Are you frustrated with Instagram? How’s your Facebook Page working out for you? Did you get distracted from blogging by making TikTok videos? It happens to the best of us.
In marketing, it’s important to not only know who your audience is but where they spend time. Frankly, I’ve never believed that anyone spends time on Facebook. Facebook has always had a post-and-go culture. This is why commenting as a business is super important.
Sometimes, however, that’s not a good enough reason to stay with a channel that is underperforming for your business goals. This was the case with my long-time client, Team Clayton out of Glendale, Arizona.
Who is the Business?
Team Clayton is a RE/MAX Professional and has been serving the greater Phoenix area for quite some time. It’s a family business that prides itself on relationships. Their website says,
“Each member of Team Clayton brings their own perspective in serving different generations of clients, with 45 years of combined experience. As Tom puts it, ‘You get three for the price of one.’”
What Was Team Clayton Doing Before?
I’ve known Kyle Clayton — thanks to Amy Donohue and Twitter — for over ten years. I was lucky enough to have finally met him in person in 2016! Kyle himself is a naturally gifted marketer and entrepreneur.
So when Team Clayton got busy in the fall of 2019 and needed to outsource Facebook Page Management with a custom plan, they came to me first.
We set up a plan to post to their Facebook Page six times a week including native video posts, Facebook Live, virtual home tours, as well as photos and links to listings. We also included sharing other people’s posts that are helpful and relevant including local events and restaurants in Phoenix.
Of course, I also commented and liked other local business pages and commented as appropriate.
We also experimented with $20 boosted posts. This is tricky for real estate because it is a special ad category.
What Was the Problem?
Everything was going well with Facebook Page management and strategy until it wasn’t. Our average monthly research (impressions) for Q42019 was 1,919. Q12020-Q42020 was 5,030. (Q42019-Q42020 was 5,968) There’s nothing wrong with those numbers.
Then the pandemic hit. It changed how people interacted online. We had an election. We had Zoom fatigue. Facebook Exodus. New Privacy Laws affecting Apple and Facebook.
It was a perfect storm that brought our average reach from almost 6,000 to 624. (Six hundred twenty-four. That’s not a typo.) It dropped to 277 in May. What the what??? Not okay.
They all came to a point where Kyle and I had a meeting and were like, “hmmm do you like these results? I don’t.” Twinning of course — as marketers do.
Across all of my clients, I became very cynical about Facebook results. We looked at the numbers and I said,
“What if we shifted some budget to Twitter as an experiment for one month?”
We tried adding Twitter in March and immediately had 10,300 impressions. March’s reach for our Facebook Page was 389. That was a compelling difference.
What Was the Solution?
We stumbled on something that even I doubted would work for a local realtor. Of course, Team Clayton has an Instagram account and Facebook Page. But I had no idea that the first month would be so dramatic. Of course, it leveled out — numbers always go up when there was such little activity before.
We reduced the Facebook plan to my Lite plan and added Twitter Lite. We kept Facebook in the mix until June when we realized it wasn’t the best use of our marketing budget.
Kyle added the native videos from Facebook to YouTube, I had them transcribed, and we started tweeting those out along with more of the same type of content that we used on Twitter.
We shifted that Facebook Page budget to creating blog posts from YouTube videos.
What Were the Results?
Who doesn’t love almost 593.44% growth?
Going from 600 to almost 4000? Yes, please!
The average impressions for Q12021 is 3,581, Q22021 is 5,298, and Q32021 is 4,107. For this year through September of 2021, the average number of impressions on Twitter is 4,329. Nine months of stability, basically.
That amount of impressions is a number we can live with and only build upon as we continue a cohesive marketing strategy.
What Does Team Clayton’s Marketing Look Like Now?
Team Clayton hired a great agency for a redesign of their website and advertising. So the Facebook Page and Instagram accounts are completely in their capable hands. And they continue their in-house newsletter and local events as well as the Month of Miracles drive!
Partnering with Bridget Willard, LLC, Team Clayton and I are using the YouTube library we built over the last year or so for blog posts. Of course, we’re sharing them on Twitter!
I’m honored to partner with a great client like Team Clayton. Seriously, my heart is full.
Background Notes for the Team Clayton Case Study
What are Impressions?
When you pay for a billboard, you’re paying by the potential number of eyeballs. For the San Antonio Designated Marketing Area (DMA), ClearChannel Outdoor reports that their billboard, “Reaches 87% of the DMA A18+ population weekly (567.2 MM impressions).” In Advertising speak, that’s 567.2 million impressions.
It’s the same on social media. If you don’t count the other reasons why you should engage with your audience online, impressions is what you’re paying for on social media.
So, where is your audience? If they’re driving on I-35 daily and you’re a roofing company, maybe the billboard is the best use. If they’re scrolling on Twitter while watching Comedy Central, then Twitter is the best use of your marketing budget.
Ideally, you’ll want to use a combination of channels with the primary goal being driving traffic to your website. What happens after that depends upon your sales goals and lead intake process.
Why is Twitter Important for Business Marketing?
There are essentially five reasons why Twitter is important for any business.
- Distributing Content & SEO
- Building Relationships
- Content Curation
- Customer Service
- Market Insights
Are You Ready to Learn Twitter?
I have a free Twitter course that takes less than ten hours over two days. By watching each video and implementing the steps, you will see a rise in your traffic.
Are You Ready to Outsource Twitter?
Awesome, I have three plans that are detailed on my pricing page. Take a look, set aside some budget, and let’s chat. I only take a handful of clients since I personally manage your account.
