1. business and industrial
2. advertising and marketing
3. public relations

How to Leverage Social Media
for Public Relations Success
Using Social Media to Generate Media Coverage and
Improve Brand Sentiment
By: Pamela Seiple
2 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
Contents
1. Introduction
3
2. Generating Media Coverage
4
a. Media & Blogger Relations
4
b. The Inbound Marketing News Release
10
c. The Company Blog
14
d. The Social Media Newsroom
16
3. Social Media Monitoring & Crisis Communication
18
4. Value of Awards & Speaking Engagements
20
5. Customer Relations & Evangelism
22
6. Employee Relations
24
7. Measuring the ROI of Public Relations
26
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3 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
1. Introduction
Without a doubt, the web and social media are making it easier for businesses to
communicate with their publics. At the same time, where there used to be a clear
delineation between marketing and public relations, the impact of the web has resulted
in a blurred line between the two industries.
Some would argue that this is leading to the “death” of public relations. On the contrary,
the web is actually helping to enhance the efficiency of the PR industry. So how can you
incorporate social media and inbound marketing to enhance your business‟ PR efforts?
This ebook will discuss major topics under the umbrella of public relations and explain
how you can successfully incorporate social media and internet marketing tools and
strategies to improve your business‟ public relations efforts in those areas.
Why PR Will Always Be Important
Public relations has been around for almost 100 years and won‟t be knocking on death‟s
door anytime soon. Put simply, public relations is the practice of managing
communication between a particular organization and its publics. Any given
organization has a number of publics. Whether it‟s by communicating with prospects,
customers, media, investors, the government, or even internally with employees, PR is
something that businesses will always need.
Why Social Media Participation is Critical for PR
People have always said good – and bad – things about brands, and now that social
media has risen in popularity, it means people have another platform to talk about your
company and products/services. The major difference, however, is in the viral nature of
this platform. When someone mentions your brand in social media, there is much more
potential for other people to notice, and it‟s monumentally easier for conversations to
spread much more quickly and easily. In addition, these conversations have the
potential to reach a much larger audience than ever before. If your company is not
participating in social media today, it‟s missing an opportunity to spread its message
and missing valuable – and even damaging – conversations that could be taking place
about your brand.
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4 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
2. Generating Media Coverage
Media & Blogger Relations: Communicating With the
Media and Generating Coverage
While media relations is only one silo of public relations, it‟s the topic that‟s most often
thought of when public relations is mentioned. Obtaining coverage in media publications
(TV, radio, podcasts, online video, newspapers, magazines, online news sites, blogs,
etc.) is a great way to spread the word about your business and its products/services.
Where advertising is paid placement in media publications, PR coverage is free, thirdparty validation, which often results in more credibility for your business. So how do you
secure coverage in these publications and media, and how can social media help you
do this?
Tactic 1: Connect & Develop Relationships With Influencers in
Social Media
One of the best ways to land a mention (or maybe
even a feature!) of your business in the media is
to start by connecting with the journalists,
reporters, bloggers, and influencers who cover
topics in your industry. Luckily, the web and social
media are great facilitators of this. Whereas you
previously had to go through mass media to get
your message across, the web and social media
now give you access to a whole slew of
influencers with which you can easily interact and
develop relationships, all by yourself. By communicating with these influencers, you can
ensure your business is top-of-mind when an opportunity for a story comes along.
Below, we‟ve highlighted some great ways social media can help you build relationships
with influencers.
Twitter
Are you aware that many journalists, reporters, and bloggers make themselves
available on Twitter? Using Twitter is a great way to introduce yourself and your
company to the media. But how do you find the influencers in your industry on Twitter?
One way is to look for influential blogs in your industry (use blog search engines like
Technorati), subscribe to them, and start following their authors on Twitter.
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5 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
Another way is to start following journalists who target your industry. Then start tweeting
with them, but don‟t oversell your business or product. Develop relationships by
tweeting about an article of theirs you enjoyed or ask how they feel about a particular
topic on which they write. Sometimes reporters will also use Twitter to broadcast that
they‟re seeking subjects or sources for a particular story they‟re writing. If it‟s a fit for
you, reply!
Twitter Tools for Finding Influencers:

Twitter Grader: Twitter Grader is one of our free Grader tools that can help
you find the top Twitter users by location and also measure the authority of a
particular user.

Muck Rack: Muck Rack is a free website that enables you to search for and
locate journalists by source (publication) or by beat (topic).

JournalistTweets: This free site curates tweets from journalists and allows
users to filter journalists on Twitter by industry.
Facebook & LinkedIn
Facebook and LinkedIn are great ways to maintain relationships with media, but
beware: These tools are a little bit more personal than Twitter. Don‟t start “friending”
every reporter you find in your industry. Instead, use Twitter as a way to initiate and
grow the relationship. Once the relationship exists, consider connecting on Facebook
and/or LinkedIn.
BatchBook
Although it‟s not a free tool, BatchBook is a great way to keep track of your
communication with influencers. Its core function is to serve as an address book that
you can use to keep contact information (including social media credentials) for people
(e.g. the journalists or bloggers you connect with), but it also allows you to keep track of
any email or other communication so you have a record of who you‟ve been in touch
with.
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Tactic 2: Pitching
We could write a separate ebook on the topic of
pitching. The results of pitching really depend on the
time and effort you put into it and can be very hit or
miss. You could end up with some really great
coverage, or you could end up spending many hours
of your time with no results. If you‟d like to spend some
time pitching to journalists and bloggers, here are a
few key points to consider:
Stay Targeted: Know the journalist/blogger and the beat(s) and topic(s) he or she
covers. One of journalists‟ and bloggers‟ biggest pet peeves is getting pitched about
something that doesn‟t coincide with what they write about. Don‟t spam them. It‟s a
surefire way to end up on a blog like the Bad Pitch Blog, and no one wants that kind of
exposure. Before you pitch people, spend the time to get to know their style and the
topics they write about. Make sure you read their content, and, when appropriate, leave
comments. This will show them you‟ve done your homework, are already engaged with
their work, and will also help you make decisions about which journalists are
appropriate for what you‟re pitching.
There are paid services out there (Vocus and Cision – formerly Bacon‟s – are the most
popular ones) that offer monster databases that keep an accurate tab on the contact
information for various journalists who write for different publications and what their
specific beats are. If you‟re serious about pitching, these can be great resources, as it‟s
often difficult and time-consuming to find contact information for specific journalists on
your own, and sending a pitch to the newsroom‟s „info@publication.com‟ email address
is both ineffective and untargeted.
Don’t Pitch the Same People Repeatedly: Don‟t keep pitching the same journalists
and bloggers over and over again. That said, also don‟t assume that because a
journalist or blogger has previously covered your, they‟ll want to do it again. Segment
your targets and only pitch people who are very appropriate for the story you‟re pitching.
The next time you pitch for something different, target different people.
Brevity Is Key: Your initial pitch shouldn‟t be long, and you should avoid email
attachments. Journalists often don‟t have time to read pages and pages of email or
even press releases. Your initial pitch should be short, sweet, compelling, and highlight
the key points you‟re trying to make as well as why that journalist should want to cover
it. If they‟re interested, they‟ll request additional, more detailed information on their own.
Have Something Interesting to Offer: What‟s new and different about your story? Is it
particularly timely? Have an angle, and make it interesting.
Personalize It: Show your target you‟ve done your homework. Mention specific reasons
why what you have to offer will benefit his or her readers.
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7 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a great
tool that helps to connect journalists‟
story needs with PR professionals who
might
be
great
sources.
PR
practitioners can register for a thricedaily email that highlights queries
submitted by journalists looking for
sources on specific topics or stories.
PR folks can then scan the email and
instantly reply to any appropriate
queries. HARO is especially helpful for
businesses that are interested in
reaching out to journalists but can‟t
commit a lot of man-hours to pitching. Be mindful, however, that HARO has dramatically
increased in popularity since its launch, and that for any given query, journalists could
be receiving a very large number of responses. Therefore, it‟s extremely necessary that
you not respond to a pitch unless it‟s appropriate, and try your best to make your pitch
stand out. Even if your pitch doesn‟t end up getting selected for a particular story,
journalists often put rejected pitches in their back pockets for future story ideas that
might be more appropriate.
Additional Resources:


ReportingOn
YourPitchSucks
Tactic 3: Using Creative Content as an Outreach Tool
At HubSpot, we‟re firm believers that creative content is often king. Content has the
ability to showcase your company as an industry thought leader, in addition to having
some major SEO, social media, and lead generation benefits. In terms of public
relations, content also has the ability to get you some media coverage. It‟s simple,
really. By creating something interesting, compelling, or even funny, people will naturally
want to talk about it, share it with their friends, or even write about it – no pitching
required. Think about why videos go viral. It‟s not because someone spent a lot of time
crafting an amazing pitch to a journalist. It‟s because the content itself was so
remarkable, people couldn‟t help but spread it.
Not convinced? Here are a few tactics and examples of how and which types of creative
content can lead to media coverage:
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8 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
Create Fun, Interesting Content
In 2008, we did an experiment at HubSpot and released the first-ever, inbound
marketing music video entitled “You Oughta Know Inbound Marketing.” Without using a
fancy PR campaign, strategy for the launch consisted of tweeting about the video and
sharing it through HubSpot‟s social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube,
etc. We also utilized some of our relationships with influencers (see previous section on
media relations) by “pinging” them. In other words, we sent links to the new video via
short emails or even tweets and direct messages on Twitter to bloggers with whom we
were already friendly. The result was 43 blog placements in 12 days, 19 of which were
written on the same day as the video‟s launch. The video wouldn‟t have been such a
success had no one liked it. The quality and creativity of the content is what made it
excel. What kind of interesting, fun content can you create? A funny video? An
interesting infographic? A clever cartoon?
Publish Interesting Industry Data & Research
Many of the media mentions HubSpot receives are due to the data and research we
publish. One example of this is our annual State of the Twittersphere report, which
we‟ve been publishing since 2008 and compiles and discusses data we‟ve collected
from our Twitter Grader tool. Our strategy for releasing this report is similar to our
strategy for releasing our first inbound marketing music video – by simply sharing it on
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9 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
our blog, via social media, and “pinging” a few influencers who might find the data
interesting. These reports have resulted in coverage and mentions from countless
media sources, including major publications such as the Los Angeles Times,
TechCrunch, Mashable, GigaOm, the blogs of prominent industry bloggers like Brian
Solis and a TV segment on NECN.
Earlier this year, the website Suitcase.com conducted a survey about how increased
baggage fees and tightened security regulations are affecting consumer behavior and
found that over half of respondents are planning to travel lighter and check fewer bags.
With the results of the survey, they compiled a report and created a landing page about
it on their website. Because the results of their research were so compelling and
interesting, the report was subsequently featured in an article on ReadersDigest.com.
Promote Content in Social Media
As we mentioned, social media is a great vehicle to spread your messages and share
your content. If your company doesn‟t have a corporate Twitter account or a Facebook
Fan Page, it‟s a good time to think about starting them. In addition to helping promote
your content, maintaining a presence on these sites is extremely beneficial to helping
manage your business‟ public relations. We‟ll dive deeper into this later.
Is there an opportunity for your business to publish some data or research on a
particular topic in your industry? Do you have a sample of customers you can survey to
produce a unique report?
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10 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
The Inbound Marketing News Release
Press releases have long been a staple in public
relations practitioners‟ toolkits. But now that the
web has begun to revolutionize PR and
marketing, there‟s been a lot of discussion about
press release best practices. For example, you
may have heard talk about the Social Media
News Release (SMNR), a concept introduced by
PR agency SHIFT Communications. While the
SMNR is a step in the right direction toward
making news releases work better for your
business on the web, distributing these types of releases via wire services can often be
pricey and ineffective. Therefore, to help PR pros get the most out of their news
releases, at HubSpot we recommend what we like to call the Inbound Marketing News
Release, which is a style of news release we‟ve developed based on careful research.
The Inbound Marketing News Release is a new way to think about press releases and
has a heavy focus on search engine optimization and optimizing your releases from that
standpoint. The study we conducted to come to this conclusion compared the traditional
style release to the social media release over multiple wire distribution services with the
goal of learning how to optimize press releases for maximum PR benefits. Let‟s take a
look at the research, conclusions, and our recommendations for creating an effective
Inbound Marketing News Release. You can also watch the webinar that explains the
research and results.
Possible Goals for Creating News Releases
PR professionals create news releases for a number of different reasons. Here are
some of the top ones:




Generating traffic to your website
Getting journalists and/or bloggers to write about your company‟s story
Publishing “ceremonial announcements” over the wire
Building inbound links and increasing SEO to help your website rank better in
Google and other search engines
Key Results of HubSpot‟s Research
Based on our research, we found that:

Traditional releases syndicated 20% more often than social media news
releases.
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11 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success


Links were syndicated 14% more often from traditional releases than they were
from social media news releases.
Not all anchor text links are syndicated.
As you can tell from these results, the traditional style release actually did much better
than the social media release in terms of syndication in general and in syndicating links.
This is due in part because many portal sites (websites that syndicate releases in full)
don‟t support anchor text, links, or multimedia elements such as embedded video,
photos, or audio.
News Release Best Practices
Based on our research as well as other news release best practices, we recommend
the following guidelines when crafting news releases.
Regarding Content and Format:

Be direct and concise. Don‟t beat around the bush. The press release market is
already very saturated, and journalists and bloggers can‟t read every release that
crosses the wire. Making your release focused and to-the-point will give it a
better chance for survival.

