Dopamine vs Dollars

There have been several studies that getting trapped in a dopamine driven feedback loop is one of the hazards of too much social media. We post content, people "like", retweet, or share, giving us a little jolt of feel good brain chemistry. In some cases, this can become addictive, leading to a never ending quest for that "social reward." While most people don't go too far down that rabbit hole, the temptation is there for all of us. It can lead to negative effects in all aspects of our personal lives.

Yet some people have based their marketing strategy on this phenomenon. I don't mean exploiting this in others, which can be effective. I mean some organizations base their online marketing primarily on going "viral," where they post that one piece of content and it takes the Internet by storm, completely organically. Just in case you didn't know, that rarely happens.

I have long held one strong opinion about any kind of marketing effort. To be blunt, if it doesn't translate to the bottom line then stop doing it. Making the cash register ring is the only true KPI (Key Performance Indicators, an acronym buzzword that you will never hear from me as my client). Everything else is vanity branding. Sure, Coke and Pepsi have engaged in this type of marketing for a long time, but until your brand is a big as theirs you can't afford to follow suit.

I had a client that constantly said to me, "Put it on Facebook." After a hard conversation about the fact that only the 30 people subscribed to their page would see it (and not even all of them), we developed an online advertising plan that involved paid media. They had an amazing track record of great service in their field, and an amazing story to tell about the company's founding. But that story still wasn't going to reach beyond their online "friends" without spending money.

Are there free things you can do online to help your business? Yes. Set up your Google Business listing completely, especially if you are looking for customers to come to you. The more content the better, including pictures, videos, hours of operation, services, products, etc. You might even consider hiring a contractor to build it for you, then upload your content consistently. Set up a Facebook page for your business, using a separate account to build it not your personal one. Again, fill it out completely, and keep it updated with content. It also might be a good idea to hire someone to get you started.

Paid advertising is part of doing business, even if it's just printing flyers to stuff in mailboxes telling people about your lawn mowing service. The only way you go "viral" is to catch a cold.