Social Media Marketing Metrics | Social Accountability

Social Media Marketing is different from all other forms of advertising but it must be held accountable just the same. As companies rush to jump on the social media marketing bandwagon, they seem to check their good business sense at the door. The same companies that have set objectives and strict reporting standards when it comes to the performance of other forms of advertising, respond like a deer in headlights when it comes to holding social media marketing accountable. There have to be set goals and analytics to measure effectiveness or else social media marketing is a waste of time.

How Do You Value Social Interactions?
Businesses are just Twittering away their time if they don’t know how Twitter translates into real business objectives. This is the data that I track to determine the value of Twitter.

Date:
Followers:
Following:
Updates:
Incoming Direct Messages :
Direct Message Responses:
Outgoing Direct Messages:
Incoming @ Replies:
Positive Mentions:
Negative Mentions:
Site Links:
Visitors to Site/Landing Page:

The number of both followers and following should increase over time. Updates should be done regularly. The number of incoming direct messages should equal the number of direct message responses. Outgoing direct messages should exceed both incoming and response DMs. The number of times a link to the site or landing page is tweeted or retweeted is one indication of success. The number of visitors to the site or landing page from Twitter is the most important indication of success.

How to Choose a Social Media Marketing Manager

So you want to add social media into your marketing mix? Here are some must have qualities that any potential hire should possess.

• Hands on Experience- with the main social networks and media sites. Theory is great but do they know their way around the networks? The candidate must have actual experience meeting business objectives through blogging, Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, application development, etc.

• PhotoShop and Design Chops. Unless you have unlimited resources, the candidate should be selfsufficient and able to do basic design tasks themselves.

• Writing Skills. If this person is going to be the face of your company online, they must be able to write in a way that is in line with your overall marketing message. The various social media channels have their own styles of communication. The candidate should be able to take a company's message and clearly articulate it across multiple channels.

• SEO Experience. Understanding how search engines work, how people search & how to measure success online, are important skills for taking social media from a communications tool to a powerful method for meeting concrete business objectives. Implementing and decifering analytic reports is critical to understanding the success or failure of all online marketing efforts including social media.

• Social Intelligence. Your candidate must be able to think on their feet and respond appropriately. They must be able to engage with people easily and according to the culture of the particular social network.

• Strategy. Your candidate must be able to plan and execute campaigns, establish and maintain profiles, seek out new opportunities, tryout new and varied techniques, while keeping the overall business objectives at the forefront.

• Creativity. To get your message across in the social media space, your candidate must be able to package it in ways that are worth spreading. Developing ideas that people want to pass around to each other through social media channels requires out of the box thinking and creativity.

• Research Skills. The social media landscape changes on a daily basis. The ability and desire to stay on top of new developments and trends in social media technology and marketing is crucial to establishing your company as a forward thinking leader. You don't want to be in the position of having to play catch up to your competitors. Look for someone who can get you there first.

How to Choose the Right Internet Marketing Approach?

Search Engine Optimization, Pay-Per-Click, Search Engine Marketing, Social Networking, Social Media Marketing, E-mail Marketing, Social Networking...

You have so many choices when it comes to marketing your products and services online and choosing the right ones for your goals and budget can be overwhelming. Before you waste money on costly PPC or put time into a blog, start by defining your objectives.

Define your goals |

What do you want your online marketing efforts to do for you?

• Brand Recognition
• Online Sales
• Reputation Management
• Engage Current and Prospective Customers
• Drive Site Traffic
• Convert Existing Site Traffic to Sales or Inquiries about your product or service
• Recruit Employees

Define Your Target Market |
Who is your target market?

• Age
• Sex
• Location
• Interests
  
• How Does Your Target Market Use the Internet

Define Your Budget |
What is your monthly advertising budget?

• Print
• TV
• Internet
• Other

Examine Your Competition |
What are your top competitors doing and is it working?

• List Top 5 Competitors
• What Do They Spend on Internet Marketing Monthly?
• What Methods Are They Using? PPC, Blogging, SEO?

Once you know what you want it is time to bring in the experts! Although you can do surgery on yourself at home to save time and money on hospital expenses, you will most likely end up spending more money on professional help to fix the mess you've made. The same can be said of do-it-yourself internet marketing. Sure you can setup your own blog or PPC campaign but unless you are a highly skilled and experienced you will inevitably waste precious time and money.

If you are able to tell your prospective SEO company what you need and who you are, they should be able to get down to business. Not all SEO companies are equal. I will post a questionnaire for use in sourcing internet marketing providers.

Ideas That Spread = Success | The Best Social Media Marketing Methods 2009

The Top 2 Social Media Marketing Do's |
by Rachael Dror Chicago, IL

1. Create an app

ex. Fed Ex

Fed Ex launched an excellent social media campaign on FaceBook which was on brand and in alignment with an existing consumer need.

As you are probably aware, you can not send attachments using the messaging facility on FaceBook.

The US courier company, FedEx created a branded ap that enbaled people to “Launch a Package”, whereby they could send attachments within FaceBook.

The results were immediate: 100,000 installs in 48 hours, 1st branded app to make #1 on Facebook’s Most Active page, and 0ver 50% of users returning more than 10 times after install. -Jax Rant

SEE ALSO Bud Light's Dude app


2. Develop a Game

ex. New Balance

One engaging approach that’s been used in the past is the creation of games that revolve around a product or service. Marketers attempt to make free, entertaining mini-games that interest as much of the population as possible in hopes to get click-through traffic to their website or purchases of their product. This is exactly what New Balance has done with their Zip running sneaker and the Facebook mini-game “New Balance RUN-Dezvous” by Buddy Media.

The game itself plays a lot like the old-school, Nintendo title Paperboy. You’re out for a run, and you have to dodge things like falling plants, open man holes, street barricades, and so on. It actually looks pretty good too, utilizing an interesting, surreal style of art with a strange isometric point of view. -www.insidesocialgames.com

New Balance made their idea easy to share by adding a challenge function. Players could challenge their friends as well as other random players.

Social Media Marketing | Don't Be Old School!

Don't Be Old School
by Rachael Dror

If you want to successfully market your products and services online, social media marketing is the most powerful tool available. In 2008, 79.5 million people visited social networking sites at least once a month according to Debra Aho Williamson of eMarketer! But before you attempt to reach out to this vast audience, the first thing you need to do is to forget everything you know about advertising! Gone are the days when the brands with the biggest ad budgets and loudest voices win. Today you have to ask yourself if your message is worth commenting on, sharing with friends and spending time with when there are infinite options available.

NEW REALITY CHECK:

1. Stop talking about yourself! Listen to what others are saying and join the conversation.

2. Is that the sound of one hand clapping? A good way to be ignored online is to blast your message out to people who just don't care.

3. If you build it, they will not come. Having a website, banner ad, etc. is not good enough.

4. If you don't have something remarkable to say, don't say anything at all!

5. Get off your soapbox and get your hands dirty. Engagement is key to social media marketing success.

6. When in Rome, do as the Romans. Get to know the social network before crafting your campaign.