Have something worth saying. Don‟t write a news release about nothing. Keep
in mind that not every bit of company news is worthy of a release (It can get
expensive!). Before you sit down to write a news release, make sure you have
something interesting to communicate.

Write using a newsworthy angle. Tying in your news with some kind of
newsworthy angle or story will increase its chances of catching a blogger‟s or
journalist‟s attention. Is it particularly timely? Does it fit in with some kind of hotbutton issue in the news? Angle your company‟s story in a way that might make it
more appealing to bloggers and journalists and, thus, more interesting to write
about.

Conduct keyword research to discover your best keywords. Use Google‟s
Keyword Tool to help you decide on which keywords to focus. Then use those
keywords in your release, especially in anchor text. This will help in terms of
SEO.

Use a descriptive headline, and limit it to 80 characters or fewer. Lengthy
headlines often get cut off on portal sites. In addition, because search engines
treat a news release‟s headline as an H1 (Header) tag, it‟s beneficial to also
make your headline keyword-rich.
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
Limit your release to 300-500 words. All wire services we spoke with during
our research agreed that this was the ideal length for a release. A longer release
is a sign of verbose content, and a lengthy release also hinders its ability for
syndication.

Eliminate Gobbledygook: Gobbledygook, a term coined by viral marketing
strategist David Meerman Scott, is jargon, clichés, and over-used, hype-filled
words that no longer mean anything. Eliminate these words from your releases.
(Examples include “cutting-edge,” “flexible,” “easy-to-use,” “innovative” etc.)
Remember, because news releases are now syndicated on the web, the media
aren‟t the only ones who will come across your news. Therefore, you should
communicate in words everyone can understand.

Don’t use formatting bullets. They rarely get syndicated.

Include your logo. It may not get syndicated, but it won‟t hurt either.

Don’t embed multimedia elements. Instead of embedding a video or photo
directly into the release, publish it somewhere on your own website (such as on
your company blog), and link to it in the release. This will save you money as well
as drive traffic to and centralize interaction on your own website.
Regarding Links:

Put the most important link at the beginning. Some portal sites will
automatically cut off your release after a certain word count. For the best chance
of generating traffic back to your site, include the link to which you want to
generate the most traffic early on in the release.

Always use anchor text. Not all portal sites will syndicate anchor text links, but
for the ones that do, you‟ll receive maximum SEO benefit from inbound links
utilizing anchor text.

Use full URLs next to anchor text links for important links. Don‟t do this for
every link, but do use it for the one to which you really want to drive traffic. This
will ensure that the URL still gets pulled in when portal sites won‟t syndicate
anchor text (example below).
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13 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success

Don’t repeat links or anchor text. (The guideline above is the only exception to
this.) Repeating links or anchor text within your release will dilute the value of the
links in the eyes of search engines.

Don’t litter your release with links. Search engines will frown upon very linkheavy releases. For a 300-500 word release, 3-4 anchor text links is appropriate.

Link to internal pages, too. Are you trying to generate some traffic or SEO
authority to other pages on your site besides your homepage? Link to these
pages within your release. (Example: http://www.hubspot.com/marketingresources)

When possible, make anchor text the same as your page title. This will place
increased emphasis on that link for search engines. (Notice how the page title
below matches the link and anchor text from the above news release example.)
Recommended Wire Services:




Marketwire
Business Wire
PR Newswire
PRWeb
Additional Resources:







Press Release Grader (grade the effectiveness of your press releases)
Gobbledygook Grader (check your content for gobbledygook)
PitchEngine (build social media news releases)
Social Media News Release template from SHIFT Communications
Live Weekly Press Release Optimization Webinar
Press Release Marketing Kit
On-Demand Webinar: How to Be Smarter Than Your PR Agency – Research on
Creating News Releases That Work
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14 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
The Company Blog
As we mentioned earlier, creating content is a great PR outreach tool for generating
media coverage. Distributing news releases via a wire service might not be worth doing
for every bit of news (especially if you‟re not using a free service, which can get
expensive), but publishing articles on a company blog is a great way to share all of your
company news. If you already have a blog through which you exhibit thought
leadership, don‟t dilute it with company-centric information that could reduce the quality
and credibility of the educational, industry-related content you publish there. Instead,
consider creating a completely separate blog for company news, product updates, etc.
Here are some great ideas for how you can use your company blog to spread your
messages.

Publish Blog-Friendly News Release Content: Consider repurposing your news
release content for your company blog by making it less formal and more
conversational in tone. You can also include a link back to the article from the
original press release to drive traffic back to your site. (We talk more about this in the
previous section about the Inbound Marketing News Release.)

Publish Other Company News, Updates, or Achievements: Is your CEO
speaking at an upcoming industry conference? Did you recently win an award? Use
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15 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
your blog to share news of your company‟s achievements, but be humble when
talking about yourself.

Communicate Product/Service Launches or Updates: Did you recently tweak
something in your product or add a new service offering? Communicate it to your
customers, prospects, and fan base with an article on the blog.

Demonstrate Your Company’s Unique Personality: Did you recently hold a fun
company-wide event like a scavenger hunt, a holiday party, or a softball
tournament? Write about it! Even better: Create a corporate Flickr account, upload
pictures from the event and embed a slideshow into the blog post. People will love
getting to know the people and culture that make your company‟s gears turn.

Include Social Media Share Links: Give the readers of your blog an easy way to
share articles with their networks and spread your messages. Include social media
share links on every article to enable readers and subscribers to spread your article
on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Improve SEO: Like any blog, a company blog can have great search engine
optimization benefits. In addition, influencers are always looking for story ideas, and
writing an article about something unique will get indexed in search engines. Who
knows – your article just might pop up as a result in Google for a story for which a
journalist needs sources. Then he or she might come right to you. Talk about
inbound PR!
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The Social Media Newsroom
Are you making it easy for journalists and bloggers to learn about your company, its
products/services, and who to contact for additional information? It‟s a best practice to
have a page on your website where the media and bloggers can go to easily obtain this
information. Below are some tips for creating an effectives social media newsroom for
your website.

Provide Clear Media Contact Info at the Top: Sometimes a journalist or blogger is
simply looking for someone to talk to. Don‟t bury this information. The last thing you
want is a journalist losing interest because he or she can‟t find contact information.
Instead, clearly position it at the top of your newsroom, and include multiple methods
of communication – an email address, a phone number, even a Twitter handle!

Links, Links, Links: Instead of cluttering your page with tons of information, include
links to other pages on which you expand upon certain information. For example, if
you‟d like to showcase your award wins or the media coverage you‟ve generated,
provide links to separate pages you‟ve built to house that information.

Incorporate Social Media Elements: Your newsroom is a great spot to aggregate
the various places your company maintains a presence in social media. Include links
to your Facebook Fan Page, your company‟s Twitter feed, Flickr account, YouTube
channel, LinkedIn page, etc.
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17 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success

Include Interactive Elements: People like to absorb information and be stimulated
in different ways. Give your visitors variety. Some ideas include embedding a video
overview of your company or product, including eye-catching icons and photos, or
including links to audio (e.g. a podcast interview featuring your CEO).

Insert a Feed to Your Company Blog or Corporate Twitter Account: If you
publish a company blog (or two) or maintain a corporate Twitter account, add feeds
that display recent posts/tweets and the link to subscribe.
SHIFT Communications offers a great template for creating an effective social media
newsroom.
Download it: http://www.shiftcomm.com/downloads/smnewsroom_template.pdf
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18 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
3. Social Media Monitoring & Crisis
Communication
As we mentioned at the beginning of this ebook, social
media monitoring is important for any modern PR
professional. And beyond monitoring, social media
participation is also critical. It‟s one thing to be paying
attention to conversations. It‟s another to actually get
involved. Luckily, with social media come some great tools
for monitoring the conversation about your brand so you
know where people are talking about you and can
participate accordingly. While paid social media monitoring tools and services exist,
there are also many free tools available to help.

Google Alerts: Set up multiple Google Alerts for your company, brand, products,
leaders, etc. The alerts will get delivered directly to your email inbox at the frequency
you indicate (e.g. daily or as they happen) and is a great way to help you track
media coverage and mentions of your brand on the web on news sites, in blogs, etc.

Twitter: Monitor mentions of your brand on Twitter with tools like Twitter Search or
HootSuite. CoTweet is also a great tool to help manage multiple users on a
corporate Twitter account and allows you to assign particular tweets to the
appropriate team member for follow-up.

Google Reader and RSS Feeds: Set up RSS feeds in Google Reader of searches
of your brand in other popular social media sites such as Flickr, Digg, Delicious, etc.
Scan the results in your reader daily for mentions.

Facebook Insights: Stay on top of and participate in discussions occurring on your
company‟s Facebook Fan Page. Use your Fan Page‟s Facebook Insights
Dashboard (found in the left sidebar when you‟re on your page as an admin) to show
you stats such as fan growth and page views to gauge your page‟s interaction and
engagement.
Social media monitoring can also be extremely helpful in managing crisis
communication. By staying on top of mentions of your company in social media, you‟ll
be aware of any negative or potentially harmful conversations taking place about your
brand. This will help you thwart any possibly reputation-damaging discussions in a more
time-sensitive manner. Here are some helpful ways to stave off negative reactions
about your company in social media during a crisis.

If you’re in the wrong, admit it. Keeping quiet has the potential to do more harm
than good. If you notice something negative spreading about you on the web and/or
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19 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
in social media, it‟s best to address it head on. If you‟d like an example of how
keeping quiet about a problem has contributed to a damaged reputation, read about
the Kryptonite Lock case study.

Update people early and often. Whether it‟s something as small as a webinar
malfunction or something as severe as a security breach, if the situation is
happening in real time, continuously update the public on the status of the situation.
Twitter and Facebook are great ways to release updates in real time, but use your
best judgment about the best way to get the word out to your affected audience.

