It’s the million dollar question:  If I invest time and talent into my social media strategies, will it pay off?

Yes, according to results from a recent study conducted by Dell with Forrester Research. The payoff is especially strong for organizations that employ social media “listening” and response strategies, say study results posted on Social Media Today.

In fact, 73 percent of the companies participating in the study, representing a gamut of industries from technology to finance, said they were going to bring on new employees in the next twelve months whose job will be focused on engaging their social media fans and followers, and responding to their comments (a.k.a., they’re adding employees for social media listening).

We couldn’t agree more. In every marketing strategy or brand rebirth initiative from Susan J. Campbell Copywriting Solutions, you’ll find special attention placed on the careful creation of social media pages and their consistent, dynamic upkeep.

Social media truly engages customers in your brand. Social media is unique because it allows you to provide your own personalized listening ear for your audience. And you already know that engaged customers are happy customers who keep coming back. The Forrester study demonstrates this philosophy, noting that areas of strong business return for the social media “listeners” included customer of satisfaction, levels of customer loyalty and overall brand success.

Organizations seeing the highest payoff from social media listening strategies are using that information across divisions, just as they’re using social media tools across divisions. Every time a customer interacts with your organization, at any level, it is a connection; and these connections become more frequent and more personalized in popular arenas like Facebook.

It’s working. Nearly one-third of the companies in the study using social media listening strategies are seeing growth in sales due to tools like special promotions to their online community of customers. More than 60 percent are using direct information from their social media conversations to improve or modify their offerings.

The study says social media tasks have bypassed more traditional brand recognition efforts. Half of the companies in the study say they consider social media a serious marketing initiative, and these numbers are expected to climb.  One out of five companies in the study are implementing social media strategies into their actual marketing plan.

Today, choose to stand out as one organization that includes focused, social media listening as a core marketing strategy. Your payoff will be a closer connection to your customers, greater satisfaction levels and stronger brand loyalty – which could be a million dollar answer to the million dollar question.

Want to know how to launch an effective social media strategy? Contact us today!