In
your previous or current experience, were you or anyone at your employer
responsible for tracking Social Media ROI? If so, how was this process
conducted? If not, how was the success of your social media platforms measured?
To my knowledge, no, neither I nor anyone at my
previous employer was responsible for tracking social media ROI. It was a
large, very-well known company but I was not associated with any part of
marketing/advertising/PR. Perhaps it was being monitored at the corporate
level, but not at the individual store level where I was working. According to
60 Second Marketer, “While most businesses understand the importance of
generating a positive ROI with their social media campaigns, a recent social
media survey by Oracle indicates that only 10% of the businesses surveyed can
actually tell if their social media campaigns resulted in increased revenue.”
The social media ROI cycle has three stages: launch stage, management stage,
and optimization stage. Most companies do not reach the optimization stage because
it involves not only tracking social media, but split-testing to see which
campaigns performed the best. (60 second marketer)
Have
you ever had any experience with automated lead systems for your social media?
If so, do you believe they were conducted to your way of business? If not, what
current lead is in place? Do you believe these type of systems would be
beneficial for your place of business?
I have never had any experience with automated lead
systems for my social media. I do believe that these systems would be
beneficial for business, as they “give a history for every visitor to your
page, allowing you to track both where they came from and where else they have
been looking. These software platforms can even generate reports specifically
concerning your social media marketing and lead generation campaigns.” (60
Second Marketer)
As
marketing automation tools can improve Customer Lifetime Value, what other ways
do you believe we can improve the quality of our customers’ experience through
social media? If you were in charge of improving your employer’s practices to
not only retain current customers but also gain new ones, what would your
strategy be?
My strategy for retaining current customers in addition
to gaining new ones would be to: Obviously establish a social media presence,
and make sure that the company evolves to phase three of the ROI cycle, rather
than getting stuck in phase one or two. Then, the social media marketing would
be assigned with focusing on all of the following: content generation for
multiple platforms, creative and offer development, quantitative and
qualitative metrics, improving conversation, and determining campaign success
on an ROI basis. (60 second marketer) I would also use metrics such as page
views generated, following/reach, and sentiment to help identify any areas that
may need improvement. I would also implement the use of social media web
monitoring tools, social media analyzing tools to help me find areas that are
in need of improvement, and tools to assess the performance and popularity of
my competitors.
Turner, J. (2013). An in-depth guide on how to
calculate the ROI of a social media campaign. Our blog. Retrieved from: http://60secondmarketer.com/blog/2013/11/17/in-depth-guide-calculating-social-media-roi/.
Hi Debbie,
ReplyDeleteGreat response!
I like how you stated you would first establish a social media presence. Not just create platforms, but a legitimate presence. Too many times I feel organizations, especially smaller ones, think by just making a Facebook, Twitter, etc., is enough to establish a brand presence. However, much more goes into this strategy than slapping your name and asking for some likes.
Below is an article discussing ways to build your social media presence. Lesson 12 emphasizes your thoughts on the importance of analytics. What other lesson from here do you take the most stock in?
http://www.business2community.com/social-media/13-tips-build-social-media-presence-01052908#2WF8TVyZw1hcAmJ5.97
Hi Jordan,
DeleteThat is an excellent site, all really good tips. The other lessons I find to be most important are:
#4: Tailor your social media presence to what you can manage. This is so important because as much as a business may want to be involved with as many social media platforms as possible, it has to be realistic about what it can maintain, keep up to date, and engage regularly with the community of each site.
#6: Cultivate a community. Being an active member of a community can create brand loyalty and spread word about the business. This also allows for getting to know consumers on a more personal level i.e. their wants, needs, likes, dislikes etc. Customers will feel like they are a part of the business.
#7: Maintain Consistency: This is so important as you do not want your business to come off as wishy-washy or find that it contradicts itself from one day to the next. The brand needs to establish what it stands for and its goal, and then maintain that stance.
#10: Ask your audience to engage: This is great for getting consumer feedback and letting them know when there are special offers or promotions. Having an engage audience can also help spread the word about the business, and consumer opinions will ultimately strengthen the company.
