I get frustrated when people ask me how social media converts to profit. Unless you are asking from a theoretical standpoint, or a process that leads to it- but stop challenging me when I tell you it works. Seriously, how does the non-social world think folks like me are still employed if no one is making money; like really, do I look like some sort of Social Media Mother Theresa? Um, no.
So, when some grey-haired overgrown frat boy of a CEO poses the question, "How will Social Media make me money?" I often come out with my own list of case studies and success stories of how social media has driven sales, and how I have personally seen it convert. Usually this shuts them up for a bit and they squirm around in their chair, which I find pretty gratifying.
Recently though, I've had a hard time finding a rebuttal when it comes to questions on how social media marketing attributes to massive company growth, such as stock price increases, and cool stuff like that (I hate when they ask serious questions like this because it no longer matters how much I smile or how cute I look that day and the creative genius I spewed at them minutes prior falls on deaf ears.). As I'm sure you've guessed, my degrees from the Fashion Institute of Technology didn't quite prepare me to be a financial consultant, so I don't even pretend to answer them like I know what I'm talking about.
But then I found this Gem.
The Social Media Gods really smiled upon me with this one folks. The link above is Forbes.com talking about how my favorite fashion director (And fellow FIT Alumnus , just so you know) Nina Garcia, of Marie Claire simply Tweeted about JC Penny's, and their stock rose 8%!
I am not kidding when I tell you I got out of my chair and did a happy dance around the office at the sight of this news. This is my new secret weapon! I can carry this news around in my bag of tricks and toss it in the face of every "stick in the mud, show-me the money, social media doubting business owner" I encounter and sound slightly smarter. How awesome is that?!
That being said, I encourage you, my fellow social media addicts to do the same. Arm yourself with knowledge like this when talking to a client, especially a new and stubborn one, and save this piece of news for when the sticky questions come out. As a consultant you are branching out to ALL areas of a client's business, not just the creative side. By making sure you understand some of the nitty-gritty financial parts of a business, business owners will admire your creativity more when you have analytics to back it up.
Plus, it's fun making people eat their words when they think they know more than you do about your own job.
'Cause we are living in a digital world and I'm @soshalmediagirl. XB