The Importance of Social Media Campaigns and ROI Tracking

In this weeks reading, we learned the importance of calculating a Social Media campaign. The up-rise in social media has made it paramount for most businesses to create their own social media pages and develop marketing campaigns. However, many feel that just creating a Facebook and Twitter is beneficial to the bottom line. But, are these places of business actually tracking the right numbers to ensure their social media campaigns are beneficial? Maybe, but most aren't doing it correctly. Turner (2013) states, "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.”

Question 1: 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?

Turner discusses the importance of social media leads. He states, “The best way to determine how many customers you’re gaining through social media is to look at the website analytics. Every social media page your company has should direct potential customers to a landing page on your site. By looking at the analytics for that page, you can determine where your customers are coming from and how much they interact with your site once they get there.”

Leads are very important to follow up on. In my previous experience we had an automated system that would pipeline them through to our email. However, we (in the sales department) never received any from social media, as the marketing department would handle this. This would cause much confusion with our consumers because they would hear from two different departments and numerous people. If we had automated systems such as Marketa, LeadLife, or Act-On, I feel this would have alleviated much confusion. These systems display the history of every visitor to the site and allow him or her to track where they are from and where else they were looking.

Here is a recent article discussing 10 Digital Marketing Automation Tools: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2015/06/19/10-top-digital-marketing-automation-tools/

Question 2: Have you ever had any experience with automated lead systems for your social media? If so, do you believe they were conducive to your way of business? If not, what current lead system is in place? Do you believe these type systems would be beneficial for your place of business?

Scott stresses the importance of Customer Lifetime Value. “By monitoring your customers on social media, you can determine what products or services they want and how you might fit into that in a new way. You can also engage customers in innovative ways to increase the duration of your customers’ relationships with your company.”

Question 3: 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? Do you feel your company’s website alone is enough to allow them to have a great experience? Or are there other areas that need to be improved? If you were in charge of improving your employers’ practices to not only retain current customers, but also gain new ones, what would your strategy be?


References: Turner, Jamie (2013) An In-Depth Guide on How to Calculate the ROI of a Social Media Campaign. Retrieved from: http://60secondmarketer.com/blog/2013/11/17/in-depth-guide-calculating-social-media-roi/

Social Media Policies, Security, and Privacy

With the increased usage in social media today, the rules of the workplace have seen a change in behavior. Prior to the uprising of social media, employers’ biggest worries were tardy or lackadaisical employees. Now, they must monitor their employees’ social media and Internet usage. Today, it is hard to avoid social media. Every brand, product, and person essentially uses one of the many platforms available. While social media has many positive attributes, it does have the potential to be a distraction and inhibit someone’s performance at work.

Personally, I do not think it should be banned from the workplace. There are ways to control the usage of it. I believe by telling employees they cannot do something, it may cause a rift between management and employees that can further hurt productivity. I have heard of companies allowing a certain allotment for Internet usage per day. Yes, it is somewhat controlling, but it creates an agreement. By highlighting the fact that social media previously was not allowed, but the organization states it will allow a predetermined amount of time one can use on breaks or downtime, I feel it creates an environment of freedom and trust. Or Scott (2013) suggests in regards to employees emailing/blogging “{…} my recommendation to organizations is simple. I’d suggest implementing corporate policies saying such things as employees can’t sexually harass anyone, that they can’t reveal secrets, that they can’t use inside information to trade stock or influence prices, and that they shouldn’t talk ill of the competition in any way or via any media.” (p.92) This would be another conducive manner to handle this type of situation.

Regarding the termination of an employee for social media posts outside of the workplace, but address the employer or a fellow employee, I believe the situation can be avoided by establishing a set of rules like mentioned above. If the employee acts beyond those boundaries, then termination is permitted. If not, then there should be a constructive talk where both parties air out their concerns. Every situation is different and if there are not pre-established rules in place, then there is much grey area.

An article by newmedia.org states, “Moreover, employers must be sensitive to those situations where employees violate company policies through the use of social media – but outside of the workplace.  For example, if an employer has knowledge that an employee is engaging in conduct on Facebook or MySpace -- but outside of the workplace -- that violates the company’s unlawful workplace harassment policy, the company nevertheless has a legal obligation to act.” (para, 7) Having rules set in place will certainly alleviate any disputes between the parties involved in these type scenarios.

