Social media growth is an important goal for digital marketers because social media marketing works. In fact, top marketers participating in the 2021 26th edition of The CMO Survey indicated that social media marketing’s contribution to their company’s performance saw an increase of 17.7% in the last year. Considering that nearly 40 percent of users follow their favorite brands on social media while only 41 percent use it as a way to keep up with friends, it is no wonder companies are focused on finding ways to generate social media growth.
In their review of the same The CMO Survey, Harvard Business Review found that social media is quickly devouring more and more of our marketing resources with a 74% increase of marketing budget share from February to June of 2020 alone. Marketing leaders anticipated social media investments to remain at 23.4% of marketing budgets coming into 2021. By 2022, advertisers are expected to spend over 56 billion dollars promoting their products on social networks. Clearly, social media marketing is here to stay, and we all must get to work on social media growth and maximizing its impact on the bottom line.
Influence Influencers with Branded Products
We are social creatures, and we are evolutionarily hardwired to crave successful social interactions. The unexpected rewards we derive from using social media increases the activity of dopamine neurons and provides rewarding feedback within our brains. Meanwhile, studies show that branded merchandise can, and does, influence the way end-users behave.
In their 2020 Ad Impressions Study, the Advertising Specialty Institute showed that promotional products are the most highly regarded form of advertising over newspaper, radio, magazine, and television advertising. The least liked form of advertising was Internet and mobile. The same study in 2019 found that consumers are nearly 2.5x more likely to have a positive opinion of promotional products compared to Internet advertising. This study also found that 85% of consumers can recall advertisers who give them a branded apparel item.
On social media – where our brains have been conditioned to actively seek rewards – swag is likeable and memorable while Internet and mobile advertising is disliked. Under normal circumstances, branded promotional products is a cost-effective advertising medium with excellent ROAS. Amplifying these impressions with social media users who have been motivated to earn your swag and wear it with pride will have a multiplier effect on the number of impressions being generated. Clearly, branded products can be a superior way to effectively create social media growth while building brand loyalty.
Social Media Growth with BrandHub Online Company Stores
More than two out of three customers are eager for opportunities to earn rewards for referrals and specific activities and a BrandHub Online Company Store is the easiest way to harness this desire. Our branded merchandise management platform allows us to create a portal that is fun and easy for social media users to navigate on any device while seeking to redeem the rewards they earned from engaging with your social media accounts. With a broad selection of branded promotional products to draw from, you can include small prizes to ensure everyone feels rewarded (and has something to show off) as well as big ticket or exclusive prizes those most passionate about your brand will yearn to earn. We can even build in tax, shipping, and payment options (including Apple Pay) for those who want the opportunity to buy merch to prove to their followers that they too are on trend.
The best part? We cannot have made it any easier for you to get started. With our hassle-free setup and hands-off distribution of rewards, all you have to do is make a few decisions:
Choose the kind of experience you want to provide.
- A single long term social media “loyalty program” with products that are refreshed periodically to capitalize on the latest branded promotional trends.
- A series of unique pop-up shops for individual promotions such as seasonal (Summer of Swag!), special events (New Location!), or calendar events (A September to Remember!).
Choose how to reward users.
- Win free swag.
- Win exclusive swag.
- Earn points towards free swag for regular interactions.
- Earn expandable discounts on purchases from a swag store.
- Pay full price for swag earned by their peers.
- Provide a set budget for hired influencers to use at their discretion over time.
Choose what actions will earn rewards.
- Filling out surveys or taking a poll.
- Thank followers for following with points and give them an opportunity to double their reward by mentioning that they got points for following.
- Signing up for email lists.
- Sharing positive reviews that have been written about your products or services.
- Sharing your content or tagging their friends on your content.
- Tagging you in content they generate to show your product or brand. Especially effective if they are showing off the swag they won by engaging with your brand.
- Using a designated hashtag – best use of a hashtag wins a prize or use a hashtag daily to earn points.
- Participating in an existing referrals program.
- Making a purchase from your website or retailers.
- Social Media Contests or Sweepstakes where winners are chosen based on merit or at random.*
- Voting for contest winners or sharing entries.
- Sending you a DM on platform. Especially effective on platforms where they must follow you to send the DM!
- Your imagination is the limit! (Don’t worry, we can help here too)
Mind the Rules of a Social Media Contest or Sweepstakes
* It is important to consider local, state, and federal laws and restrictions governing contests and sweepstakes, as well as the rules of the social media platforms you will use to conduct your promotional activities. You can find the rules for these common platforms here: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter. If you enlist the support of influencers, be sure they are following the Federal Trade Commission’s guidance “Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers” as well. However, you may want to consider using a social media contest app to significantly simplify this process.
This is Exciting! Let’s get Started!!
Rewarding social media users is a no-brainer. Why not engage them in a way that encourages them to strive for chances to further promote your brand? Contact Us or fill out the form below to explore our turnkey solution for brands seeking to leverage BrandHub Online Company Stores for social media growth.