Be transparent. Tell people what happened. If you don‟t yet know what happened,
say you‟re looking into the root of the problem, and always apologize for any
inconvenience it may be causing the affected people. What people hate even more
than a crisis is when a company doesn‟t take responsibility for that crisis. Once the
actual crisis is over, write a blog article explaining everything – what happened, how
you reacted, what you‟re doing to make things better in the future, and how you plan
to keep it from happening again.
Additional Resources:


Alerts Grader (tool to help you easily manage your Google Alerts)
On-Demand Webinar: How to Monitor Your Social Media Presence in 10 Minutes
a Day
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20 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
4. Value of Awards & Speaking
Engagements
Value of Awards
Submitting your company for and winning industry-related awards is a great PR tool.
Winning awards has a similar effect that media coverage does – it shows your publics
that your company and its products/services are worthy of third party validation. Award
wins can also be great as a recruiting tool.
Start researching relevant awards in your industry and putting together a database that
you can use to keep track of deadlines. If you win an award, publicize it in your press
room and/or create a dedicated page on your website to showcase your award wins.
Why not also write an article for your company blog and share your success (humbly) in
social media?
Value of Speaking Engagements
While social media has made building relationships and connecting with constituents
much easier, it shouldn‟t completely replace the personal touch of face-to-face
communication. Securing speaking engagements for your executives at educational,
industry-focused conferences and events is a great way to facilitate face-to-face
communication with potential and current customers as well as an effective way to
exhibit the knowledge, thought leadership, and expertise of your company‟s leaders.
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21 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
Start researching local events relative to your industry and reach out to event organizers
to pitch a particular speaker within your organization about presenting an educational
topic he/she has expertise in. Once a speaker has a solid repertoire of speaking
experience, start reaching out to higher-level, more popular conferences and summits
that attract larger audiences (these usually have a more formal submission/pitching
process using online forms and strict deadlines). Ultimately, putting a speaker of yours
in front of a large audience of potential customers can do wonders for your brand by
connecting your company‟s thought leaders with prospects face-to-face.
Once a speaker is confirmed for an event, use social media channels to generate buzz
and publicity about your speaker‟s presentation. Share the news on your Facebook Fan
Page or via your Twitter feed, write an article on your company blog, or create a web
page that aggregates upcoming speaking engagements. Even if people are unable to
attend the event in person, reading about your speaker‟s presence at the event will
show that your company is actively committed to thought leadership and connecting
with its publics face-to-face. Create a corporate SlideShare account and let people
know that the speaker‟s presentation will be uploaded there after the event. This will
enable those who cannot attend to access the speaker‟s slides afterward.
When speakers are preparing for speaking engagements, they should think of ways to
infuse social media elements into their presentations. As a speaker, offer ways for
audience members to connect with you online by providing your (and/or your
company‟s) social media credentials such as Twitter handles, Facebook Fan Page link,
etc. By giving the audience a way to connect with you, your brand, company, etc.
beyond the day of the event, you can help nurture and build the connections you make
at the event into more mature relationships online. Make sure your audience knows
that, following the event, you will upload the presentation to your company‟s corporate
SlideShare account so attendees can access and share your presentation slides even
after the event is over. Make sure speakers‟ business cards provide ways to connect
with them in social media, and consider adding their Twitter handle or Facebook link.
Check out the Science of Presentations ebook for more ideas about how to make your
presentations more social.
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22 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
5. Customer Relations & Evangelism
Your customers are a great public relations tool for your business. Happy customers
can become powerful evangelists of your company, products, and brand. Social media
is an effective tool to help you facilitate and improve communication with your
customers as well as a great way to promote your happy customers‟ successes. Here‟s
the why and the how:

Using Social Media for Customer Feedback and Support: Let‟s face it: Whether
you‟re a B2B or B2C company, your customers are participating in social media.
Making yourself available to them in this space is a great way to communicate with
them about a number of things, whether it‟s a product update, a maintenance issue,
or the intention of receiving feedback about your products or services. Businesses
are increasingly using Twitter for customer support by using corporate
representatives on Twitter to help support customers. Businesses are also taking
advantage of their Facebook presence to survey customers and foster two-way
communication.

Fodder for Media Coverage: Journalists are always looking for a great story. Do
you have a unique or interesting customer who has used your product or service to
achieve great business results or personal success? Customer success can be
great fodder for an interesting pitch.

Using Case Studies: Generating customer case studies is a win-win situation. You
get to show that your product or service actually works, and your customer gets to
demonstrate how successful they‟ve been! Consider creating a separate blog for
customer case studies and promoting those case studies in social media. Case
studies are also great to reference when pitching a customer success story to a
journalist or blogger.
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23 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
HubSpot recently published a separate ebook about customer evangelism called Digital
Word of Mouth: Let Customers Transform Your Marketing. Download it to learn more
about how to benefit from customer evangelism.
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24 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
6. Employee Relations
A company‟s employees double as PR representatives for your business, whether you
(or they) like it or not. Now that social networking has become so popular and is working
its way into how we do business, many people have their own personal presence on
social media sites. They tweet from their own Twitter accounts, publish personal blogs,
participate on Facebook, have a profile on LinkedIn, and host their own YouTube
channels. While this may be scary to some business leaders, the reality is that your
employees will participate in social media, and it‟s very difficult to control what they say.
While businesses may find comfort in blocking access to social media sites at the office
or drafting strict social media guidelines for how employees should behave on these
sites, our recommendation is a more laidback approach. The biggest fear businesses
have about their employees‟ participation in social media is that they‟ll do or say
something that might misrepresent the company or cause damage to the company‟s
image and reputation. While these are valid concerns, our belief at HubSpot is that a lot
of these fears can be thwarted by simply making your employees happy and facilitating
good employee relations. Happy employees equal positive PR. Thankfully, there are a
few things you can do using social media to facilitate this:

Internal Wikis: An internal wiki is a great hub for internal communication and
collaboration within a company. Use a wiki both to help communicate new ideas
within the company and receive feedback from employees or to rally people to
organize a company picnic or group activity to increase morale!
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25 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success

Corporate Instant Messaging: Enable communication between employees and
across departments by implementing a corporate instant messaging system, such as
Spark.

Transparency: Being transparent is critical to maintaining trust among your
employees. Use email or your internal wiki to discuss company-wide issues or to
communicate changes and announcements. Keeping your employees in the dark
about major issues is sure to create unhappy workers.

No (or Little) Social Media Policy: No one wants to be told what to do, especially if
it involves their personal life. You can‟t dictate how your employees participate in
social media on their own time, and creating disgruntled employees by implementing
a strict social media policy will only fuel the fire and create disgruntled workers. If
you‟re going to initiate a social media policy, keep it simple, and use it to serve as a
reminder that employees should use good discretion when engaging in social media.
Your employees should have good common sense not to disclose confidential
information on Facebook, but sometimes a reminder doesn‟t hurt.
Remember, for businesses‟ presence in social media, reach is key. Every person your
company employs has their own social networks, and thus their own reach.
Empowering happy employees to spread the message of your company, its products,
and its mission positively is a great way to tap into a larger pool of potential customers.
For additional resources on the importance of personal branding, see Dan Schawbel‟s
Personal Branding Blog.
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26 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
7. Measuring the ROI of Public Relations
So you‟ve started becoming more actively
engaged in social media to aid your public
relations efforts. But can you tell if it‟s working?
Measuring the return on investment -- and more
appropriately for PR, the return on effort -- is an
important part of any marketing initiative. You
should always be measuring the success of your
programs to determine whether your efforts are generating positive results. Measuring
ROI can also help you decide if you need to make adjustments to your current
processes so you can get the most from your efforts.
Measuring ROI in public relations has always been a pain point for practitioners.
However, the web has helped to make tracking ROI more reasonable and less of a
headache. The following are some quantitative and quantitative ways you can track if
your PR methods are delivering results.

Track Mentions in Media Using Google Alerts: As I mentioned in the section
about social media monitoring and crisis communication, Google Alerts can be a
great way to track mentions of your brand on the web and in social media and blogs.
What is the tone of your mentions? Are they positive? Negative? Neutral?

Compare Mentions of Your Company Against Competitors: Consider measuring
how your company is faring against competitor brands in terms of media mentions
and their tones by setting up Google Alerts for your competitors as well. Compete
allows you to compare specific metrics of your website against its competitors, and
Website Grader also enables you to compare your website with your competitors‟
websites in terms of statistics like traffic rank and inbound links (see Website Grader
report example below).

Track Press Release Syndications: Track how many times the press releases you
distribute via wire services get syndicated on portal sites. Some newswire services
like Marketwire offer customized reports per release to show you where your release
has been syndicated.
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27 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success

Evaluate the Reach of Media Coverage: If your brand was mentioned on a popular
news site or blog or your CEO was interviewed on a podcast or online radio show,
use free web analytics tools like Compete or Alexa to determine the reach of those
sites. Similarly, if your CEO was interviewed on a traditional radio show, find out
what the listenership is typically like for that particular show.

Evaluate Your Reach in Social Media: How many Twitter followers do you have?
How many Facebook fans have you accumulated? Check out your Facebook Page‟s
Insights to determine if you‟re effectively engaging your fans.

Net Promoter Score: Net Promoter is a management tool that can be used to
gauge the loyalty of a company‟s customer relationships. Has your score increased
since you‟ve been dedicating more time and effort to customer relations?

Analyze Your Website’s Sources: Use Google Analytics to help analyze how
people are finding you online. Did your site visitors find a press release of yours on a
portal site that linked back to your website? Are you generating traffic from social
media sites like Facebook or Twitter?

Count Your Award Wins: How many awards have you won? Have any of your
award wins resulted in media coverage or talent acquisition?

Evaluate Your Speaking Engagements: How many speaking engagements have
you secured? What was the size of the audience to which you presented?

Ask Your Customers How They Found You: While it might be difficult to
determine otherwise, consider asking customers or prospects how they initially
found out about you to determine if your PR efforts are actually working to attract
prospects and, ultimately, customers.