You can find this article at: http://www.newmedia.org/articles/social-media-and-the-workplace.html

The tip that stood out to me, as I had never put much thought into it was, ‘Don’t trust that a message is really from who it says it’s from.’ (11 tips for social networking safely, tip 3)  It may seem somewhat obvious, however, I personally tend to go right ahead and click a link I believe is from my friend. I never truly considered that they might have been hacked. Looking back, there is a few times where I have followed a link and it is something totally different. I have always ignored it but after reading further into this, I realize I am putting myself at risk to be compromised. I realize now I have no clue what security, if any, my friends systems are hooked up to. They may be sending vast amounts of spam and have no idea. After reading this, I will stay more vigilante and proceed properly when opening links in emails and other messages.

References:

Scott, D., (2013) The New Rules of Marketing & Pr.

Editor, NMI (24 January, 2012) Social Media and The Workplace. Retrieved from: http://www.newmedia.org/articles/social-media-and-the-workplace.html

11 tips for social networking safely. Retrieved from: http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/social-networking.aspx

Consumer Profiles and Marketing Campaigns

As I do not have vast personal experience developing marketing campaigns using buyers’ personas, I will focus on some of the techniques discussed in this weeks reading that are conducive in doing so, while relating back to personal experiences when applicable.  

The first point that spoke to me by Kerpen was when he mentioned, “You will likely find that there is more than just one group of people who are looking for your goods or services.” (Kerpen, 2011, p. 34) In my previous position, my management team was supremely focused on just one group of people. However, numbers began to slightly erode. Whether that is through natural attrition or the property becoming stale to them, I felt it was time to begin targeting other groups, too. I suggested we use social media as a means to target a new, younger group, as seniors were the primary focus. Unfortunately my superiors were not keen on the idea, which was frustrating. I believe it would of helped, and at the very least, it could not of hurt. Kerpen (2011) says “Social media will help you find your target audience and provide you with further insight about this group or groups.” (p. 34) Relating it back, I believe we could of began to find a new demographic to target and made progress. Unfortunately, I feel there are still some skeptics in the Generation X realm that believe social media is just for connecting with friends and fooling around. I want to clarify I do not think it’s specific to this generation, but it was just what I personally experienced at the time. As my manager immediately stated after I presented my research and presentation introducing social media, “This would never work, our clientele will never use social media.” In business, I feel it is important to keep an open-mind and never become complacent. We should always be looking for new ways to attract new customers.

What Scott wrote regarding The Buyer Persona Profile was important, too. “For each buyer persona profile, we want to know as much as we can about this group of people. What are their goals and aspirations? What are their problems? What media do they rely on for answers to problems? How can we reach them? We want to know, in detail, the things that are important for each buyer persona.” (Scott, 2013, p.166) Too many times I feel it’s easy to develop the “we know what were doing” bravado. Especially when seeing success I think it becomes easier to overlook some of the details Scott mentions. When the customer essentially becomes just a number is when the potential relationship begins to erode. I’ve always felt it is paramount to understand the consumer, from their business profile to even on a personal basis. I found it interesting that when developing a relationship with a customer that they would be much more enthusiastic if you asked them how their sister or dog was they mentioned once in passing, over getting them a deal on their accommodations. Research is vital when developing a profile for a large group of people. But when building a profile in your niche, it’s very important to ask the above questions. Not all consumers are alike, but if they’re within the same demographic we can get a great feel for what they may be experiencing, demanding, and the best way to reach them. For example, if dealing with a millennial, you would probably understand they are dealing with student loans, demanding mobile-based apps, and find its best to reach them via social media. By slowly getting to know each consumer, and asking some basic but very informative questions, we can solidify a strong profile that will allow our marketing campaigns to see the utmost success.

David Meerman Scott: The New Rules of Marketing & PR

Scott’s proposal “The Old Rules of Marketing and PR Are Ineffective in an Online World” has obvious merit, but like anything else, is subjective. He states “Guys watching football on TV drink a lot of beer, so perhaps it makes sense for mass-marketer Budweiser to advertise on NFL broadcasts (but not for small microbrews that appeals to a small niche customer base).” (Scott, 2013, p. 16) I feel this is a fairly obvious point. For one, Budweiser can afford to mass market and sustain their vast outreach. Microbrewers tend to work with smaller budgets so they must ensure their marketing campaign is directed towards the exact demographic. This is when it would make sense for them to use social media, as it is much cheaper than a national outreach campaign. Not to mention they’re in a niche market.

