This document provides guidance on setting realistic expectations for social media marketing. It emphasizes that social media marketing is a marathon, not a sprint, and requires a consistent long-term content strategy. Unrealistic goals like millions of followers in a few months will not be achieved. The purpose of social media marketing is to engage with current and potential customers to build loyalty over time, not immediately generate sales. Understanding industry benchmarks and the scope of an agency's work is important for setting achievable goals. Communication between clients and agencies is also essential for campaign success.

1. A GUIDE TO MANAGING YOUR SOCIAL
MEDIA MARKETING EXPECTATIONS

2. WE'VE HEARD IT ALL BEFORE
“We want 200,000 YouTube views in three months”, “I would like to sell 30,000 pieces of
product in the first months” and our favourite, “I think one million Facebook fans in six
months is reasonable.”
Plain and simple, these goals are unrealistic.
It’s our job as your marketing and PR team to manage your expectations properly so that you
can understand the relevance and importance of our contribution towards the overall growth
of your brand. Without taking the time to do this, no one
will be happy with the results, including us.
Here are some things to remember to ensure success and keep you sane.

3. IT'S A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT
As cliché as this sounds, it couldn’t be more true.
The idea of going ‘viral’ has poisoned the general
understanding of how social media works.
While a video may go viral, meaning it garners massive visibility in a very
short time, social media is NOT a quick solution for success.
A consistent and compelling content strategy must be put into place over the
long term in order for you to see significant results.

4. UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE
BEFORE YOU START
If a client ever asks “What sort of sales should I expect to see from this campaign?”
we immediately understand that there is a disconnect between what the client thinks
digital marketing does and what it actually does.
The purpose of digital marketing is to expand visibility and brand awareness and to
spark new conversations about you that can lead to new fans funneling back to your
social media accounts or website.
The sole purpose of social media marketing is to engage in conversations with
existing and new fans and potential customers, to build increased loyalty which can
ultimately be converted into sales.

5. KNOW YOUR TARGETS
TO SET REAL GOALS
It is important to understand your target industry as a whole so that you know
what the best case scenario actually is.
This will be an immense help when creating the goals you wish to achieve from
your marketing campaigns.

6. UNDERSTAND THE SCOPE OF THE WORK
We can’t stress enough how critical this is. Not all digital marketing is the same, and in
fact there are several ways that it can be executed, with a wide variety of focuses.
You must choose the right agency to deliver what you need it to, on the platforms that
your business needs. So understand what type of firm you are speaking to before you
approach them to run a campaign.

7. ACCEPT THAT DIGITAL MARKETING
DOESN’T HAVE ‘TYPICAL’ RESULTS
“What are the typical results?” must be the most common question
we get asked when approached by any new client.
There are a lot of factors that a digital marketer can control
that can really determine the effectiveness of a campaign.
However, there are a lot of outside factors that digital marketers can control,
such as demand for new stories within your specific niche, how much opportunity in that
niche exists, and how well your story resonated,
that will ultimately be the deciding factors.
For us every client and every campaign is different.

8. COMMUNICATE.
WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER!
In order to make sure your goals are on point and to further make sure that your agency
are working effectively to achieve these goals, you need to be communicating!
If you come to the table with a goal and then disappear for a month it becomes incredibly
difficult for them to manage your goal as they continue to work on your behalf.
If you are going to run a digital or social marketing campaign, understand that your
involvement and ability to stay productive throughout the
process will be instrumental to its success.

9. GOOD LUCK!