Compare Results Before and After Specific Initiatives: Maybe you launched a
Facebook Fan Page or corporate Twitter account recently. Do you notice any
difference in your business‟ reputation or public perception since you started
devoting more time to specific PR efforts?
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28 How to Leverage Social Media for Public Relations Success
About HubSpot:
HubSpot is online marketing software that:
• Helps businesses get found online by more qualified visitors.
• Shows businesses how to convert more visitors into leads.
• Gives businesses tools to close those leads efficiently.
• Provides businesses with analytics to help make smart marketing investments.
Based in Cambridge, MA, HubSpot can be found at HubSpot.com
To start a free trial of HubSpot software today, go to: HubSpot.com/free-trial
For additional educational resources and marketing content please follow us on Twitter
and Facebook.
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Learn more about public relations and inbound marketing in our Public Relations
Marketing Hub.
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A MILLION “FRIENDS” DO NOT A MARKETING STRATEGY MAKE
By Cliff Ennico
As a small business columnist, I get at least several press releases a day from
public relations firms around the country who are trying to get their clients a mention in
this column. Most are representing authors promoting their “new” ideas (sadly, few
qualify), consultants trolling for clients, or successful entrepreneurs selling their “how I
did it” stories (mostly to investors or larger companies that may wish to buy them).
Every once in a while, though, a press release comes through that puts its finger
directly on a pressing problem facing America’s growing, privately owned businesses.
This one landed in my Inbox last week, and deserves to be quoted ver batim:
“A few years ago blogs were the social media of the moment for businesses. But,
according to a Pew Research Center Survey, by 2005 only 27% of Internet users in
America were bothering to read them. Today according to Forrester, the numbers for
adult blog readers have dropped to just below 25%. Now, Facebook and Twitter are
where every business thinks they need be. Despite a failing economy and tight budgets,
companies are hiring consultants and even creating internal teams to manage and update
their social media believing that product announcement Tweets and being “liked” on
Facebook will somehow convert to sales and growth. In a realm ruled by celebrity gossip,
pictures of weddings, babies and drunken antics, the question remains though – are any of
these businesses’ messages being heard through the noise and if they are, to what end?”
Bingo – when you are thinking about promoting your business via social media,
these are precisely the questions you need to ask. Like many of you, I am sick and tired
of hearing how Facebook, Twitter and their ilk are going to change the world. Yes,
they’re fun to do. They can put us in closer touch with distant relatives, college friends
and other “people from our past” that would otherwise be forgotten or put out of our lives
altogether. They can also give us bragging rights at the local watering hole (“I’ve got
278 more friends than you, nyah, nyah”).
But there are two burning questions business owners need to ask when it comes to
social media:
• how do people generate actual sales (as opposed to marketplace “buzz”) from
these things?
• who is looking at these things more than infrequently, and are they looking to
buy stuff or just schmoozing?
The biggest way (at least right now) that businesses generate revenue from social
media is from advertising. Basically, by posting lots of personal information to a social
media site, you and your “friends” help that site sell ads that their “affiliates” (read,
advertisers) put on your profile page, without your permission and with no share of the
revenue going to you. You also help them create a huge database of information about
you which they can sell separately to their “affiliates” hoping to sell stuff directly to you
and your friends.
This can create problems. A few weeks ago I visited one of my online profiles (I
won’t say where) where I am listed as a “small business attorney”, among other things. I
was shocked – shocked! – to discover an ad next to my photo from a law firm offering to
help people who are looking to buy franchises. Hey, I do that – this advertiser was a
competitor of mine! I complained to the site and the ad was promptly removed, but now
I have to check my profile page frequently to make sure nobody is using my name to
promote products, services and opinions that I don’t want my name associated with.
But now for the second question: who really is buying stuff from social media
websites? The plain fact of the matter is that most of us are just too darned busy or selfabsorbed (some of us writing graffiti to our “walls” or “tweeting” our own songs of
ourselves) to read what other people are putting up online, much less respond to their
postings or click on an ad.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not knocking social media as a marketing tool. I’m
merely suggesting that once the novelty of social media wears off (and the press release
quoted above makes me think the Web 2.0 “backlash” has already begun), only those
businesses with a clear and coherent marketing strategy will be able to use it effectively.
This means:
•
•
•
•
•
targeting online ads only to people interested in your products and services
(preferably from your own profile page, not anybody else’s);
ruthlessly managing your profile pages to keep them “on message”;
placing ads on people’s profile pages only with their permission and
endorsement, or some other meaningful “opt in”; and
watching your Web metrics closely to see where (and if) your social media
presence is leading to actual sales.
Cliff Ennico (crennico@gmail.com) is a syndicated columnist, author and former host of the PBS
television series "Money Hunt." This column is no substitute for legal, tax or financial advice, which can be
furnished only by a qualified professional licensed in your state. To find out more about Cliff Ennico and
other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit our Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT
2010 CLIFFORD R. ENNICO. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today. Services» |Subscribe| |Twitter Feed| |Facebook Page| |Archives| |Contact Us| Collective Wisdom: Some free-thinking about social media as we enter the first decade
Forward:
In the closing days of 2009 Pepsi decided against hiring Justin Timberlake, Cindy Crawford or even Britney Spears to speak for
them during the 2010 Super Bowl. They would instead take the $20 million budgeted and use it to talk directly -- and to listen back -with consumers through the web. It was the final and perhaps the most significant signpost marking 2009 as a year where emerging
social media technologies mandated new strategies for anyone who deals with the public. No organizations seemed unaffected.
Pope Benedict XVI launched his Facebook app in May. In June the US State Department asked Twitter to delay scheduled
maintenance because of the role it was playing during civil unrest in Iran.
The WBW newsletter tracked these developments and sought out voices that clearly understood the changes and could rationally
describe a way forward. Increasingly, the newsletter's readers turned to the bloggers who's words make up this document. Some of
their advice has been highly pragmatic, such as how to get the most out of 140 characters. Other times they'll address the emerging
vagaries of customer recognition shaped by the forces of social media.
We asked the group to look at 2010 - their outlook for the year, the best ways to handle the social ROI question, the relationship
with the bottom line. We even asked them for some fun with applications, telling us how their favorite historical character would
have used these new technologies. You won't find any ironclad rules or spreadsheet formulas in this document but if you look
through it with a critical eye you might be able to build a more effective framework through which to build your own social media
strategy for the first full decade.
We're all in this together. Stay in touch and have some fun.
-Jeff Ente, Director, WBW
First contributor: Ann Handley of MarketingProfs Daily Fix →
The contributors:
Ann Handley (MarketingProfs Daily Fix)
Kevin Gibbons (SEOptimise)
Brian Solis (Brian Solis Blog)
Scott Fox (E-Commerce Success Blog)
Ravit Lichtenberg (Ustrategy)
Andy Beal (Marketing Pilgrim)
Corvida Raven (SheGeeks Blog)
Ian Lurie (Conversation Marketing)
Lisa Barone (Outspoken Media blog)
Mitch Joel (Six Pixels of Separation)
Alexandra Samuel (Alexandra Samuel Blog)
Samir Balwani (Samir Balwani Blog)
Joe Pulizzi (The Content Marketing Revolution)
Mike Volpe (Inbound Marketing Blog)
Jay Baer (Convince & Convert)
Bernie Borges (Find and Convert Blog)
Jacob Morgan (Social Media Globetrotter)
Jake Hird (Econsultancy )
Maddie Grant (Socialfishing)
Janet Fouts (Tatu Digital Media Blog)
Jim Gianoglio (LunaMetrics)
Sharlyn Lauby (HR Bartender)
Ari Herzog (AriWriter)
Cameron Chapman (Cameron Chapman on Writing)
Danny Flamberg (Manhattan Marketing Maven)
Joel Postman (Socialized)
Kelsey Childress (The Social Robot)
Ryan Peal (Ideas, Imagination & Stuff (a.k.a. Ryan's View))
Mirna Bard (Mina Bard Blog)
David Berkowitz (Inside the Marketers Studio)
Lisa Whelan (Socialize Mobilize Blog)
Paul Dunay (Buzz Marketing For Technology)
Kirsti Scott (Hot Design Blog)
Donna Maria (The Media Is You)
Susan Payton (The Marketing Eggspert Blog)
Larry Brauner (Online Social Networking)
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
Services» |Subscribe| |Twitter Feed| |Facebook Page| |Archives| |Contact Us| Collective Wisdom: Some free-thinking about social media as we enter the first decade
→
Kevin Gibbons
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Ann Handley
MarketingProfs
MarketingProfs
Daily Fix
@marketingprofs
...social media is on every company's radar screen. It's no longer the new bright
and shiny thing; instead, companies of all shapes and sizes begin to pay attention
to it (I'm looking at you, B2B).
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
The first step is figuring out your social media strategy -- in other words, what are
you doing there? What do you hope to accomplish? It's a lot easier to measure
your success (or lack thereof) once you figure out objectives.
Did you read?
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
What's a Dry Cleaner Doing
on Twitter?
Again, it's all about setting your strategy and identifying your objectives in the
social space (or anywhere in your marketing, really). When you start there, you
don't tend to get blinded by the newness or freshness or hipness of the bright and
shiny tools (which goes a long way toward separating the hype from the reality).
By Ann Handley
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
The word "sell" here is bugging me. Can we connect with our customers through
social media, increasingly, by this time next year? For the smart companies, the
answer is yes. For the spammers and short-sighted organizations and stupid
companies... God, I hope not.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
The other night my daughter and I were reading "Charlotte's Web" by EB White. I
started to think that Charlotte would have penned a compelling Twitter stream:
CharlotteCavatica: @FernArable come quick! @wilburpig is Some Pig!
TempletonRat: RT @wilburpig is Some Pig! (Sponsored Message via "Will Tweet
for Food.") WilburPig: Shout out to @CharlotteCavatica for saving me from
becoming nothing more than bacon. Not sure it would have changed the outcome
of the story, but it would have brought the drama playing out in that barn to a
bigger stage. Don't you think? : )
→
Kevin Gibbons
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
Services» |Subscribe| |Twitter Feed| |Facebook Page| |Archives| |Contact Us| Collective Wisdom: Some free-thinking about social media as we enter the first decade
←
→
Ann Handley
Brian Solis
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Kevin Gibbons
SEOptimise
@kevgibbo
...more businesses will use social media to boost their online profile. Interesting
content will always be key to a blog's popularity - but after a slow start businesses
are now becoming much more savvy in applying social media promotion and SEO
techniques to a corporate blog. From our own experience we know how a blog can
be used as a powerful tool for business growth, helping establish a company's
reputation as expert in its sector.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Did you read?
There are plenty of free tools to measure social media ROI, and a growing number
of new applications which are worth testing out. However, the most important step
is still to set goals for a social media campaign - without goals it's impossible to
measure success. Common goals for a social media campaign include brand
awareness, online reputation management and customer support, online
traffic/visibility, generating both online and offline attention or media coverage,
attracting inbound quality/natural links for SEO purposes, increasing readership
and direct sales. Once you've defined the main goals of your campaign you can
then look towards measuring success around this.
10 LinkedIn Tips to Optimise
your Profile
By Kevin Gibbons
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Proven results will continue to demonstrate the true worth of social media to
different types of businesses. Part of the energy and buzz surrounding the use of
social media is the very fact that it's constantly changing - so keep a watch on all
new trends and developments and test them out as appropriate. Only after trying
them out do we recommend new tactics and tools to clients. It's about selecting the
best social media 'tool' for the job that will achieve results, rather than going after
everything new, however hyped.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Let's be more optimistic! Dell is a classic example of how Twitter can successfully be
used to generate sales. Dell claims to have made $6.5m in Twitter-driven sales of
products since it started tweeting deals around two years ago. As well as a clear
sales platform, Dell is using social media to interact with its customers and as an
early warning system of any potential problems so that they can be resolved
swiftly.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
What would Columbus have Tweeted to drum up support for his pioneering trips
overseas? Maybe something like this: @Columbus looking for rewards for next
voyage of discovery! @KingFerdinand can offer high rewards for new
islands/mainland @Columbus setting sail today from Spain with 3 ships...
@KingFerdinand God speed! @Columbus found new island naming it 'San
Salvador' @Guanahaniislanders oh no you don't its already called 'Guanahani'
@KingFerdinand lets call it 'Bahamas'! @Columbus next voyage Cuba - may bring
back some locals
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
If you're using social media in 2009; carry on doing more of the same in 2010! The
first step is to be aware of what people are saying about your brand online, many
companies miss this when you can gain so much valuable and honest information
from your own customers. But definitely give social media a chance, many sites
such as Twitter can take a while to get used to - but once you've got the hang of it
there's tons of great information out there and it can be a very powerful tool for
building a strong reputation online.
←
→
Ann Handley
Brian Solis
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
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←
→
Kevin Gibbons
Scott Fox
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Brian Solis
FutureWorks
Brian Solis Blog
@briansolis
...we start to look at Social Media as a chapter in the evolving story of new
media. We'll focus less on "being everywhere" and we'll concentrate our efforts
on creating visibility, presence, and community where we're needed.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
The term ROI is only mysterious to those who practice social media through a
"create a profile and let's go go go" initiative. How do you measure Social Media
ROI if you don't know why it is that you're engaging in the first place. The
ability to measure ROI has never been elusive, it's only been out of reach by
those who didn't think about it first. Everything starts with creating a click path
to closure. Figure out where you need to be and why. What you can measure
through that engagement (sales, leads, registrations, etc.) and how much man
power and resources it takes to makes things happen.
Did you read?
Make Tweet Love ? Top Tips
for Building Twitter
Relationships
By Brian Solis
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Practice and measurement. Also, stop reading the case studies that everyone
publishes in social media as none of them are measuring the ROI of their
engagement using metrics that positively impact the business in the near and
long term. Stop listening and start writing your own success story.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Walt Disney. He made us believe that through imagineering, we could create
new worlds that people where people can immerse and engage with others just
like them. Social Media is about creating a community where people can believe
in you and what you stand for...
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Become the person who can answer your own questions. The work, research,
practice, and insight gleaned in the process of getting from here to there will
most likely surpass the experience of those you originally sought insight and
direction.
←
→
Kevin Gibbons
Scott Fox
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
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←
→
Brian Solis
Ravit Lichtenberg
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Scott Fox
ScottFox.com
E-Commerce Success
Blog
@scott_fox
... mainstream corporations and media recognize the power and importance of
social media marketing. This will create new business opportunities for social
