What is ‘Always on’ social media and should you be doing it?

Social media is not only the cheapest platform for advertising, it’s also the most cost effective. In New Zealand, there’s an average cost per thousand impressions of $10. Compared to television and print, you can reach the same amount of people for far less. Along with exceptional tracking and the ability to target detailed audiences, it’s no wonder that many businesses are turning to social media for advertising. However, as with any marketing campaign, it’s important to have a robust understanding and social media marketing strategy in place.

‘Always on’ social media (also known as Business as Usual social) is engagement optimised content with the intention to gather comments, likes, shares, and reach - all the fun stuff! We tend to see these posted in the form of product benefit highlights, trending topics, educational posts, blog links, competitions and more. As the name suggests, this is something that is continuously running in the background, while other campaigns are switched on and off around it.

What are the benefits of Always On Social Media?

‘Always on’ social is a great way to establish and maintain a presence in the market, as well as communicate and interact with customers/followers of your brand. Successful ‘always on’ social can generate brand love and awareness, as well as result in viral unpaid reach. Who doesn’t want free reach? If you rely on social as your main platform for marketing, what you’re saying and how you’re saying it, becomes even more important.

While ‘always on’ social is a necessity for most brands, it won’t directly make you money. It’s really important to keep in mind that the money you’re putting behind these engagement optimised posts won’t result in a direct increase in ROI. However, when used in conjunction with direct response (conversion optimised) activity, social becomes a really powerful sales tool.

Understanding how Always On Social Media fits into the bigger picture

All too often, we have brands come to us asking for our help with their social, but they don’t understand that on its own, you won’t see a difference in your business with ‘always on’ social. It needs to be viewed as though it is the top of your social sales funnel. This is where you expose people to your brand and generate some brand awareness. Checkout our social strategy case study for brand building and brand engagement.

‘Always on’ social also helps you to create a layer of social proof. Once you switch on direct response activity, the number of people seeing your brand, your product and your Facebook page dramatically increases. If someone is exposed to your brand for the first time through direct response activity, they’re likely to go digging for more information. Along with interacting and engaging with your audience, you’re also building a portfolio of your brand and its legitimacy. The more active you are on social, the more potential customers can see that you’re a real and reputable brand that they can trust.

If you’re unsure how to get your brand started on social and you want your marketing spend to make you money, get in touch with us. With proven experience of reaching and exceeding ROI, we can get your social media making you money.