The number one question I get from people inquiring about my social strategy services is: “What ROI can I expect?”

Translation: Can you guarantee I’ll make more money if I hire you???

I love a direct question, so I’m going to give you a direct answer too… sales are not your social media girlie’s responsibility.

(I dive into this topic on the latest episode of the podcast, btw)

Now, I love a good analogy so stick with me here. But I want you to think about the last time you went to a steakhouse. If the waitress hyped up a steak and got you excited enough to order it, but the chef accidentally overcooks it (dang it!), that’s not on the waitress.

She did her job, but the rest of the team made the experience fall apart.

Social media works basically the same way.

Your content is meant to get someone excited enough to take the next logical step.

Whether someone actually buys, and whether they leave happy and tell their friends nice things about you, depends entirely on everything that happens after that.

Real-life example of social content at work coming in hot! 👇

The other day, I was scrolling Instagram when an ad popped up for a photo-editing app with one-click edits that matched my recent rebrand almost perfectly.

I’d never heard of the app before that moment, and it was a free download, so I figured I’d fck around and find out.

I downloaded it. Opened it. No paywall (big slay).

I got to play with the free features AND could test the paid features. I couldn’t export with them, but I could tap around and preview exactly what I’d be paying for.

Two minutes later, I paid for the $29.99 yearly subscription. 💁🏻‍♀️

I went from discovery to conversion in literal minutes.

Which might make you think the sequence of events went: social ad > sale.

WRONG.

Listen carefully to the sequence of events again: social ad > free download > test the free features > experience a taste of the premium features > realize this is exactly what I needed > purchase.

That’s a six-step journey.

And every single one of those steps chipped away at my uncertainty.

Now imagine that same app took a different approach. (An approach I’ve also faced as a consumer and eyerolled at far too many times).

Same things happen in the beginning: served a social ad that piqued my curiosity, I downloaded the app .... andddd full stop, this is when the journey changes because as soon as I downloaded the app, I get hit with a pop-up demanding payment before I’d experienced anything.

Sorry no. Instant app deletion.

In both scenarios, the social media content did its job.

It got a cold lead (me) to discover the app I’d never heard of, AND it got me interested and excited enough to take the next logical step (download the app).

The difference between the app I paid for and the app I deleted wasn’t the content. It was everything that happened after the content.

So it wouldn’t be fair to blame (or credit) the social team for either outcome, because only the beginning of that journey was theirs to own.

I explain this in more depth on the latest episode of Your Brand Is Showing if you wanna give it a listen!

Catch ya next week,

Marissa

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