media marketers, help their new mainstream clients find more customers, and
create exciting new dialogues as we all learn to better talk WITH customers instead
of just AT them.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Did you read?
The acceptance of social media is allowing a shift from quantity of audience to
quality. In 2010 successful marketers, (both online social media folks and
traditional marketers), should measure their campaign (and career) success based
on the quality of audience instead of traditional mass media metrics. Engaging
with customers and potential customers through social media marketing can
increase customer loyalty, lead to repeat purchases, and spread your marketing
messages more cost-effectively than ever before.
4 Annoying Twitter Myths
about How to Use Twitter
By Scott Fox
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Social media are just tools. Your audience's expectations for engagement should
dictate your choice of those tools(instead of following the latest early adopter
trends or "guru-recommended" hype). If you also use social media tools to listen to
what your customers want, your social media efforts will naturally match the
interests of your target audience and increase ROI.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
More. Although early adopters have been excited about social media for years,
2010 is the year that "regular" companies are going to embrace Facebook, Twitter,
Ning, and whatever comes next. They will also help drive even more consumer
adoption and participation. Result? More revenues via social media marketing.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
I would love to see what Mark Twain would have done with social media. A
master communicator, I'm sure his Tweets, podcasts, and Facebook comments
would be both hilarious and insightful.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
2010 offers all of us great opportunity and if you are reading this, you are lucky to
be part of a revolution. Let's make it happen!
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Brian Solis
Ravit Lichtenberg
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
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Scott Fox
Andy Beal
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Ravit Lichtenberg
Ustrategy
@ravit_ustrategy
...the rubber meets the road. Whatever held marketers back (access, information,
funds) will get smaller and the possibilities will grow bigger. Those marketers
who will be able to stay focused on customers, understand customers' behaviors
have changed in the past couple of years, and deliver value using social media
channels in their marketing mix will rise to the top. We will see marketers
standing out for their ability to push the next generation of personalized
marketing and for demonstrating results that are not tied to a specific tool or
channel but that apply to the marketing ecosystem as a whole.
Did you read?
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
10 Ways Social Media Will
Change in 2010
In 2010, companies who have been passive spectators will need to dive into the
ROI wonderland. To start, marketers should: -Only use benchmarks that they
can measure and impact -Slowly transition from hype metrics--engagement,
conversation, followers--into tested and proven measurements: increased traffic to
target website pages, improved conversion due to behavior-tracking fixes, brand
loyalty score,etc. -Consider creative benchmarks that may not lead to immediate
ROI but will signal value to client/company: product improvement feedback,
R&D innovation, improved brand messaging & communication, etc. And, get
ready for a ride of a year- it *will* feel as if it had been changed in a night.
By Ravit Lichtenberg
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Measurements, measurements, measurements. If it can't be measured--it's hype.
If it can, it's real.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
As social media becomes highly integrated into customers' purchasing experience
and into companies' selling activities, companies and marketers will be able to
target customers much more accurately and, increasingly, will deliver value in
ways that customers care about. Imagine booking a vacation and immediately
receiving restaurant recommendations, clothing suggestions, and local event
highlights--all validated through your personal networks. Or, visualize the next
generation Groupon that suggests personalized "whole experience" of products
and services to consumers while improving conversion likelihood for companies. I
believe there's great promise ahead; optimism is in order.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
I'd love to see what Moses would do with Social Media. Imagine the power of
crowd mobilization when a future of a People is concerned. Would he tweet
ahead of the exodus, using the hashtags #letmypeoplego and #badpharaoh? How
would he have kept the plans a secret? Would he have done a simulcast from
Mount Sinai as he read the Ten Commandments? Would he de-friend Aaron
once he found out on his mobile Facebook app about the golden calf? One can
only imagine how things would have changed if social media existed in tribal
times...or in any humanity-changing historic moment since.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Remember what made you great before social media, focus on people--on
customers, and come up with new and refreshed ways to love the customer
knowing that the possibilities will become near-limitless.
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Scott Fox
Andy Beal
Who's Blogging What
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Ravit Lichtenberg
Corvida Raven
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Andy Beal
Trackur
Marketing Pilgrim
@andybeal
...they realize that you don't "use" social media, you "engage" it. I see many
marketers that simply push out content on social media platforms and expect
them to be successful. They'll realize it's about the dialogues, not the monologues.
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Don't look at social media as a one-off project. This is not something you create
for a product launch, then neglect once the campaign is over.
Have you read?
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Facebook's New Vanity URLs
& Google Reputation
Management
Jesus. Forget Ashton Kutcher, Jesus would have more Twitter followers than
anyone!
By Andy Beal
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Ravit Lichtenberg
Corvida Raven
Who's Blogging What
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Andy Beal
Ian Lurie
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Corvida Raven
SheGeeks
SheGeeks Blog
@corvida
...people become more mobile and companies become social. Personalization will
continue to be an important theme to business and marketing strategies. Social
engagement will become a high priority.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Marketers should be using everything they can think of that links to revenue
generation. Press mentions, blog trackbacks, retweets and facebook shares,
youtube video views, community sentiments, email campaign traffic and so much
more. In all of this what they should be focusing on is "how can we improve these
communities?"
Have you read?
5 Effective Tips For Tweeting
As A Company - How does
your company tweet?
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
By Corvida Raven
Hype is that tingling feeling you get when you first start using something new.
Reality is when the "newness" wears off and you find yourself not getting the
results you want.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
We will be so much more optimistic through proper engagement strategies in the
next year and beyond.
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Andy Beal
Ian Lurie
Who's Blogging What
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Corvida Raven
Lisa Barone
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Ian Lurie
Portent Interactive
Conversation
Marketing
@portentint
...web sites become hubs. Some brands have already figured this out, but most
haven't. 2010 will see more and more companies using their main web site as a
focal point for broad, dispersed campaigns that cater individually to their audience
on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. That, of course, will make ROI tracking an
even bigger nightmare.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Have you read?
It's not about the traffic to your blog or web site so much as it's about the
persistence of your message. Tools like Tweetmeme and Bit.ly are critical. Then
you have to track results over time. Don't just stare at your traffic report and say
"We're not getting conversions". That's stupid. Track improvement in overall sales;
reduced support costs; improved conversion rates from other sources. Most
important, marketers had damned well better learn what 'click attribution' means.
Or they better hire me :)
3 Ways to Measure Social
Media ROI
By Ian Lurie
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Anyone who says they can now precisely track Social Media ROI is full of manure.
so is anyone who says they can generate fast results. The reality is that social
media rocks, not because of ROI or speed to results, but because, with persistence
and intelligence, success is inevitable.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
More optimistic, definitely. But also more frustrated, precisely because folks think
you 'sell through social media'. You don't - you boost sales from other sources
using social media.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
FDR was the first modern master of social media. In his Fireside Chats, he used
this unique device called 'radio' to gather families and small groups together every
week. Those chats prompted further discussion. They also let him go directly to the
American people in a time when it looked like western civilization as we knew it
might fail (I'm not exaggerating). FDR would have used podcasting to provide
continuous access to his chats; Twitter to respond to crises and announce the
week's topic; a blog for his writings and speeches; and, I'd like to think, monitoring
to know that the Holocaust was a reality far sooner, and bring the USA into the
war in the late 30's, instead of the early 40's.
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Corvida Raven
Lisa Barone
Who's Blogging What
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Ian Lurie
Mitch Joel
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Lisa Barone
Outspoken Media
Outspoken Media
blog
@lisabarone
...ROI is beaten into the equation. Up until this point there's been a lot of "testing"
and "trying" and "feeling what works", but in 2010 it's going to be all about
proving that return on investment. That means creating your social media plan
from the start, investing in tools that can help quantify what you're doing, and
picking and choosing where you an afford to spend your time.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Have you read?
It depends on your reasons for entering social media. You have to identify what it
is you're trying to grow in social media and then ID the action that achieves that.
Things to look at: Engagement - comments, links, trackbacks Attention - amount
of buzz, time on site, frequency of mentions Sentiment - positive, negative or
neutral Sales/ Leads - Is the cost-per-customer dropping Traffic - are you grabbing
more eyes over time? It's about turning the numbers, followers and comments
you're receiving in a story that people can understand. Interaction is good, but
what does that interaction mean?
Tips To Get People To Join
Your Facebook Fan Page
By Lisa Barone
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Its whether or not you can do something with the numbers. Having 5,000 Twitter
followers is hype until you can successfully get them to your Web site. Having
2,000 Facebook fans is hype until they're making purchases on your Web site.
Having 25,000 blog subscribers is hype until you can get them into a membership
program. It's about being able to leverage the fans, followers and subscribers in a
way that ultimately grows your business. Without that step, all social media is you
talking to yourself.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
I think we'll be far more optimistic. If you look at it, small businesses and retailers
are already way more optimistic going into 2010 than they were in 2009. Once
people start attaching ROI to activities that were one just left to fate and eyeballed,
businesses will feel a lot more comfortable allocating money to these newer areas.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Stop focusing on the numbers. Social media isn't a numbers game. You don't need
10,000 followers, you just need the group you do have to be engaged and
passionate about your brand. Focus on giving them something to be passionate
about and rally behind. That's where the magic will happen.
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Ian Lurie
Mitch Joel
Who's Blogging What
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Lisa Barone
Alexandra Samuel
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Mitch Joel
Twist Image
Six Pixels of
Separation
@mitchjoel
...we really experience “the great untethering” – from USB Internet sticks and
netbooks to iPhones, BlackBerry and Google’s Android… the Internet will be less
about beating out TV in terms of media usage and more about being everywhere
like electricity.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Engagement, time spent, type of conversation, spreading of good conversation,
fixing of bad conversation, increasing bottom-line sales and customer base, and
looking at how they can add value (instead of noise) to the conversation.
Have you read?
6 Quick Tips To Optimize
How You Monitor Your
Digital Footprint
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
By focusing less on what the individuals are doing to promote themselves and
more on how those individuals are able to help others (brands, individuals, etc…)
use these channels to truly connect, share and build relationships.
By Mitch Joel
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
We need to get beyond the navel-gazing and trolling. We need to focus more on
the real relationships and connections, and figure out a way to make that scale
effectively.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Bruce Lee is one of my favourites. Something tells me that his philosophy around
Kung Fu (and life) would have thrived even more had he been around and
playing with Social Media. Great ideas spread. Great stories get told. Now, these
stories have no distribution fee with access to more people than any of us could
have ever imagined. Just think about how these channels and platforms can help
to change history… and let’s not forget that they already have
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
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Lisa Barone
Alexandra Samuel
Who's Blogging What
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Mitch Joel
Samir Balwani
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Alexandra Samuel
Social Signal
Alexandra Samuel
Blog
@awsamuel
...they have to deal with the three Cs of backlash: consumer, community and
client. Consumers (a.k.a. "human beings") are already expressing frustration with
community members who turn out to be marketing shills. Community managers
will crack down on marketers-posing-as members because of the impact on trust
and participation in their sites. And clients will either pull back or redirect their
social media efforts when they discover that, surprise! marketers don't have the
answers on how to actually reorganize their customer relations and R&D teams to
meet the demands that social media marketers have awakened.
Have you read?
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Three Instantly Effective
Social Media Ideas
The field of social media metrics is currently much like the proverbial drunk who
is looking for his lost keys under the street lamp -- because that's where the light
is. For now, we're heavily constrained by what is measurable: hits, links,
mentions, follows, friends. What we need are metrics that provide insights not just
into the volume of exposure and relationships, but on the quality of those
mentions and relationships. Semantic analysis is useful but much harder to obtain
or communicate, so we're focusing a lot of attention on numbers that may or may
not correspond to the actual richness of our relationships.
By Alexandra Samuel
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
It's useful to compare the social media boom with the first dot com boom in the
late 90s. That bubble was very much driven by market valuations which (as we
now know) turned out to be hyperinflated; the same will almost inevitably
happen to a bunch of social media sites. But the key difference is that on many
social media sites, the accumulated value lies not in the company-owned software,
but in the community-owned content: if and when a bust comes (in hype and/or
valuations) many of these communities will morph and endure, possibly in less
glossy form, because the underlying relationships, common interests and content
are driven by highly committed community members.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
I'd love to think that in a year, the conversation about social media will no longer
be focused on selling (though it may in fact take a couple of years for that to
shift). I already see a glimmer of recognition that social media can not be
successfully tackled as a pure marketing play: some social media leaders are
already talking about the importance of change management as a way of
leveraging and also managing the potential impact of social media. If you're only
using social media to sell stuff, you may burn your brand (by failing to deliver on
expectations) and you're missing its greatest potential -- to transform your
internal & external relationships and capacity for innovation.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
I've always been fascinated by Karl Marx, not because I'm waiting for the
