a social media debate on better ways to increase social engagement

VSRIFLE SHOTGUN

THEFACTS

Social marketing has changed, due to a few major factors. We need to talk about the best techniques to engage our social

audiences.

RIFLEwas good“Rifle” is the name given to the strategy of mastering a single social channel - it

favors special quality of content vs. quantity. This may no longer be the best way moving forward to reach your social

audience. Here is why…

CHANGEShappened

1. Reliable Reach went away 2. More competition in social world

from non-business related things3. More social channels than ever

before

Reliable Reach

Facebook’s Stock increased by 60% in Q2 of 2014 as

organic reach fell to all-time lows. Not a coincidence!

Died on all channels

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Now PaidReachFacebook and all other Social platforms make money off of taking away reliable reach. Twitter, Pinterest & other channels have followed.

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Competition forInfluence is upEvery time you log onto Facebook, there are 1500 messages waiting for you. You’re competing with Family & Friends.

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You can’t compete with this (organically)

More Social Channels…

Social engagement is now across multiple channels all at the same time - and mobile.

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IF NOT RIFLE ?Rifle favors more time spent on content, fewer releases of content, and fewer channels. But customers are on many channels, reach is now 2-4% of our fan base reliably via organic, and we are competing with a glut of highly personalized content. What are our options?

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SHOTGUN@Jbaer

Distributed Engagement

You must now post all the time, assuming you’ll only reach 2% to be able to reliably reach your audience.

ReachingYour fans is now a game of numbers.

Shotgun says:

More is the Way forward

It is better to hope you reach them, than not reach them at all. Shotgun says that

Quantity is better than Quality, because it’s a numbers game now.

Shotgun says:

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More channelsYou’ve got to go where your fans are, and the more channels you are on, the greater

chance you have of reaching them.

Shotgun says:

More postingShotgun says:

Posting at one time only gets your 2-4% reliably via organic. Then if you post 10x more, you can then reach 20-40% of your

fan base.

More ContentShotgun says:

Following the rule of limited engagement, you need to post

constantly to be able to fully engage your audience. So, more content is

needed for the Shotgun social engagement model.

RIFLE 2.0@msweezey

PaidReach

There is no RELIABLE reach at all, so don’t try for it. It’s not effective for reaching targeted goals. So, aiming for 2-4% without the ability to target is pointless.

Rifle 2.0 says:

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Targeted EngagementRIFLE 2.0 doesn’t say only one social channel, but rather multiple social channels in highly targeted ways.

Organic now

is a side

benefit, not a

tactic.

Rifle 2.0 says:

Better ValueWith Paid

If we abide by shotgun and post 10x more, then it will cost more in production. Shotgun also does not allow for targeting, but rather scatter blasting - which is not reliable.

So, RIFLE 2.0 suggests the best way to engage on social is via targeted paid marketing efforts, which allow for highly targeted ads, more precise tracking, and is a more repeatable strategy.

Rifle 2.0 says:

Additional Benefits

RIFLE 2.0 allows for better messages to highly targeted people, increasing fan engagement and increasing branding.

When combined

with organic keywords, RIFLE 2.0

helps increase organic reach

& SEO.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Rifle 1.0-Single Channel -Favors Quality vs Quantity-Requires an audience -Relies heavily on organic traffic-Has proven not to be effective in modern social engagement strategies

Shotgun-Multi-Channel -Favors Quantity vs Quality-Requires an audience -Relies heavily on organic traffic-Is effective in managing a large multi-channel social marketing campaign -Does require more content than before

Rifle 2.0-Multi-Channel -Favors Quality vs Quantity-Requires NO audience -Relies heavily on paid traffic-Is effective in managing a large multi-channel social marketing campaign -Does not require more content than before

Which is better for your brand?

Shotgun-Multi-Channel -Favors Quantity vs Quality-Requires an audience -Relies heavily on organic traffic-Is effective in managing a large multi-channel social marketing campaign -Does require more content than before

Rifle 2.0-Multi-Channel -Favors Quality vs Quantity-Requires NO audience -Relies heavily on paid traffic-Is effective in managing a large multi- channel social marketing campaign -Does not require more content than before

Detailed Comparison

RIFLE 2.0 SHOTGUN

Assumes a 2-4% organic engagement per social post on each channel.

Assumes a 0% organic social finding, and any organic reach is a side effect.

Requires a fan/follower base to begin.

DOES NOT require a fan base to begin.

DOES NOT require increased posting.

Requires a sizeable increase in posting.

Assumes random reliable reach, which you have no control over.

Assumes a paid advertising model, in which you have full control over reach.

Tracking results is highly skewed, because each post reaches a different audience.

Tracking becomes very easy and valuable, because you can have a test group.

Paid social posting is going to get more expensive.

Reliable reach is likely to continue to decline, but will always be free.

RIFLE 2.0 SHOTGUN

Cost Comparison

Average B2B total following is 100k

$100k in initial investment

Increase in posting requires increase in head count

Can start with 0 followers

$0 in initial investment

Additional head count of 1 to manage Rifle Strategy

$60k (per employee)4 more content marketers = $240k $60k

1 channel5 channels

RIFLE 2.0 SHOTGUN

Cost to reach 1k actions

$100k in initial investment $0 in initial investment

$240k in employee cost $60k

$0 ($.50 per) = $500 (x12)

Once a month for 12 months

$66k$340k

RIFLE 2.0 SHOTGUN

Cost to reach 1k actions

Begin with 112k Fans Begin with 12k fans

$240k in employee cost $60k

$0 $1k (x12) (100% increase)

Once a month for 12 months – Year 2

$72k$240k

No Guarantee Guaranteed

$72.00 per action$240.00 per action

RIFLE 2.0 SHOTGUN

When is ShotgunBetter?

Cost to reach 1k actionsFUTURE PROJECTIONS ON COST PER ACTION

5% INCREASE IN COST OF TALENT (YOY)

100% INCREASE IN COST OF ACTION (YOY)

WILL TAKE 10 YEARS FOR SHOTGUN TO BE LESS

EXPENSIVE THAN RIFLE ON A COST PER ACTION BASIS

Time

Cost

RIFLE 2.0 SHOTGUN

Cost to reach 1k actionsFUTURE PROJECTIONS ON COST PER ACTION

5% INCREASE IN COST OF TALENT (YOY)

100% INCREASE IN COST OF ACTION (YOY)

After 10 years, Shotgun will be the less expensive option for the same major demographics. This is

when Long-Tail Paid Social Targeting will come into play, just as Long-Tail SEO has.

.This assumes Status Quo on all aspects of the equation.

Time

Cost

RIFLE 2.0 SHOTGUN

ConclusionBoth are Good!

NON Targeted Hyper targeted to allow for more relevant messaging

Reporting is not accurate, because you can’t determine which 2% saw your post

Easy to report on due to the hyper targeting combined with pay per engagement

Smaller investment of fixed costs

Requires a much more rigorous posting and creating schedule

RIFLE 2.0 SHOTGUN

Is not Reliable because organic nature is subject to change.

Is 100% reliable; however, will increase in cost over time.

Negative affect of non- targeted placement is less engagement affects overall reach.

Targeted reach increases engagement, which increases organic reach.

Can pay off instantly.

Is a long-term play, due to the required fan base needed for sizeable returns.

RIFLE 2.0 SHOTGUN

Which will you use?