I don’t believe we can simply say the old rules are “ineffective.” We can use the old principles to learn from the past and apply them to the ever-changing marketplace. If we simply threw out everything from the past, history would not exist. Mr. Scott raises many great points, but as he is promoting himself and his brand through his writings, he also chose to publish these findings in print, which could be perceived as ‘old practice’ and borderline hypocritical.

 The old rule of marketing I believe we should throw out is “Advertising and PR were separate disciplines run by different people with separate goals, strategies, and measurement criteria.” (Scott, 2013, p. 18) I believe this can be omitted because as we have learned, and continue to do so, this process should be integrated. It makes for a clearer and consistent message while enabling everyone in the respective company to be on the same page. When Scott (2013) states “Advertising was based on campaigns that had a limited life,” I believe we could consider keeping this. It varies on your product/service but I believe most campaigns have a limited life. Creativity is important, so continuing with the same type campaign can become stale and boring to a consumer causing them to look elsewhere.

The old rule of PR that can be thrown out is “The only way to get ink and airtime was through the media.” (Scott, 2013, p. 22) As we know, along with traditional media, we have various other platforms to spread messages now. (Social media, blogs, etc.) One rule I believe we could keep is “Companies communicated to journalists via press releases.” (Scott, 2013, p.22) I know there are plenty of other outlets now to reach journalists, however, a press release will always have that professional luster that will make us pay attention.  Not to say a company should strictly communicate via press release, but again is subjective to the brand itself. In some cases a press release will work regardless. As Scott (2013) proves by stating “These name-brand people and companies may be big enough, and their news just so compelling, that no effort is required of them.” (p. 23)

The Pros and Cons of Social Media

I believe social media has made an overall improvement in the contemporary practices of marketing, PR, and advertising.  Social media has allowed us to become infinitely more engaged with our audiences. As Kerpen (2011) states,  “You have a front seat to spontaneous chatter of interest to your business. You have the ability to check in on prospective customers or prospects discussing problems your company solves or listen to existing customers talk about unrelated issues just to get to know them better.” (p. 14) Before social media, customer service lines were used primarily for trouble shooting or complaints, now aside from the traditional aspects of customer service, we can also monitor the positives the audience speaks of and raise awareness for potential problems in the future.

By listening to our audience rather than dictating, it allows us to foster a two-way relationship. “If and when customers or prospects acknowledge that you’re listening, you immediately strengthen your relationships with them.”  (Kerpen, 2011, p. 15) By strengthening our relationships with consumers, we build a stronger connection while stabilizing the foundation for brand loyalty. If we can garner a following, this helps the brand become more successful and further growth.

With any new movement, technology, etc., there will be certain challenges. The nuances created by social media have brought about certain problems. For many organizations, it has created PR nightmares with employees. Employees who post or tweet something offensive often become recognized and shed negative light on their organization. Additional problems include the increasing staff that may be required to monitor platforms and the ever-changing environment social media dwells in. It’s nearly a full-time job staying up to date on the technology itself.  

The pros of the “social revolution” are bountiful. It helps unite vast amounts of people whom otherwise wouldn’t traditionally interact. It helps reach audiences that were previously untapped for small to medium businesses, or just those growing. Before, only mega corporations could mass-market and reach far and wide. Now, with the proper strategy, any business has the capability of doing so.

Cons include the potential for misinformation to be spread. Not everyone commenting on blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter are legitimate sources. This has the potential to hurt your brand if too much misinformation is being spread. “Many blogs have turned into rumor mills, spreading misinformation that people tend to believe just because it’s on the web.” (TopTenSM  Staff, 2013) Secondly, the loss of productivity in the workplace has been a major topic of debate for sometime. As the TopTen Staff (2013) states, “Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are a direct cause for lost productivity at the workplace. In a survey, 36% of people said that social networking was the biggest waste of time in comparison to activities like fantasy football, shopping, and watching television.” We have all witnessed and personally experienced how easy it is to spend hours exploring the endless information on social media. This has become a major problem with employers that has led to limited Internet access or the blocking of many social media sites.

Overall, I believe social media has made a positive impact on marketing, PR, and advertising. Between the instant access to consumers, the endless engagement, and two-way relationship that is built using these platforms; I believe social media has created limitless opportunities for business and consumers alike.

References:

Kerpen, D. (2011). Likeable social media: How to delight your customers, create an irresistible brand, and be generally amazing on facenook (& other social networks). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Top TenSM Staff, (2013) 10 Pros and Cons of Social Media. Retrieved from:

http://www.toptensocialmedia.com/social-media-social-buzz/10-pros-and-cons-of-social-media/