When you look at your organization’s digital marketing, you naturally want to build your numbers. Whether it’s your social media presence, your email list, or just overall visibility, you associate a larger number with growth.
Larger numbers, however, aren’t as important as you may believe.
Just because a company has large numbers online doesn’t mean it’s translated into income for their business. Here are five reasons why you should look beyond the numbers and focus on what actually builds your digital presence.
1. The numbers don’t indicate engagement.
If you have a large social media presence, a large email list, or a lot of people visiting your website—but you have zero engagement—your business won’t grow.
The best leads are word of mouth and those come through the engagement of your fans and followers. If your online presence is a ghost town, the large numbers won’t help your growth.
Your goal should be to engage your audience. Get them involved in the conversation in a way that they want to tell others. Your community should be so engaged that your reach goes far beyond your numbers.
2. Personal connection is what creates life-long customers.
People buy from someone they know, like and trust. A customer is a person.
The more they feel a personal connection, the more they buy and tell others about your business. Marketing genius David Ogilvy said, “The consumer is not an idiot, she’s your wife.” Make that personal connection.
3. The numbers can easily be manipulated.
It’s pretty easy to buy a large following these days and too many companies do. Everyday, on social media and through email, you see services offering fans for a price. The problem is that those aren’t real people. They will never buy.
Big numbers may look impressive but they won’t translate into revenue if they’re not real people. You have to ask yourself, are the numbers are more important than the income?
4. Add value and the numbers will naturally increase.
As you add value and connect in a personal way with your audience, engagement will increase. With an increase in engagement will come more people sharing about your business. That will increase your numbers organically.
Great content, products and services create a loyal fan base that will spread the message all over the Internet. Over time, those numbers will increase in the best way possible because all the new fans and followers will already be engaged.
5. Digital marketing is not about ego.
What company doesn’t like to look at their online platform and see huge numbers? However, you are in business to generate revenue and make an impact. This isn’t about the numbers only.
While it’s great to have those large numbers and it can be good social proof, your business can be successful with a small devoted following. You can create lifelong customers that do all of your advertising for you.
You have to stand out from the competition by building a devoted customer base. Focus on creating amazing content. Focus on creating irresistible products and services.
Focus on really connecting and engaging people.
When you do, they will respond and your numbers will build. It’s too easy to get caught up in the comparison game. That game will derail your digital marketing from building your online presence. Numbers are ok, but real people are better.