revolution (had to give that one up a while ago) but because of the way his
writing transformed the way we see the world: most fundamentally, making us
see economic conditions as the key driver of social and political life (see
http://bit.ly/m4Rx). And while I can't imagine reading Das Kapital in 140character increments, Marx would have had an interesting take on the
opportunities that arise from a shift away from large-scale industrial production
and back towards artisanal production -- whether in the micro- startups that build
social media sites, or the micro-entrepreneurs who create and sell through them.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
This is a good time to think about whether your work and passions are driven by
marketing, or by social media -- because the two fields are going to diverge,
especially on the leading edge. If you are first and foremost a marketing junkie,
you need to think about how to integrate social media with other marketing
channels, and build relationships with people who are working on other aspects of
social media in the enterprise (collaboration, innovation, change management) so
you can develop an integrated, durable approach. And if you've fallen in love
with social media, it's time to start broadening your perspective so YOU can be
that integrator who brings together the full range of expertise.
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Mitch Joel
Samir Balwani
Who's Blogging What
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Alexandra Samuel
Joe Pulizzi
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Samir Balwani
Samir Balwani Blog
@samirbalwani
...mobile becomes huge. Smartphones are becoming more powerful and so are
applications. I want to know what my friends are doing, but now I want to know
where they are too. I want to be able to find people and places near me that I can
connect with. Mobile social media will be the bridge between online marketing
and in-store marketing that we've been waiting for.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Have you read?
I understand using benchmarks to track social media ROI but it always comes
down to sales. Here's what I recommend, before you started trying out social
media what were you sales? What does it usually increase yearly? How much did
it increase since you started using social media? You can't assign exactly how
much social media affected your sales, but it gives you an idea. The harder
question is, "How do you forecast social media ROI?"
How Foursquare is Changing
Social Media Marketing
By Samir Balwani
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Simple, I ask - did it work? Test platforms that will work for your business. Where
are your consumers? How are they interacting online? The reality of the situation
is that only you know your consumers well enough to answer these questions.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Much more optimistic. Social media already has the ability to sell. The problem is
that we can't directly attribute sales to social media. Since we're able to gather
more data and are dedicating more resources to understanding it now, this time
next year social media marketing will be in a much better position to justify itself
as an efficient sales strategy.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
I'm a huge fan of Albert Einstein and his genius. Can you imagine the kind of
breakthroughs he may have had if he were able to collaborate with other great
minds of his time? That's where the true power of social media is, in breaking
down barriers and helping people work together. A good social media marketer
recognizes that it's not only about selling your product, but working with your
consumer to make it better.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Thanks for letting me a part of this newsletter! I'm excited to watch social media
marketing grow as an industry in 2010. I hope I get a chance to work with all of
you, and don't hesitate to reach out to me on Facebook or Twitter.
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Alexandra Samuel
Joe Pulizzi
Who's Blogging What
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Samir Balwani
Mike Volpe
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...valuable, relevant and compelling content becomes the center of their social
media strategy.
Joe Pulizzi
Junta42
The Content
Marketing
Revolution
@juntajoe
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
The most important thing is asking "Why?" What do you want to get out of social
media for your company? That is what you need to measure. Is it for customer
service, for acquisition, for retention? Figure that out first, then measure that.
Have you read?
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
10 Social Media Tools - Best
Kept Secrets
It's reality for companies if social media helps to accomplish their marketing goals.
When a company can't figure out why they are doing what they are doing with
social media, then it just stays hype to those brands.
By Joe Pulizzi
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Again, it depends on purpose. Those who have a clear goal and follow through on
that goal, social media will rise to the top.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Jesus...just think of how fast his stories would spread through Twitter. For those
who give their expertise unselfishly through social media, great things happen.
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Samir Balwani
Mike Volpe
Who's Blogging What
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Joe Pulizzi
Jay Baer
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...we all realize that social media marketing is only one tool, and it should be used
with other marketing tools, not instead of them.
Mike Volpe
HubSpot
Inbound Marketing
Blog
@mvolpe
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Business benchmarks never change. It is always about sales, and things that lead
to sales, like leads. If a marketing activity does not drive sales in some way, it is not
a useful activity. I think in 2010 more companies will start to realize the
importance of closed loop marketing and will be able to implement marketing
software that measures the number of new customers coming from each
marketing channel.
Have you read?
4 Minutes to Optimize a
LinkedIn Profile for SEO
By Mike Volpe
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
I measure sales and things that lead to sales. If you are measuring real metrics that
impact your business, you'll never get lost in the hype.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Less optimistic, but more realistic. People will realize social media marketing is not
magic, it is just another tool, like email, blogging, search engine optimization - and
it deserves a place in use alongside all those other tools.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Adam Smith, the economist who wrote the wealth of nations. He would have loved
social media because it breaks down barriers and provides for more free flow of
information, making markets more efficient. I think he could have used social
media to spread his ideas more quickly and effectively, which might have lead to
free trade and specialization of production becoming more prevalent more
quickly, perhaps shaping the global economy in new and different ways.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
You don't go to the gym and only do curls with your right arm, you workout your
whole body. Social media is only effective when combined with other marketing
tools as part of an overall and comprehensive inbound marketing strategy.
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Joe Pulizzi
Jay Baer
Who's Blogging What
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Mike Volpe
Bernie Borges
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...we figure out how to intelligently use all these tools we're so gaga over.
Jay Baer
Convince & Convert
@jaybaer
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
True "ROI" requires revenue calculation and attribution. That's complex, and it
takes time. Most marketers are still tracking non-financial, trending benchmarks
like Web traffic and numbers of fans and friends. You should be tracking these
metrics, but don't confuse them with ROI.
Have you read?
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Should Facebook Dominate
Your Social Media Strategy?
Consumers will do that separation for us. If it feels like you're forcing the issue with
your social media marketing, you are.
By Jay Baer
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
We'll be more optimistic about customer service and social CRM, and less
optimistic about customer acquisition via social media.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Robin Hood. He easily could have raised money with tweets and PayPal. Much
easier. No arrows. No fights. No living in a forest (unless there was Wi-Fi).
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Mike Volpe
Bernie Borges
Who's Blogging What
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Jay Baer
Jacob Morgan
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Bernie Borges
Find and Convert
Find and Convert
Blog
@berniebay
...marketers must learn to create experiences to fully engage their buyers. Buyers
have too many choices. They want to be educated, enlightened and entertained.
Marketers who do not create "experiences" where buyers can engage with them in
fun or interesting ways will differentiate the best. These marketers will build trust
and win customer mindshare.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Have you read?
Buyers want to buy from brands they like and trust. Brands who build trust win.
Ways to measure ROI include the increase in the number of subscribers to their
content profiles on the web, re-tweets, downloads, blog comments and brand
mentions. Brands should measure mentions diligently. Measure company name,
product name, category, people and industry mentions. Also, measure sources of
website/blog traffic and keywords. Track the trend among all of these elements.
Also, measure which content topics are the most popular and produce more of
popular topics. These measurement strategies are cogs in the wheel. Measure the
trend in sales activity and correlate it to the progress in all of above.
Measuring Results in Social
Media Marketing
By Bernie Borges
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
I'm concerned we may be less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media in 2010. The reason is a lot of people are starting to use social media with a
"bull in a china shop" attitude. These idiots are creating negative results and giving
social media a bad rap. Only the marketers who create great content and engage
buyers in interesting and compelling ways can effectively sell in social media.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
My favorite historical character is Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers of
the U.S Constitution. If these men had access to the web during the time of
drafting the constitution they would've blogged, tweeted and shared their
thoughts so profusely. The word would have spread so much faster on the web.
The user generated content from the citizens would have been so remarkable that
the constitution would've been completed faster and with much more community
building. Mother England would've realized their losing battle much sooner.
Perhaps the Revolutionary War could have been avoided altogether. Instead,
perhaps the Revolutionary War could have been fought and won through content
on the web!
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Marketers need to understand that we are in a period in history that is still in
transition. The sooner marketers understand that their buyers want to engage with
them the same way these marketers want to engage. No one wants to be insulted
by advertisers anymore. Buyers want to talk each other and consume content.
Marketers who don't get that are at risk of losing market share at best and going
out of business at worst.
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Jay Baer
Jacob Morgan
Who's Blogging What
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Bernie Borges
Jake Hird
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Jacob Morgan
Chess Media Group
Social Media
Globetrotter
@JacobM
...we really start to look at the evolution of social media and how it can be fully
integrated into an organization. We will see budgets shift towards social media
and taken away from some traditional media outlets. Mobile is going to become
even more prevalent as a crucial strategic piece to the social media puzzle.
Marketers will also have a much more solid understanding of what ROI is and will
be utilizing many of the new tools and platforms on the horizon that will help get
at the data. Marketers are going to have to really focus on the relationships that
they can build with consumers.
Have you read?
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Two Examples of Companies
Measuring Social Media ROI
There should be no mystery behind ROI. ROI is: (gain from investment - cost of
investment) / (cost of investment) and is a financial metric, meaning it deals with
dollars and cents. If you are looking at metrics that do not involve $ then you are
no longer looking at ROI you are looking at Impact, and we need to distinguish
between the two. You can't put dollars in on one side and get eyeballs out on the
other, the currency is not variable. What goes in must come out. The "mystery"
comes into play when we start confusing ROI and Impact and start interchanging
variable's that don't go together.
By Jacob Morgan
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Look at results and the things that have been done. I don't think there is that
much hype around social media, I just think that there are too many people that
are claiming to be "consultants" or "experts" that have no business being in the
space. It's one thing to educate people on how to use a tool or a platform, it's quite
another to be able to develop a strategy behind it. One of these people is a trainer,
the other is a consultant. Let's not mix up the two. The people that know what
they are doing already exist, they are out there doing this. Instead of trying to
create more consultants we need to worry about finding the one's that already
exist.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
That's the wrong question to be asking and not something that consumers are
going to be looking for. We shouldn't be selling anything directly; that reminds
me of spam. What we should be doing is giving consumers the things they want
how they want it. This means you start off by understanding who your consumers
are i.e. building relationships with them. Oftentimes consumers will opt in to
receive things that are relevant to them. This isn't about companies trying to sell to
consumers, this is about consumers telling companies that they are interested in
what they have to offer. I'm much more optimistic about companies seeing results
in social media; if they work with the right people.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Stop looking at social media as a series of tools and instead focus on the
underlying strategies that are needed to make everything possible. Remember
that social media can be used to collaborate externally; meaning brand to
consumer, or internally; meaning within the company or what is commonly
referred to as Enterprise 2.0. Successful practitioners are going to have to have a
solid business background and a scalable team to make this happen. This is
business.
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Bernie Borges
Jake Hird
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Jacob Morgan
Maddie Grant
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Jake Hird
Econsultancy
@Jake_Hird
...there may well be a "hype-cycle" curve as some organisations suddenly start to
question the merits of using social media within their marketing strategies. This is
partly due to a combination of current poor-planning, not realising objectives from
the outset, not putting realistic KPIs/measurements in place and a general lack of
understanding as to how the social sphere works. Despite this negativity that may
occur, 2010 is likely to bring huge developments in social-search, where semantic
and real-time search will blur even more into social media, possibly providing cross
opportunities in PPC, customer engagement/service and similar disciplines.
Have you read?
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
20+ more mind-blowing
social media statistics
This totally depends on the objectives of the organisation using social media. Do
they want soft-engagement? Do they just want to participate in reputation
monitoring? Are they using social media as a customer service tool? Are they
wanting to drive a branding campaign or just deliver a monetary ROI? I would
suggest that in order to understand the return social media can give, marketers
need to understand what goals they are investing into.
By Jake Hird
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
I think social media will continue to mature and develop through 2010 and in
doing so, we'll see a the hype begin to separate itself from reality - especially on a
practitioner level - as we've previously seen in other areas of the digital marketing
industry such as SEO or PPC. Those who genuinely understand, engage and
deliver within social media will shine, whereas the "snake-oil salesmen" will
increasingly be exposed.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Tough call. If the levels/types of social media that currently exist where around
even 15-20 years ago, imagine how different the entirety of history would be...
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
We've only just seen the tip of the iceberg... exciting times lie ahead and 2010 will
be no exception!
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Maddie Grant
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Jake Hird
Janet Fouts
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...companies realize they can't create word of mouth without the relationships
