Considering that “81% of purchasing decisions are influenced by social media,” it’s time to ask yourself, “What IS my social media strategy?” In this article Bryan (aka Chubby Coach), Co-Founder and CRO of CouchFame, offers four specific tips on how you can boost your social media presence today.
(NOTE: This story appears in the January 2024 issue of ED Magazine.)
W
e’ve reached the point in consumer evolution where saying “I don’t have time to do social media” is the same as saying “I don’t have time to make money.”
Forbes Magazine has determined that 81% of purchasing decisions are influenced by social media. According to Retail Touchpoints, 76% of consumers purchased from a brand they found in a social media post. The ODM Group found that 74% of consumers’ buying decisions are influenced by social media. We can go on for awhile quoting similar studies that have reached the same conclusion: Social media sells.
If you have less faith in data than what you can see with your own eyes, check out the social media followings of leading national club chains. Even their small-market clubs have at least a thousand followers on Instagram. Don’t you wish you had a thousand, or two or three thousand customers watching your social media for dance and drink specials? They do it because it’s worth it.
There are two basic ways to build and grow a social media following. The first is to pay a consultant or an agency to do it for you. This will normally cost between $3,000 and $10,000 per month, and it will often depend on how much content you can provide versus how much content the contractor is tasked with making for you, and how good you want the content to be. For example, having the consultant do photo shoots with your in-house talent can get expensive.
The second way to build and grow a social media following is to manage it yourself. This method is considerably less expensive than outsourcing it, but you’ll need to provide and schedule all the content yourself. Self-managing your social media gets easier if you break it down into steps:
1. Establish your brand’s voice. Before you do anything on social media, you should review what your brand is all about. Is your club meant to be small and intimate, emphasizing friendly, personal relationships with local talent? Is your club meant to be a big, sleek, glamorous venue focusing on featured talent? Is it something in-between? Will you be more focused on showcasing individual dancers or the club itself? Whatever you decide, you should try to come up with something that creates a strong personal connection between the customer and your brand.
“Don’t you wish you had a thousand, or two or three thousand customers watching your social media for dance and drink specials?”
– Bryan, co-founder and CRO of CouchFame
2. Create your content. For a long time, clubs have struggled with how to showcase their offerings while protecting the privacy of their patrons and dancers. These days, many dancers have entire online businesses that integrate their own social media, upon which they’re trying to build bigger followings, monetizing platforms like LoyalFans and their in-person business as private contractors in the clubs. We’d suggest creating content around these performers who want to publicize their businesses, by featuring them in video/photo shoots that can either be held in the club while it’s empty, or filled with patrons who’ve volunteered, signed waivers and want to be featured in social media. You can also film and photograph performers off-site. Either way, it’s very important to get image waivers with accompanying ID verification from anyone appearing in your club’s marketing. The Palomino, in Las Vegas, is an excellent example of how a local club can build an engaging social media presence by featuring its own dancers. If you want to promote featured entertainers in social media (which you should), ask them for content you can post and remember to tag them.
3. Post content as often as possible, with a target of once per day. Remember: You do not have to waste time and distress yourself by constantly trying to remember to post content. There are inexpensive platforms that give you one place in which to schedule all your social media. The long-time leader in this industry is called Hootsuite, but it now has many competitors, all with varied features and prices. If you don’t know exactly what you’ll need, Hootsuite is a safe choice. If you want to kick the tires and review the details of all their competitors, we don’t blame you, and we’ve made a list of them here so you can compare and contrast.
“Will you be more focused on showcasing individual dancers or the club itself? Whatever you decide, you should try to come up with something that creates a strong personal connection between the customer and your brand.”
– Bryan of CouchFame
4. Don’t make it all business. To keep the customer engaged, avoid doing constant promotions. A good ratio of posts about the dancers to posts promoting drink specials and feature performers should be no more than three to four in a seven day week. Two promotional posts to five others in a seven-day week might be even better. Play around with it some, but note that you will see interactivity decline if you post too many promotional posts and not enough fun, sexy, get-to-know-the-girls-and-the-club-posts. Yes, social media is a sales tool, but it should feel friendly.
ALSO: If you need help, feel free to e-mail me at chubby@couchfame.com. I am not affiliated with any platform, and I am more than happy to offer a little free advice to get you going.
Bryan (aka ChubbyCoach) got his start as SEO expert and moved into full-service Digital Marketing before co-founding Fame Talent Agency with his wife Sammy Shayne. Bryan is their Chief Revenue Officer overseeing new app acquisition and recruitment. For more information, visit couchfame.com.
