There’s a quote that says, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

And it’s the same in marketing. If you judge an activity by its ability to generate new leads, you might be looking at it from the wrong angle.

Let’s take social media for example. Is generating leads your primary goal on social media? I’m not talking about ads, I’m talking about plain old organic publishing.

At first glance, you might say it is. But when you dig deeper, you may find that the role social media actually plays for your business is lead nurturing and member retention.

This is purely anecdotal, but I’ll often follow brands on social media while I consider purchasing their products or services.

Take the local gym for example – I’ve been following them for years! 🙂 But I digress…

When I follow a brand I’m interested in, I want to be warmed up to them before I make a purchase.

I want to sample the experience and get a taste of what to expect. I need to feel confident that the product or service is right for me—especially for bigger purchases.

And even after I buy, I want to be engaged with the brand and immersed in the experience so I can soak up all the benefits.

To give you another example, I want to buy a digital camera and have been following Sony, Leica, and Lumix on Instagram. I’m still deciding which brand to buy and I’m living in their world until I figure it out.

After I purchase, I may unfollow the other companies, but I will continue to follow the brand I choose so I can keep getting educated and inspired by its capabilities.

Closing Thoughts
Social media can absolutely drive leads and awareness to your business, but that might not be its primary job.

You may prefer to measure it by its ability to give prospective members insight into what it’s actually like to be a member (lead nurturing).

Simultaneously, it’s a place to build community among your members (member retention and engagement).

Social media is the most outwardly visible part of the inside of your business.

If you use it to build trusting relationships instead of sell, you might find it easier to measure its success.