How Social Media Beat the Wall Street Experts and Why You Need to Take Notes

If you were still on the fence as to whether or not social media and influencers had any impact on business, the last week in January 2021 should have removed any doubts. On Tuesday, January 26, GameStop Corp’s stock began a wild ride surging 93%. In a nutshell, had it not been for social media none of this frenzy would have ever happened. A few amateur investors known as “r/wallstreetbets” convinced other people via Reddit to buy the stock ultimately beating the big Wall Street hedge funds at their own game. Many are referring to it as a David versus Goliath scenario. Many amateur investors made millions from the stock that was around $3 a share this time last year and closed out at $325 a share on the last Friday in January 2021. In fact, a news story by Greensboro, North Carolina’s News19 said that “the stock market has not faced a force like social media” leaving many financial experts scratching their heads and trying to figure out how collective investors like those found on Reddit and other social media platforms will impact the stock market in the future. As a business owner, big or small, you should be taking notes because this past week solidified the power social media has over a business’ success or failure. Here’s how:

1. Start out with what your target audience knows. Choose which social media network to focus on first. Does your audience demographic use Facebook, Instagram, or another social medial platform?
2. Decide what type of influencers best represent your business? For example, a floral shop that specializes in wedding flowers should choose influencers to appeal to the average age of brides and the styles they are interested in.

3. How will you compensate the influencers? According to 2017 research published by Influence.co, the overall average price was $271 per post and smaller, micro-influencers with fewer than 1,000 followers made about $83 per post. Don’t let these numbers scare you. It may be as simple as reallocating marketing dollars. However, if you absolutely cannot spare the extra money, you still have some bargaining power with services and/or products your business sells. For instance, the wedding floral shop could offer an influencer a bouquet of fresh flowers once a week in exchange for a post with the bouquet and tagging the flower shop.
4. Lastly, although you have selected the influencer, always review every post as the post represents you and your business.

In the end, what you are trying to accomplish with influencers is elevating brand awareness with your target audience and ultimately increasing sales revenue. CyberSpyder Marketing Services will help you develop your social media influencer marketing campaign from the research, budgeting, goal-setting, finding influencers to reviewing posts. Call today to schedule a consultation, 479.782.0005, to take advantage of your social media influencer marketing.