This post is the latest in the Photography Series which profiles interesting information, thoughts and research  that Kike learns about during his travels.

Marketing 101: How to Convince Our Clients to be committed to Us on Social Media?

Many photographers and artists dream about getting popular through social networks, while brands and customers rely on them to promote their products and campaigns. To do this, I have created a mini guide, filled with information that can be crucial in helping managers, or even serve as a reference for them, without passing by the artists.

First, we must understand the management and realize that their decisions are based on ROI (Return on Investment) when making decisions about how to spend their budgets in campaigns promoting their products.

When faced with a meeting with a potential client, and someone we are hoping will be committed to our new blog, we must understand and convey that the famous ROI no longer has full worth in the century in which we live. The traditional ROI analysis is only the tip of the iceberg.

Today, marketing goes beyond a mere campaign in a particular environment, ie. Television. We’re talking about that today, marketing is now much more than an online impression or an economic investment. The users and potential clients can locate information networks quickly, and even more dynamically, and can then share it with friends, family and colleagues, which in turn are all potential clients.

Some basic ideas:

1. Return on impressions: It is but the number of eyes that see our pages. Today this is easy to measure with Google Analytics, as well as other systems.
2. Perceptions: As a recent article in Forbes explained: There are companies who build brands, but consumers can now express their own experiences related to that brand, and how they are shared with other people.
3. Indirect Marketing: Investments are considered to be direct marketing, but the potential of growth from the indirect marketing that social networks can generate, can create opportunities that have not yet been evaluated.
4. Commitment: The relationships generated between brands and users, real or potential. It is difficult to quantify the value of good reviews on social media or the viral dynamics of our posts etc. But what is clear is that it will never harm a brand, but rather bring them closer to their objectives in the long term.
5. Word of Mouth: Consumers (all of us) are in a position to communicate our views to other consumers. Already in 2005, the Blogger and technology journalist Jeff Jarvis described his bad experiences with the department of customer services at Dell, and that same year, customer satisfaction with the service for that same year fell five points.

In conclusion, as Donna Hoffman and Marek Fodor described in an article in the MIT Sloan Management Review “Can You Measure the ROI of your Social Media Marketing?” Which measured investments in customer relationships with social networks, reveals that from now it is most likely that investments will not have immediate results in the short term, but will be launched closer towards their goals in the long term.

In the world in which we live, it is likely that investing time in social media, cannot be measured initially in euros or dollars, but can help to measure customer behavior. When a company asks you to demonstrate how their investment will be returned, from now on you can mention the some of the ideas I expressed in this article.

Most companies no longer have control of the online experience of their customers, and to remember the four basic motivations, known as the ¨4c’s¨: Connections, Creations, Consumption and Control. The ideas themselves are in the hands of managers and trademarks, and it is important to define the context in which online relationships will develop your potential customers in on social networks. It is precisely there where artists and photographers have so much to say. Our opinions and experiences are becoming more valid every day. That is why we must help each other as colleagues, and stick together, for if we do we can be in the place that we deserve, as creators, and in a world where it is increasingly difficult to be true to yourself and stay relevant and successful in the market.

To learn more about Marketing on Social Networks, you can read the following publications. I have provided links to the downloadable editions for Kindle and I highly recommend reading Guy Kawasaki‘s new book  The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users.

Follow Kike Calvo on Facebook, Twitter, Web, Tumblr, LinkedIn or Instagram.

Further readings:

Dreams of the World: Empowering and Inspiring Entrepreneurs With Former Apple Evangelist, Guy Kawasaki

Marketing 101: ¿Cómo convencer a nuestros clientes que apuesten por nosotros en las Redes Sociales?

10 Keys to Being a Good Photographer

10 Big Rules of Photography or So I Think

10 Lesson Learned with the Heart of a Photographer

Learn more:

• Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (And Other Social Networks)
• The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users

• Social Media Marketing

• 500 Social Media Marketing Tips: Essential Advice, Hints and Strategy for Business: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and More!

• Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day

• The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue: 2012 Edition