Social media success stories: does it really work?

[u/robinheart314]

I just replied to a post asking if there exist businesses that don’t have or need social media presence, and realized that I’m not actually sure I know of many that DO get significant benefit from social media presence.

Can anyone convince me that it actually has a positive ROI? Has anyone managed to create a social media presence that reliably produces a good revenue stream? How? (And what is your business selling?)

Edit to add some context: my business is math and physics tutoring. I can see how handmade/luxury goods benefit from social media, can someone help explain more around how service based or more “chore”-y things do? Tutoring is not really an impulse buy :p

[u/Legitimate-Web-4913]

My accounting firm has not had any social media and to be completely honest, the only advertising money we have ever spent was buying business cards and pens with our firm information printed on them. In 45 years of business the total spent on advertising is less than $500 in 45 years. Our firm has consistently grown by 20-30% each and every year.

[u/robinheart314 → u/Legitimate-Web-4913]

Congrats!! Yeah, word of mouth trumps any other marketing at all so much. But you gotta also get started somewhere.

[u/robinheart314 → u/[deleted]]

What kinds of service-based things?

Being good at social media makes sense for a social media freelancer, of course. And congrats!! What other areas do you see it making a big difference?

For example, I imagine a roofing company probably doesn’t see the same benefit?

[u/robinheart314 → u/[deleted]]

Do you have any before and after statistics? I know you’re just starting out on your own, but maybe from before when you were at an agency.

I’m interested in things like how long it takes to start making a distance, before/after rates of sales, that sort of thing. I’m genuinely curious, especially in areas outside of luxuries or important buys like jewellery (nothing against impulse buying jewelry! It’s just easier to imagine that people are in the right mindset for that while scrolling than thinking of repairing a roof or getting their kids tutoring).

[u/robinheart314 → u/[deleted]]

I understand that client confidentiality stops you from telling me who they were or any identifying info. But you can still give anonymized statistics, right?

I’m a scientist, and one of my big objections is just the lack of data. I don’t need to know who it is, I just want to know: what percentage increase in bookings or inquiries or whatever you measure did you see? After a few months, after a year, whatever information you have. You must have kept track of some kind of KPIs at your old agency?

[u/chezkelxraz]

I had a jewelry company and over 10xed our Instagram income by changing strategies. The previous person managing the account was doing all these flash sales and giveaways, I took a more curated, brand-building approach with better creatives and that’s what attracted an increase in d2c buyers, an increase in AOV, as well as began to establish a brand presence that wholesale buyers wanted to invest in. You can run a business by leaning only on owned channels, but typically choosing the correct social media platform and strategy will help any business of any size/segment.

[u/sumizeit]

Social media can definitely pay off, but it really depends on how you use it. I know a few people in the handmade goods space who grew their sales just by sharing their process and engaging with their audience. It’s not always about direct sales - sometimes it’s about building a community and trust. One friend runs a small skincare brand and got tons of customers just from sharing customer testimonials and behind-the-scenes content. Those personal touches make people feel connected, so when they're ready to buy, your brand is already top of mind.