(Originally published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle.  Click here to see the original copy.)

 

“My business sells industrial equipment to the petroleum industry. It’s a waste of time and money to advertise on Facebook.”

If you think the above statement is true, think again. Organizations of every size and in every industry ask this question – should I advertise on social media platforms? The answer is yes.

But why? The reasons are actually very simple. It all starts with people.

Decision-makers are people

When is the last time you negotiated and signed a contract with a computer? Never. That’s right. While many use technology to analyze a particular situation or measure performance, purchase decisions are finalized by humans, and humans have a range of emotions that can influence their decisions — consciously or otherwise. Perhaps you call it an “instinct,” or maybe it’s an “informed” decision. But, it’s not robotic. At the core, purchase behaviors for anything are influenced by emotions.

Emotional consumption has no boundaries

Everyone is always consuming information at all times, except perhaps when they are sleeping — and even then the brain is processing information (we call it called “dreaming”). In fact, humans are continuously exposed to various external pieces of information, and it is our emotions that help us consume and react to those details. Throughout the day we may be aware of such consumption, but many times for the simplest interactions, we are not aware. It is a natural aspect of human existence.

Emotional consumption is continuous. No one is born with a special switch that tells them to only consume business-related information at work and to only consume personal details when not at the office. Everyone moves throughout their day — from their home to the office to meetings to the gym and then back home — constantly consuming information that informs their emotions across a broad range of experiences, both business and personal.

Purchase decisions are made from a series of impressions

Studies on marketing and advertising suggest that it takes a number of impressions for someone to make a buying decision about anything. Prior to the digital age, that number was often thought to be in the range of eight to 12 impressions for someone to making a buying decision. Now, in the digital age, some suggest that number has doubled or tripled. And people are interacting with these channels every day to inform their business decisions or to simply catch up with family and friends.

But back to the lack of a “switch” for emotional consumption — it doesn’t exist. So even when someone is taking a break from reviewing a contract — to look at updates on family or friends or their favorite sports teams, for example — they unconsciously see and consume information and perhaps notice something about a work activity. With the concept of multiple impressions that drive buying decisions, someone seeing a business ad on social media, even when they are looking at puppy dogs or sports scores, could be the tipping point for an important buying decision.

And in that moment, the answer to the question of advertising on social media platforms is found. Yes, companies of all types and in every industry should consider a social media component of their marketing investments.

Make informed decisions on social media advertising

Of course, the industrial equipment manufacturer likely should not consider a large investment in personal social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. But they should not completely discount the impact of the channels and, more importantly, the emotional consumption of their target audience. Leveraging social media platforms is important — if not essential — to building a robust marketing program, just like traditional methods. Smart businesses understand this concept of emotional consumption and who makes purchase decisions. It’s always about people engaging with other people, and likewise about making the right impression at the right time to get the business.