label Scranton “America’s Most Financially Fucked City.”

As soon as this dismal news died down, the city rose to the national spotlight once again in early October after Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan brought up the unemployment rate in Scranton; which happens to be the hometown of Vice President Joe Biden, during the Vice Presidential debate. Users on Twitter immediately picked up this statement and within minutes “Scranton” was a trending topic worldwide. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in Scranton is 10% as of August 2012; up from 8.5% in January 2009.

The weekend following this mention, NBC’s Saturday Night Live put on a satirical version of the Vice Presidential debate. Jason Sudeikis, the actor portraying Vice President Biden, is quoted saying: “Things may be bad where you live, but I guarantee you it is a paradise next to the burning coal heap that is Scranton, Pennsylvania. Do you know that show The Walking Dead, it would make a great ad for the city of Scranton. If you went down to the lowest point of hell you would still be forty-five minutes outside of Scranton. It’s the single worst place on earth.”

This isn’t how I want our city to be viewed by the world. Scranton is not The Office. It is not a coal heap. It is not the “single worst place on earth.” Scranton is a beautiful city with amazingly talented individuals who are waiting to be given the opportunity to release their creative energy.

The problem in Scranton is the same problem being experienced by the rest of the nation: jobs. Creating jobs is a very simple process when you establish an environment for business growth, workforce training, startups, and opportunity.

What Scranton needs to do is inspire a generation of young entrepreneurs and risk takers. Instead of fearing new technology and innovation, the city needs to embrace these things and foster economic opportunity for those who are crazy enough to think big.

Scranton is safe, has a low cost of living, a plethora of new opportunity, and is a great place to raise a family. Together we can create jobs and spur innovation, but only if the city’s leaders recognize the need to construct an environment for entrepreneurial activity.

What initiatives have been taken by our city’s leaders to create jobs and spur innovation? In 2008 Forbes named Scranton one of the “Fastest-Dying Cities” in America, which remains evident even four years later in 2012. Government isn’t the answer. Entrepreneurship, business incentives, and innovation are the answer. In my twenty-one years of life I have yet to see one-person step up to the plate and lead the way in saving this city.

So we at Kuhcoon have decided to step up and start the process of change.

In October 2011 my Co-Founder Charles Szymanski and I saw an opportunity to transform Scranton into a socially connected innovative economic engine.  We co-founded Kuhcoon.com to help business owners’ transition into the digital age, create jobs, stimulate economic activity, and inspire a generation of young entrepreneurs who we pray will follow in our footsteps. In May 2012 we placed 1^st in the Greater Valley Technology Alliance’s 10^th Annual Business Plan Competition. The GVTA is one organization leading the way by stimulating entrepreneurial activity in the local area. Their example needs to be followed by other complementary organizations and most importantly by legislation that provides business incentives, not higher taxes on job creators and commuters.   

Since our company’s inception we have expanded our workforce to over thirteen employees who are now working with businesses not only in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but also from around the world. Together our team is fighting to put Scranton back on the map. Considering that NBC’s The Office is on its last season, we decided that Kuhcoon could take over as the reigning “office” located in downtown Scranton.

As our company continues to scale we are hopeful that new entrepreneurs will rise to the occasion and stimulate the local economy with us. We are willing to work with these risk takers, help them become successful, and create jobs at all costs. If our political leaders are willing, our executive team will offer both our time and service to help stimulate the local economy by bringing fresh ideas and perspectives into the local political atmosphere. As we continue to partner with local businesses we invite the business community to join us in our initiative to create jobs and stimulate entrepreneurial activity. It is our moral obligation to take control of the wheel and guide our cherished city back to economic prosperity.

Together we can and will save Scranton. 

Andrew Torba
Co-Founder and CEO of Kuhcoon.com 

Tagged in scranton the office startups technology social media business.