WEEK 3: A Conversation with Guest Speaker Serena Ehrlich by Scott Shilstone

By UCLA X469.21 Student Scott Shilstone

Scott Shilstone

Serena Ehrlich, Director of Social & Evolving Media at Business Wire (or better known as the “Darling of Tech” according to UCLA X469.21 Instructor Erik Deutsch), described the importance of using social media to achieve business goals. “Social doesn’t equal sales, BUT it helps,” she said.

Indeed, with social media one can use the platform to figure out what their consumers aspire to be, and then act on those aspirations to connect a brand to the consumer on a personal, very intimate level.

Serena Ehrlich

Brands (businesses) should set realistic goals when tackling social media. Consider the marketing funnel, or your consumers’ purchasing process, and adjust your campaign strategy based on the intelligence you gather. When gathering data, make sure to set a baseline. Find your competitors and perform a competitive audit. Use a word cloud to see which topics your competitors emphasize most. Remember, “Data drives messaging and decisions, and if your message fails, your company is going to fail.”

Find your brand’s influencers. Get outsiders to praise your brand to peak interest among new consumers. Go after second-tier influencers because they can be easier to reach and have friends/family and a lot of passionate fans. Finding an influencer with the most followers is not as important as finding those who are most aligned with your brand.

It’s also important for brands to recognize the importance of utilizing paid advertising on social media platforms, especially when it comes to Facebook, as only about 2.5% of a brand’s total followers will likely see organic posts. In fact, according to Serena it takes roughly “20 clicks to get a sale.”