Without community management, there is no visibility today. It indeed constitutes an essential lever for implementing the company's marketing strategy. But does community management have its role to play in terms of commercial strategy? Are community managers the salespeople of tomorrow? Elements of response and sharing of experience with Iyad Khaski, digital entrepreneur, who invites us to put into perspective the real impact of social networks for and by a company.
Two hours and 27 minutes per day. This is the average daily time that a user spends browsing social networks around the world in 2021. That is 2 minutes more per day compared to 2020. Same trend in France. It is 1 hour and 46 minutes per day, or 5 minutes more than in 2020.
Another observation: in 2019, 73 % of marketing managers believe their social media marketing was “somewhat effective” or “very effective” in growing their business.
So many elements which attest to the importance and usefulness of social networks, primary marketing channel for marketers in 2022. Real tools of exchange, they allow, in fact, to create a network and offer an exponential number of possibilities.
Community management, an essential element for developing your business
Le community management consists of apply a marketing and sales strategy which allows you to achieve your business objectives by creating a community (social media management). Today, it is clear that the products and services provided or sold by companies are no longer self-sufficient. Something else is needed. Competition is fierce, and finding the same product or service at multiple companies is common. What will differentiate them? The way these are highlighted.
A way to develop a lucrative project…
How was my project based on social networks able to become a successful business, in partnership with the largest gaming group in France? The context: sports enthusiasts want to talk about what motivates them. How to proceed ? What strategy should you adopt? By leveraging social media and following a two-step plan.
First, it's about creating a Twitter account and defining an editorial line. Then, the strategy consists of regularly creating content. The objective: to encourage the community to react on a daily basis. The editorial line of this project is therefore based on the following three values: authenticity, regularity and creativity.
And the results are there. In February 2019, after less than two years of existence, the Twitter account already has more than 7,000 subscribers. A rise immediately greeted by the largest gaming group in France, via a private Twitter message. “They appreciated our work, and wanted to meet with us to discuss a future collaboration, which will prove constructive and fruitful. » To the point of considering a major project: the creation of a sports betting competition between users on Twitter. The stakeholders in this operation are distributed as follows: the “We, organizers” Twitter account. But also the client “The largest gaming group in France”, and the participants – namely Twitter users.
…and attract new customers
This interactive event thus made it possible to expand a community, and therefore “our visibility and our sales force”. But, also: “To involve users who have content to promote on their page, which also increases their sales force. » And, finally: “To advertise to our partner, who attracts a significant number of new customers. »
“Community management therefore made it possible to convert this operation into real financial income. »
The usefulness of community management: overcoming certain preconceived ideas
First misconception: “Publishing on social networks takes a lot of time and is useless. » Social networks present an infinite number of contents, it is therefore necessary to select those which have real usefulness. Indeed, it seems essential to use your time to obtain information, observe or read content targeted to your area of expertise, to provide real added business value. Therefore, pragmatism is essential. And, optimizing your time is necessary.
Another cliché: “It’s the salespeople who call customers and not the community managers with their publications! " It is both true and false.
“Of course, community managers do not call customers directly, but they help attract future customers to the company. »
Indeed, like salespeople, they regularly make appointments with their current or future customers using social networks. If the company's social networks are attractive, interactive and polished, there is a much greater chance that people will be inclined to use this service in the future. We therefore become customers thanks to social networks.
“It is impossible to calculate the ROI (Return on Investment) of community management. » Indeed, measuring performance on social networks seems difficult to evaluate. However, it is not impossible to calculate this ROI. Tools exist. For example, the Hootsuite website allows you to calculate the actual conversion rate of visits to its site via its social networks. This is therefore a concrete and quantified measure. Let's take the problem in reverse, with the Risk of non-Investment (RONI). It seems legitimate to ask whether a company's presence on social networks actively serves it.
“But have we ever wondered if the absence of a company on social networks could on the contrary be detrimental to it? »
One of the risks is to see Internet users creating a social presence themselves instead of the company. Coca Cola almost paid the price. The group did not have an official social media page. On the other hand, an unofficial page existed, which represented a risk for the company's image, and therefore for its growth. Fortunately for Coca-Cola, the publicity was not negative. Result: the American company ended up recruiting the administrators of this unofficial page to manage its communication.
What we must remember is the usefulness and interest of social networks for a business, for three main reasons. Profitability, first of all. The need to control the image sent by your company, too. Finally, the benefit regarding the improvement of communication within a company itself. Community management constitutes the essential and inseparable element of the marketing strategy. And, also contributes to the commercial strategy by attracting the company's future customers via social networks. Hence the need for training to learn how to design and then deploy a presence and influence strategy on social networks.
