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Determining Social Media’s Value Can be a Difficult Proposition

Admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:11:28 +0000

Ever since the first blog went live, PR pros have been trying to figure out how to capitalize on the medium on behalf of clients. And while social media is in many ways no longer an experiment, determining its actual value largely still is.
There are lots of great social networks, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and others. Some have a decidedly more business-oriented focus like LinkedIn, but basically they all purport to bring like minded people together in the name of establishing valuable relationships.
Although it took some time from the emergence of MySpace and other networks for businesses to pay close attention to the trend, soon companies started trying to figure out is what value should be placed on the trend as a whole and which networks should receive priority in their marketing efforts. Once that happened, PR agencies started opening new media practices and there were also a host of social media evangelists that hit the Web espousing their value. And while some of them have certainly proven popular, the jury’s still out as to whether social media is a trend that’s worth a significant investment of a business’ time and/or money.
Earlier this week, in a report titled Exploring the Link Between Customer Care and Brand Reputation in the Age of Social Media, the Society for New Communications Research examined how consumers are using social networks and which ones they value. While 74 percent of respondents say they choose companies and brands based on the experiences shared online by customers, most still indicated they used conventional search engines for their research rather than social media networks. In fact, several leading social networks scored poorly when it comes to consumer influence, with only 39 percent saying they used micro-blogging sites like Twitter or Pownce; 27 percent used YouTube and 22 percent turned to Facebook and MySpace.
Not surprisingly, technology and e-commerce companies tended to dominate the online discussion landscape, with Dell Computer Corp. and Amazon. com Inc. taking top honors as the companies most often discussed by consumers online. That said, those who do turn to social media networks are a desirable demographic, with an average net income of more than $100,000; most are college educated and range from 25-55 years old.

As with all things new, especially those involving technology, there’s been a rush to adopt social media networks. One of the problems, however, is the fact that the social media sector is still quite decentralized, with several companies trying to jockey for the lead spots in the marketplace. This makes it especially hard for companies to know which investments will generate reliable returns. Historically, in the early phases of a new trend’s emergence, this factor hasn’t mattered very much; however, the fact that little attention has been paid to a return on investment has meant that technology-related trends have experienced harsher than normal boom and bust cycles.

I was in a discussion earlier today with a group of legal marketing executives and a consultant who helps law firms set up their own blogs. The discussion originally started when an executive asked others whether they used Twitter, and if so, how? That spawned a lengthy conversation as to whether social media is judged in the same vein as other marketing activities and, if so, how a return-on-investment can be reasonably calculated. Even though the cost to set up a social media presence may be minimal, there should still be goals set and those should ideally be linked to a positive impact on a company’s bottom line; after all, no matter what business you’re in, time really does equal money.
The blogging consultant was of the mind that people responsible for bringing in business do the best when they’re engaging in activities they truly enjoy under the theory that the use of these mediums mean a firm has the opportunity to reach potential customers that their competitors, who aren’t embracing the platforms, are missing. That’s certainly theoretically possible, although I suspect it will be some time before we really know for sure.
In the meantime, I still encourage companies – especially small and mid-size firms with limited PR and/or marketing budgets – to continue mining opportunities within conventional media channels. Those channels may not be as “sexy” as social media, but they still deliver an audience of many potential customers with desirable demographics.

Social Networking – Go Where the Fish Are!