and the community behind it.
Maddie Grant
SocialFish
Socialfishing
@maddiegrant
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
You can't benchmark without specific objectives. Based on those objectives,
companies and organizations can measure engagement, brand mentions, sales,
conversations, and whatever else creates business intelligence for them. Getting
the data is not the hard part - making sense of the massive amounts of data out
there is.
Have you read?
10 Organizational Uses for
Twitter Lists
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
By Maddie Grant
There will always be hype about the latest shiny tools. If we always bear in mind
that social media is not about the tools, but about relationships and sharing the
love (word of mouth), then we'll stay grounded and be able to provide business
value using any tool.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
More optimistic. Building community through social media takes time - by this
time next year, more organizations will have matured in this space.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Andy Warhol would have peed his pants over the democratization of value. He
would have been today's Hugh MacLeod :)
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Just that I look forward to learning even more from each other as we help
organizations figure this stuff out. It's all still really exciting and I believe true
evangelists for the huge potential of communication via social media will
continue to rise above those who are just in it for a quick buck. It's all a
continuously evolving ecosystem and I can't wait to see where we'll take it next.
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Janet Fouts
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Maddie Grant
Jim Gianoglio
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...social media is an accepted part of small business marketing plans from the getgo.
Janet Fouts
Tatu Digital Media
Tatu Digital Media
Blog
@jfouts
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
They need to set benchmarks based on the goals -not the tools.
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
By showing how it works in real world situations with case studies and live demos.
Have you read?
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Twitter manners- how to
write good tweets and be a
good twittizen
By Janet Fouts
We will be more realistic about the value of social media and that makes it easier to
be optimistic-with a really grounded base.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Anais Nin would have loved this. Who knows how her world would have
expanded?
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Stop hyping and get to work with some real outcomes to share with your clients.
It's not about numbers- the value is in connections that get results.
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Jim Gianoglio
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Janet Fouts
Sharlyn Lauby
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...they get taken a bit more seriously and play a more integrated role within the
marketing department.
Jim Gianoglio
LunaMetrics
@jgianoglio
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
There are a lot of ways to measure social media, but I have 3 favorites: 1. Brand
mentions (and the surrounding sentiment) 2. Engagement (how many people are
commenting on your blog, Facebook fan page, etc.) 3. Site traffic from social
media initiatives
Have you read?
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Tracking Your TCT (Twitter
Click Through)
If something new comes along, figure out if/how it can help you achieve your
goals. Does Twitter help you achieve your goal? I t doesn't for everyone, and for
them, it's just hype. For others, it's a very integral part of their strategies and does
help them achieve their goals, hence, it's a reality for them. I guess it just depends
on what your goals are.
By Jim Gianoglio
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Less optimistic. In my mind, social media is absolutely not about selling. If the
reason I'm using social media is to sell something, then I'm doing it wrong. Sure,
selling stuff (products, services, etc.) can often be an indirect result, but I view that
as icing on the cake.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
What if the founding fathers of America had used Twitter? I can imagine their
tweets back and forth: @tjefferson - let's ad something about men being created
equally RT @GeorgeW - @tjefferson - let's ad something about men being created
equally RT @johnadmas RT @GeorgeW - @tjefferson - let's ad something about
men being created equally @poorRichard gonna hit the pub for a pint afterwards join us?
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Sharlyn Lauby
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Jim Gianoglio
Ari Herzog
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...we stop talking about adopting social media and start talking about
implementation.
Sharlyn Lauby
ITM Group, Inc.
HR Bartender
@sharlyn_lauby
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
I believe that social media ROI is no different than any other kind of ROI. Any
time you create a strategy, you plan the action steps, you set goals and you
measure outcomes. It is possible to measure outcomes with social media.
Have you read?
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
10 Must-Haves for Your
Social Media Policy
Hype will always exist in some form or fashion. People need to take time to build
relationships, even online ones. Being able to connect in person with people you’ve
met online (via conferences and meetups) will also enhance the value of
relationships.
By Sharlyn Lauby
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Right now, I believe people are very optimistic about using social media for sales.
As a result, many organizations will put their toe in the social media waters. In a
year, their attitude will be driven by how much planning and thought were put
into their decision. Organizations that put thought into things like social media
strategies, goals, training, etc. will have a different outlook than those who just
open a Twitter account and don’t think the process through.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
My HR Bartender blog, combines my passion as a foodie with my career in
human resources, so I can’t resist the opportunity to talk about a food personality.
It’s interesting that the recent movie, Julie and Julia, started from a blogging
project. Julia Child was a pioneer in television cooking…I wonder if she would
have adopted social media and how she could have used tools like YouTube and
Facebook to educate people about cooking.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Cheers!
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Jim Gianoglio
Ari Herzog
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Sharlyn Lauby
Cameron Chapman
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Ari Herzog
Ari Herzog &
Associates
AriWriter
@ariherzog
...the world gets a little smaller. With the increasing global adoption of broadband
connectivity and the deployment of web applications to mobile devices, the tenth
year of the 21st century will focus on bridging the digital gap. For a marketer, this
will mean looking beyond the target audience and into friends of friends, wherever
in the world they may be and whatever technology they use to connect.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Have you read?
The better question is what benchmarks should not be used, and I can't think of
any.
6 Twitter Search Services
Compared
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
By Ari Herzog
I recall June 2009 when the U.S. State Department asked Twitter management to
delay rebooting its server because the government was monitoring tweets in
Tehran. Twitter agreed to delay its server maintenance by a day. When Twitter is
used as a conduit to affect societal change, it's not hype. Yet, the typical company
wants to create a Twitter account because the media and other firms hype its
importance. I recently wrote at http://ariwriter.com/why-social-media-is-a-fad/
about the importance to not confuse the tool with the hype about the tool. Let's
keep the Tehran on Twitter case study in mind as we enter 2010.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
When newspaper obituary sections remain both profitable and among the most
eyeballed, how many social media marketing firms advise their clients to place ads
in newspapers? I think we will be more optimistic about selling through all forms of
media, with SM a piece of the pie.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Jim Henson was responsible for much of my youth development through creating
the Muppets, inspiring "Sesame Street," and promoting diversity. While Sesame
Workshop is active in social media today (I just followed @SesameStreet moments
ago), I wonder how Henson would have availed himself of this new media. I
envision him designing Muppets on Second Life, sharing designs and thoughts on
Flickr and YouTube, and maybe hosting a weekly show on BlogTalkRadio. Henson
would be an evangelist of improving educational curricula, by bringing kids out of
their chairs and enabling a greater hands-on teaching approach. He'd bring the
Muppets alive in a new and social way -- a way we can only dream!
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Marketing and monitoring are more synonymous than different. Yet, many social
media marketing firms view themselves as different than social media monitoring
firms. Something to think about.
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Ari Herzog
Danny Flamberg
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Cameron Chapman
Cameron Chapman on
Writing
@cameron_chapman
...interaction will become more important than ever. Social media users don't
want to be marketed to. They want to feel like the companies they do business
with are really listening to them and are willing to do what it takes to make them
happy. Having a conversation with your followers is more effective than pitching
a product to them.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Have you read?
Do your followers respond when you ask a question? Do they share or retweet
the things you post? Do they comment on your updates or blog posts? If not,
you're probably not doing it right.
85+ of the Best Twitterers
Designers Should Follow
By Cameron Chapman
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
It's all hype. The way people respond to the hype is what makes some of it reality
and some of it wither away.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
I think if all we're trying to do is sell through social media, we're not going to get
very far. Form relationships and make your customers happy. Social media
marketing is no different than word of mouth marketing, just easier for your
customers.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
John Galt (Atlas Shrugged) would have used social media to reach more potential
followers and to get the word out about what he was doing. Gulches would have
sprouted up all over the world, connected via private networks and ecommerce
would have made it possible for them to do business once they'd reached each
other through social media. "Who is John Galt?" probably would have been one
of the most popular memes in Internet history (complete with T-shirts).
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Social media is a conversation. Be responsive to your customers whether they're
saying something positive or negative. Offering to help if a customer has a
negative experience can go a very long way to making things better. And make
sure you have a presence on sites like Twitter or Facebook, where people may be
talking about your company. Respond on the channels your customers frequent
to improve your company's overall image.
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Danny Flamberg
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Cameron Chapman
Joel Postman
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Danny Flamberg
Juice Pharma
Worldwide
Manhattan
Marketing Maven
@flamster
...B2B marketers will heartily embrace social media and create robust vertical gated
communities where real ideas and opinions get discussed by people who really
know what they're talking about. Early examples like Sermo, for doctors who have
to input their DEA numbers to join, will blossom in many industries. Social media
platforms and marketers will finesse legal and regulatory concerns that have held
them back so far. And these closed online clubs will generate significant traffic and
user loyalty.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Have you read?
5 Facebook Brand Success
Factors
It depends on how social media is deployed. If its as a branding tool, then the
measure is awareness, brand preference and intent to buy. If its used as a lead gen
instrument, then qualified leads and cost per lead and cost per sale are the
operative metrics. If its an eCommerce play number of units sold and profit per
customer become the scoring memes.
By Danny Flamberg
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Experimentation, skepticism and common sense. Evangelists and advocates
outnumber real operational marketers by 20:1. Real case studies and hard data are
not readily available, even in trade circles. Lots of those promoting social media do
NOT have P/L responsibility for brands or sales and are not directly engaged with
online clients day-to-day, so lots of logical, but not practical ideas, are bandied
about. There is also a lot of trivia and insignificant content in social that few want to
discuss. Watch the credible early adapters. That's what the big brands and the big
media spenders are doing. Ignore the scores of self-proclaimed social media gurus,
yours truly included.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
It depends on two gating variables ... 1. Will the social platforms figure out how to
sell and how to engage marketers and agencies with programs and deals that align
with brand objectives and deliver business results in ways that are re-sell-able up
the client food chain and are generally comparable to the other online media
already in the budget mix? 2. Will bell weather brands and social media pioneers
divulge hard facts and figures, tactics and real business results that document and
promote their use of the social media in ways that rank-and-file marketers can
understand, recommend and replicate?
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Timothy Leary would have used social media and viral video to turn on a much
broader and more diverse global generation.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Monitoring the buzz will become the rage. Agencies will scramble to license
Radian6, the defacto standard content mining tool, and then display, dissect and
interpret what's being said and by whom for their clients. This will yield very eager
early interest, but damn few actionable or directional insights. Sentiment analysis
and social media Sherpas will be the "must have" addition to the 2010 marketing
arsenal.
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Joel Postman
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Danny Flamberg
Kelsey Childress
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Joel Postman
Socialized
@jpostman
...they will find themselves working with people inside large corporations who are
as social media literate – or more so – than they are. Companies have been hiring
for the social media skill set, and new grads are coming out of schools that have
social media programs. This means social media marketers need to be prepared to
respond to some serious, enterprise grade questions and concerns, in areas like
measurement, security, and integration with existing systems and programs. No
longer will a big smile, a thumbs-up, and an admonition to “get into the
conversation” open any doors.
Have you read?
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Using Facebook Fan Pages
Effectively
The benchmarks will have to match those metrics already applied to marketing
programs, things like revenue, lead generation, customer acquisition, and
awareness.
By Joel Postman
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
There has been too much social media stunt marketing. Quick, flashy campaigns
attract attention and make a name for both the company and its agency, but these
don't drive much real business value.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
To answer this question, one has to define "the ability to sell through social media."
Is a tweet with a link to a web site selling, or is it marketing? It's really akin to the
role of a banner ad. And how do you convert customers, who have simply clicked
"become a fan" of a company's Facebook page, or are these people not really
qualified leads at all? And if you figure all of that out, how do you sell without
being perceived as a spammer? There are so many unresolved issues. I am
pessimistic about actual selling through social media.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Alexis de Tocqueville, sometimes called a social scientist, would most certainly
have been a blogger. de Tocqueville wrote, "In the United States, the majority
undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of
individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their
own." While not exactly an idealized view of the democratizing effect of social
media, I can certainly think of social media situations to which this statement
applies.
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Joel Postman
Ryan Peal
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Kelsey Childress
Awen Creative
The Social Robot
@wonderwall7
...social media marketing finally starts getting the respect that it deserves. Many
people believe that social media strategy is easy and anyone can do it. However,
they fail to realize that having an effective social media presence takes work and
planning. I also hope that 2010 will be the year that businesses begin to
understand that not everyone needs a Facebook or Twitter account just because