Thanks for the link!
Reference:
Catlett, Rachel. "13 Tips to Build Your Social Media Presence" 2014. http://www.business2community.com/social-media/13-tips-build-social-media-presence-01052908#2WF8TVyZw1hcAmJ5.97
Hi Debbie,
DeleteI'm glad you mentioned #7: consistency. This is very important and many businesses do not realize they are all over the place. Many times, I have noticed a company's Twitter says one thing, and their Facebook contradicts it. This causes confusion and ultimately, sometimes, I look to a competitor where I can get a definitive answer. Kerpen (2011) states that, "creating and sharing valuable content will provide you with a great reputation and return-but only over time and through consistent effort and commitment." (p.133) Consistency is certainly something we need to not only be cognizant of, but practice, as well.
Great response - I loved your answer to the last question. You make a great point about how important it is to see any strategy through to the final step - as yielding profits and results is the desired end for all efforts in our field, whether it be marketing, advertising or public relations.
ReplyDeleteI am also glad you mentioned both qualitative and quantitative analytics. Sometimes, when reviewing data, it is important to keep an open mind and focus on the big picture. There may be times when numbers aren't growing as quickly as usual - or have seem to plateau - but other areas of the campaign could be improving. For social media, this could mean an increase in positive messages/comments on the page, or a general improvement in brand equity. These focuses of analytics are harder to appreciate in black and white numbers, but still offer a wealth of value to a brand/company as a whole.
You mention how only 10% of companies can tell whether or not their social media strategies led to actual revenue. I find this statistic to be eye-opening, as metrics are an important part of measuring success. For the programs that I run at work, we are typically being asked to provide ROI analysis based upon the money spent and the number of people who attend our programs. If we were unable to provide positive ROI, our clients would not want to sign on for additional programs moving forward. In a similar way, I feel that it is important to measure social media tactics, so that companies can make adjustments to their strategy as they go along.
ReplyDeleteI agree that establishing a social media presence is important and often takes more time than a company would think. It all goes back to integrated marketing and making sure that all of an organization’s social media platforms are connected in terms of their messaging. Although each network may offer unique content, the overall theme should be clear no matter which platform one is interacting with.
I added some infographics on integrated marketing to our group Pinterest board, so check them out:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/81768549462468068/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/81768549462468078/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/81768549462468046/
Hi Allison,
DeleteI also found the statistic about only 10% of companies being able to tell if their social media strategies led to revenue to be quite surprising. Why use it if your not going to take full advantage of all its benefits?
I checkout out those infographics on the Pinterest board, very informative, thanks so much for sharing them!
I wonder if companies are assuming that their social media presence is adding to their overall revenue and even if it is not, they feel the investment is not large enough for them to monitor it. Or, it could be that the companies do not truly understand the power of social media or how to track peoples’ activities, which is why they have not done enough to comprehend what is happening on their networks. As you mentioned above, the social media cycle starts with the launch stage and organizations are creating social media campaigns without creating the strategy behind it, which only hurts them in the long run. The analytics does not come into play until the management phase and by then, companies have lost some valuable data.
DeleteMy guess would be the latter, that they do not understand the power of social media and how to track peoples' activities. I would imagine that many believe a social media presence alone will help with business and consumer engagement, not realizing there is so much more involved in order to get the best results.
DeleteAllison,
ReplyDeleteGreat responses! I like how you mentioned the inclusion of multiple social media platforms. I have often found that some businesses think it is fine to JUST have a Facebook or JUST have a Twitter page. Not everyone realizes that having multiple platforms and using them together really ca compliment one another. However, it is also important to hae a similar message on all platforms while tailoring the message for what works best on specific social media sites.
While I agree that multiple social media networks are beneficial to reaching different targets and audiences, the companies need to have a full-blown strategy to manage these different platforms. If an organization only has enough resources to monitor one network, it might be better if they start with the one and make sure they can respond to posts and add valuable content. Then, as they see success with the platform, they can start engaging on others.
Delete