Admin — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:11:54 +0000

Today, more and more professionals, small business owners, non-profit executives, fundraisers, politicians, religious leaders and others are beginning to understand the enormous marketing potential found in social networks. Once upon a time, social networks were nothing more than a haven for teens to gossip and exchange photos. Today they facilitate big business.
There are thousands of social networks on the internet. Every week another one goes up. Almost all social networks are based on the same concept and share the same structure: participants build a profile, invite their friends and share media and thoughts. Some internet marketers may instruct you not to focus on just one network, that you should join as many as possible. We disagree. The moment you join more than three, you will wear yourself down. It is overwhelming to have to update and keep more than two of your social network profiles running and active. Unless you have a marketing team, we suggest focusing on one network. We recommend Facebook.
Facebook. com
Why Facebook?
After testing a variety of social networks, here is what we found:
• With Facebook we were receiving fewer irrelevant emails that would clutter our inboxes.
• Facebook has a simple and easy-to-use format, where all actions can be completed within the same browser window.
• We have found more professionals, companies, and small businesses on Facebook than on any other network.
• Facebook’s professional look and feel had a subconscious effect on our marketing efforts. It made us feel like pros, and we slowly became just that.
• Facebook offers a variety of means to reaching people.
• Facebook’s news feed, the first page you see when you log in, wins them all. We will explain why shortly.
How to get started in Facebook
Step 1: Build your profile Upload a picture or two of yourself and perhaps some pictures of your family and friends. Why get so personal? We are living the social media era on the web, a time when professionals are becoming more transparent as human beings. People want to know about you. Therefore, use your profile to reflect a positive and friendly image of yourself. Share your birthday, education, hobbies, favorite quotes, hometown, email address, and, above all, a link to your website.
Step 2: Invite your friends and associates to join your network Facebook has an option that allows you to invite anyone whom you consider to be a friend, and they will be added to your network when they approve the invitation. Use the Facebook search engine as well to find your long lost friends, and add them your network.
Step 3: Join groups Join any group that’s related to you, to your past, and to your community. Join groups associated with your alma mater, your high school, your Boy Scout troop, your professional circles, etc. Facebook has a group for just about everything and anything. By joining these groups, you are expanding the possibilities that old friends might find you. You also open the pathway for new friendships and associations. This is a great way to promote yourself.
Step 4: Join a Network Facebook Networks (with a capital N, not to be confused with the personal network you build by inviting friends) are like group pages for everyone who is a member of an educational, work, or geographical network. This is another great way to find people you know and build your network.
Once you are settled in Facebook and feel at ease with its format, it’s time for marketing.

Social Media Optimization: The Power Of Popular Opinion

Admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:03:06 +0000

Why should I care about Social Media Optimization?

You should care about Social Media Optimization (SMO), because you care about your company’s image. Social Media Optimization Defined

In its most basic form, Social media optimization (http://www.neboweb.com/social-media-optimization.php) is any method used to raise your website’s online visibility through meaningful communication. The open format strengthens your search engine optimization efforts by fostering a mutual connection with your clients through the myriad of online communities, also called social media sites. Current examples of SMO include:

-Creating profiles in social media communities such as MySpace, Facebook, and VIRB.
-Creating and sharing content through community based sites like Flickr, YouTube, and more.

SMO allows you to become an active member of your online community, quite an important aspect of marketing your brand. Creating legitimate content, building relationships and instilling trust in your community is the very backbone of SMO. SMO Etiquette

Legitimate SMO techniques are centered on sharing information and exposing your community to your interests. Using unsavory SMO techniques is the Web 2.0 equivalent to spam. Is SMO right for my firm?

There are many different types of Social Media sites currently available. Now, consider the possibility that there’s at least one Social Media site for each of your interests. A few examples of the different Social Media genres include:

-News – These sites allow users to submit news articles. Examples include: Digg, Propeller, Newsvine

-Media – These sites allow users to upload and share a variety of different media files. Examples include: MySpace, Facebook, Virb

-Bookmarking – These sites allow users to compile public bookmark collections of sites they find interesting, informative, or helpful. Examples include: Stumble Upon, Technorat, Del.icio.us

When executed properly, Social Media Optimization can be quite a beneficial marketing tool. Some questions you might like to consider before launching your SMO campaign are:

-Most SMO sites share very specific information.

-The audience for most Social Media sites is more of a young, tech savvy group.

-Does your web site contain a blog, or similar media outlet, you can regularly update with relevant content?

-Given the fact that community based sites focus on individual profiles and commentary, are you comfortable with developing unique profiles across multiple sites?

In summary

Social Media Optimization has become a successful marketing tool for one simple reason.

