What does food and information have in common? If it doesn’t get used, it goes to waste.
The difference is that wasted food is a tragedy given the levels of poverty in our world. With wasted information, it’s acceptable. We call it marketing.
I’ve recently started exploring the different angles of content consumption as it plays out in today’s business world.
Personally, because of the wonders of the Internet, I have access to everything I want to read, listen to, or view literally at my fingertips. From tutorials to entertainment, there are free versions of everything my heart could hope for. For everything else, there are different options that suit my budget if I’m willing to pay.
Only recently have I stopped to consider the costs to the person creating this free content for me.
Some averages on LinkedIn and their sources:
- Organic reach: 1.5% (Social Status)
- Engagement rate: 3.7% (Hootsuite)
- Conversion from engagement: 1.5% (Shopify)
Example:
- 1.5% of followers see a post
- 3.7% of people who see the post will engage with a like, comment, or share
- Of those who engage, 1.5% will buy.
Now imagine you’re a baker (unless you are a baker, then just be yourself). If you baked bread for 1,000 people,
- Only 15 people will pass by the bakery and see the bread in the window
- Of the 15, 1 person may try a sample.
- Based on the stats, that one person won’t buy.
So how many people would have to pass your bakery to see the freshly baked bread before 1 would buy? Hypothetically speaking, of course.
- To expect 1 sale, you need 67 people to sample (engagement rate).
- For 67 people to sample, you need 1,811 people to notice the bread in the window Impressions).
- And for 1,811 people to notice the bread, 120,733 people must pass by the bakery in total (followers).
In LinkedIn terms, according to the averages:
- To expect 1 sale you need 67 people to engage (like, comment, or share).
- For 67 people to engage, you need 1,811 people to actually see the post.
- And for 1,811 people to see the post, 120,733 followers or connections must be exposed to it in total.
Where was I going with this?
Content consumption. Cost of content. Waste.
At what point are we, as people showing up daily with our baked goods, going to start addressing the content waste issue instead of accepting it as normal marketing practices?
Imagine the baker did that every day.
About the Creator
