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