Why Social Media Marketing is Now Mainstream

Admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:15:16 +0000

People are recognizing how valuable Social Media Marketing (SMM) is. A health related clients’ book publisher was talking about the importance of social media to the traditional publishing industry. She said they now strategize books that have websites for reference materials and more information, and places where people can host e-books and bookmarked pages from new book releases. SMM is changing the publishing industry.
Just like any marketing campaign, Social Media Marketing (SMM) takes hard work, tracking, which the Internet makes easy, as well as maintenance. And we can easily blend traditional campaign tactics with SMM, including direct-response, branding, or radio spots. First, it is about the objective for the campaign, then comes fine tuning the strategy. The Web offers an ideal way to measure return on investment(SOI).
Many organizations are allowing employees to use social networks for business purposes today; it has increased dramatically to 69% in 2008 from 37% last year. More than six in 10 companies are using social media to build and promote their brands, improve communication and increase consumer engagement. There’s been a fivefold increase in the percentage of employees who are using popular social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn for business purposes, from 15% in 2007 to 75% this year. 37% of organizations plan to focus communities on specialty areas where they can provide business value. 40% of respondents report using one or more of the following tools: user groups, tags, communities, blogs, social networking and videos. What are some popular tools? Social networks, blogs and wikis, with adoption rates of between 50% and 55%.
What is the future of Social Media Marketing? Just imagine the magnitude of virtual classrooms! Even futurists like James Canton, the author of “The Extreme Future,” has already said that one of the top ten industries of the innovation economy is, education and learning.
In an article written by a professor of computer science at Colorado Technical University named Cynthia M. Calonge, who said, “the benefits outweigh the risks associated with venturing into a virtual world . For me, the virtual world is my preferred learning and teaching environment. ”
We will all be seeing more and more people setting up social media networks to engage with customers and students, basically to start conversations and share knowledge. This means that websites need to be filled with content to educate people about what they do. The sites must also be optimized properly with the search engines so that they will come up first on the search engines. And blogs are becomming a way of life. Self publishing IS the future.
The reality is, that the creation of immediate, portable, transferable, on-demand knowledge sources is way bigger than we can even begin to imagine.

Social Networking Websites: Marketing Opportunity for the Student or University

Admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 08:12:03 +0000

The Value of Social Networking from the Perspective of the University

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the members of the graduating class of 2011 are more technologically savvy than most admissions and recruitment officers. After all, most freshman-age students in the US—young adults that were born around 1990—have been around computers all their lives.

Many college age students have been using social networking sites for some time now: Myspace with 130 million users, and Facebook with 12 million users. Towards the end of 2006, in an attempt to capitalize on the direct interaction with prospective students that these social networking portals offer, colleges and universities began launching marketing campaigns within these social networks. The results have been mixed.

In a cynical article entitled “Yada Yada Nada?” Robert Sevier makes a few interesting points that go against using social networking sites in order to market on behalf of higher education:

Observation # 1: It’s about quality, not quantity. Big numbers attract attention, but the reality is this: As a college or university, you are interested in only a very, very small percentage of that big number. The challenge, of course, is sifting out the small percentage of students and others that are interested in your message in a way that is effective and efficient. So far, no college has cracked the code.

Observation #3: Members are very wary of the encroachment of business into what they define as personal, literally “my,” space.

Observation #4: You cannot control content. Colleges love to control the content of their messages. However, on social networking sites they cannot. In fact, many social networks are fueled by member-created content in which members opine, respond, and react to the world around them.

Mr. Sevier’s points are valid, but the fact remains—and Sevier admits as much—that the amount of people that use social networking sites make “cracking the code”, or coming up with an appealing way to market to prospective students within these social networks, extremely appealing. The Value of Social Networking from a Student’s Perspective

Last week, the New York Times ran an article that described how a soon-to-be NYU freshman—Monique Yin—created the Facebook group “NYU 2011” with a short description: “Join this group if you are attending NYU next fall. ” As of last week, the group had over 650 members.

Monique isn’t alone in her endeavor, colleges and universities across the country have similar “2011” groups—larger schools even have more than one. From a student’s perspective , the benefits of social networking are obvious: students have the opportunity to meet other freshman before the first day of class, making the transition from high school to college less painful. A Middle Ground?

The difficult part for colleges, as Sevier points out, is the fact that schools don’t have the ability to control the content that is displayed on these sites. To address this, some colleges have come up with their own social networking sites that allow them to access and change content. On the one hand, this may seem like a win-win for colleges and universities, but on the other hand, students tend to stay away from controlled sites.

At this point it still isn’t possible to determine how and when colleges and universities will “crack the code” to using social networking sites in order to market to prospective students. The fact that so many students use these sites, however, makes it certain that schools will keep on trying.

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-Sources

Lombardi, Kate; “Make new Friends Online, and You Won’t Start College Friendless”; The New York Times; March 21, 2007

Sevier, Robert A, “Yada Yada Nada” University Business; March 2007