everyone else has one.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Have you read?
Definitely website statistic tracking like Google Analytics. Setting up filters and
goals around social media markers can be a great way to determine whether or
not your social media marketing strategy is working. Other benchmarks may
include the number of Fans/Followers on Facebook and Twitter, Facebook page
insights and interaction, and Facebook advertising metrics.
How To Measure The Value
Of A Fan Or Follower In
Social Media
By Kelsey Childress
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Definitely more optimistic. However, I believe that it is a fine line between an
effective social media selling method and over-saturating the market.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Stay educated-- ours is an ever-changing market and learning for other experts in
the field (through webinars, articles, blogs, and books) is the best way to gain
expertise. Being the best social media marketer you can be will guarantee happy
clients and effective social media campaigns!
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Ryan Peal
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Kelsey Childress
Mirna Bard
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Ryan Peal
Momentum Worldwide
Ideas, Imagination
& Stuff (a.k.a.
Ryan's View)
@ryanpeal
...marketing directors all over the planet will start truly directing some real budgets
to the world of social networking, and simultaneously, receive huge pats-on-theback and bonus money in their bank accounts from CEOs who almost in unison
will say "ah, social media, engagement with consumers, real conversations, helping
brands deliver some fun and entertainment . . . now i get it! Why didn't anyone tell
me about this before?"
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Have you read?
For me social media ROI is all about time people not only spend with a brand, but
time they spend sharing the fun they are having with brands to friends and
family. So measuring not just people becoming fans or clicking on websites, but
rates of pass-alongs, second-degree reach, likes/favorites, comments, etc.
Comedian Visits 100 Mayors
In 30 Days, Working For
Magic Keys
By Ryan Peal
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Really through the discussion above - the more that can be done to measure
impact and engagement the more the reality of social media will be better
understood and become less hype and more reality. CEOs (and CFOs for that
matter) can't argue with real stats, real numbers, real needle moving that is
possible with social media included in the overall marketing mix.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Oh sweet Jesus in heaven above, lets hope we will be more optimistic. How many
more years can it be the "year of social media" or the "year of social mobile media"
or the year of "digital." With more funds being directed to social media campaigns
brands can actually create movements grounded in social media, and not just as
an add-on or something clever to extend an above-the-line advertising spend
(yawn - so 3 years ago).
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Oh No - I first thought of Molly Ringwald as I didn't want to jump on the Jesus,
Hitler, Joan of Arc bandwagon. Growing up in the 80's I joined millions watching
her in 16 Candles, Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club. She was everywhere in
traditional media. Imagine Molly and the Ringlets (her fans) connected via social
media, Molly first on Twitter with 1M followers, creating webisodes to connect her
movie characters. . . the content on YouTube and a Facebook fan page and
reaction after each movie. Her cultural impact would have been supercharged to
the max. And then I thought of Romeo & Juliet - imagine what one tweet in time
could have done to create a different happy ending.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
To all the marketers, thanks for making 2009 the year of "maybe" the year of "still
not quite sure" and the year of "here's what's leftover, now use this budget to show
me social media works." Here's to the start of a new decade of new opportunities.
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Kelsey Childress
Mirna Bard
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
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Ryan Peal
David Berkowitz
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...we will probably start seeing many social network sites starting to charge for
memberships for more quality control due to the amount of spam we saw in 2009.
Mirna Bard
MirnaBard.com
Mina Bard Blog
@MirnaBard
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
How do you put a value on relationships; the value of the long-term relationships
online and having brand evangelists spread the word about your products and
services for your through social media is far greater than and more POWERFUL
than ROI...we need to measure engagement. Are influencers sharing/commenting
on our content? Is engagement increasing? Are we going from negative comments
to positive or vice versa?
Have you read?
10 Expert Relationship
Marketing Tips
By Mirna Bard
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
FTC released regulations in 2009 and I see much more of that in 2010. The release
of the new rules on disclosure from the FTC. This will help trustworthy and ethical
social-marketers and will help to eliminate the unethical marketers who are out to
trick and scam people. This is definitely something to look forward to in order to
separate the all the hype from reality.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Always relationships first, sales second...I don't really see this changing with social
media anytime soon or ever
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
I have many favorites, but I can just imagine how much more powerful their
message would have been and what bigger impact they would have made if they
had social media..Einstein, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, and the
list goes on...
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Have a plan! I cannot emphasize this enough. A strategy will have more
sustainable than just jumping onto social media with no direction.
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Ryan Peal
David Berkowitz
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
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Mirna Bard
Lisa Whelan
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...including mobile social media in the mix becomes standard practice.
David Berkowitz
360i
Inside the
Marketers Studio
@dberkowitz
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Marketers should be using any benchmarks that tie into their overall objectives.
They can use social media to understand who their customers are, what they're
doing, and where, when, why, and how they're doing it. All of these can be traced
back to metrics marketers can measure and understand. Additionally, brand
marketers can tie social media results to brand metrics. There are dozens of
benchmarks to consider (I write a list of 100 of them), and the only ones that
matter for a given marketer are those that tie back to their objectives.
Have you read?
Facebook's Big Changes:
Action Items for Marketers
By David Berkowitz
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
I wish there was some magic answer for it. At my agency, we always ask four
questions about any new strategy or vendor which can separate a lot of the hype:
Does it meet the marketer's objectives, does it leverage their arsenal (all of the
assets digital, physical, and brand-oriented that resonate with consumers), does it
follow the rules of the road for any platform where it would run, and what's the
value for consumer or end user? If you have answers to these questions, you're off
to a good start.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
This time this year compared to last year has been a vastly different landscape for
selling through social media. Marketers have become much more strategic, and
much more demanding - in a good way. It's also gaining visibility at the most
senior levels of marketers' organizations. I'm incredibly optimistic about how it's
going to pan out next year.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
The first fictional character that comes to mind is Alexander Portnoy of Philip
Roth's novel "Portnoy's Complaint." You can be sure he'd find some creative uses
for social media, with many of his expressions obscene, and he'd undoubtedly
have a large following extending his presence to YouTube.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
Good luck. :)
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Mirna Bard
Lisa Whelan
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
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David Berkowitz
Paul Dunay
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...campaigns get really interesting.
Lisa Whelan
Socialize Mobilize
Socialize Mobilize
Blog
@lisawhelan
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Before establishing benchmarks to measure ROI, you should decide what
constitutes "success" for a particular social media campaign. For example, if your
primary goal in using Twitter is to increase sales on your company's website, you
should monitor how much new traffic is pushed to your website through Twitter
and measure how much of that traffic converts to new sales. Dell did this and
attributed ~$3M in new sales to Twitter. In contrast, if increased brand awareness
and improved sentiment is your goal, use a social media monitoring tool to
measure the change in the number of mentions your brand gets online & whether
those mentions are increasingly positive or negative.
Have you read?
Avoid selective hearing with
20 top social media
monitoring tools
By Lisa Whelan
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
The most effective way of separating hype from reality is to test and measure the
effectiveness of social media marketing channels and campaigns over time. Set a
"base goal" and a "stretch goal" for your social media marketing efforts in the
short term (weekly/ monthly), medium term (every 6 months), *and* long term (1
year and beyond). Make sure your social media goals are aligned with your
overall marketing goals as well as the performance & bonus plans of every
employee involved in social media marketing. Fine tune your strategy to meet
your goals. Experiment with social media campaigns, trying new things,
especially if you're not seeing the positive results you were expecting.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Only time will tell. Sales through social media marketing are on the rise and don't
show signs of slowing in 2010.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Batman wouldn't need to use the Bat-Signal to light up the night sky in Gotham if
he had Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
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David Berkowitz
Paul Dunay
Who's Blogging What
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Lisa Whelan
Kirsti Scott
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Paul Dunay
Avaya
Buzz Marketing For
Technology
@pauldunay
...social leaves marketing and starts to transform other areas of the company.
Companies will work with virtual teams to source and deliver work from far flung
parts of the world. Finance teams will be getting tweets on billing and finance
issues directly from the socialsphere rather than from the traditional channels.
Recruiters are clearly already using Social Networks like LinkedIn as their first
source of candidates. HR is checking the background of those new hires on Social
Networks looking to see what this new hire is all about. Product development and
R&D will start to develop products using social media.
Have you read?
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
5 Tips for Optimizing your
Facebook Marketing
I still feel there is only one metric that counts – SALES. Ringing the cash register is
the best if not the only way to prove marketing value. And our lead nurturing
platform has been immensely helpful in giving transparency into that process and
showing that value. I think you need to revisit your metrics and think of them in 3
tiers: 1) Reach metrics – Web site impressions, page views, radio impressions etc…
2) Efficiency metrics – Cost per click, time spent on the website, downloads of a
paper or podcast etc. 3) Value – Contribution to Pipeline, contribution to
Bookings, ROI on overall bookings.
By Paul Dunay
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
To a certain extent - social media has been over hyped in 2009 - I think that will
cool down a bit next year as marketers and companies begin to realize the benefits
of social media.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
Much more optimistic - because of things like storefronts in Facebook, Facebook
ads should start to be discovered by marketers and they should have rich media
like video and audio embedded in them soon. Facebook ads should become like
Google AdWords next year and help marketers sell more in the same way that
keywords on search work. We are still in the early stages of social media which I
think sets the stage for mobile marketing!
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
My favorite historical character is Harry Houdini and he would have been very
popular with social media. I would imagine he would have a very popular
Facebook page with perhaps millions of fans. Most likely he would have tons of
cool videos on YouTube that have gone very viral. And his Twitter feed would also
be very popular. Houdini in my mind was not a magician he was a marketer
extraordinaire who came up with terrific ways to promote his act in the early years
of his fascinating career.
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Lisa Whelan
Kirsti Scott
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
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Paul Dunay
Donna Maria
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...traditional marketing and social media marketing are combined in integrated
campaigns.
Kirsti Scott
Scott Design Inc
Hot Design Blog
@hotdesign
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Follower/Fan counts, number of interactions, subscribers.
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Have you read?
The most important thing to remember is not the tool you use to spread your
message, but that your message is consistent across all media. Not exactly
identical, as each medium has a slightly different audience, but well-crafted and
targeted.
Connecting with customers
through Facebook
By Kirsti Scott
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
More
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Paul Dunay
Donna Maria
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
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Kirsti Scott
Susan Payton
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Donna Maria
Indie Business
Media
The Media Is You
@indiebusiness
... we begin viewing Social Media as one of the many forms of "media," social
and otherwise, that allow us to spread our ideas. The emphasis will shift from
"macro" to "micro" as we focus on cultivating and serving very specific
communities of people.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Social Media ROI is mysterious because everyone is looking for a "one-size-fitsall" definition for it, and there is no such thing. While there's no room here for
detail, the bottom line is that, once you know what you personally are trying to
accomplish, through persistent and focused use of social media tools, you will
know what works and what does not work to achieve your goals. Repeat what
works and ditch the rest.
Have you read?
7 Characteristics of Highly
Effective Twitter Pages
By Donna Maria
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Hype and reality vary from situation to situation. That's why you have to know
who you are and what you are trying to accomplish. Here's a 6-step process for
doing this. First, know what type of persons you are trying to reach and exactly
what you want to share with them. Second, find out where those people are.
Third, join them where they are comfortable. Fourth, listen to them. Fifth,
interact with them. Sixth, make yourself available to serve them. This 6-step
process of focusing your efforts will help you stay on track and concentrate on
what works for you, and not all of the hype people throw at you all the time.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
More optimistic.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
I don't have a "favorite," but I'm sure Martin Luther King would have made
incredible use of social media. I'm not sure whether things would have worked
out differently, but I'm sure new technologies would have served him well, and
helped him serve others.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
2010 is the year of the small and independent business owner! Now is the time to
use new technologies to share what you have to offer the world! I look forward to
all of the amazing people I will meet and things I will learn this year!
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Kirsti Scott
Susan Payton
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
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Donna Maria
Larry Brauner
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
...more companies "get" it.
Susan Payton
Egg Marketing &
Public Relations
The Marketing
Eggspert Blog
@eggmarketing
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
Web traffic, conversion, new followers on Twitter and Facebook. It's about brand
recognition more often than actual sales.
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
Have you read?
A million Twitter followers does not equal a million sales. Understand that
conversion will come from a very small percentage of your social media contacts.
HOW TO: Use Social Media
in Your PR Pitch Plan
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
By Susan Payton
More optimistic, but more cautious.
How would your favorite historical character have used today's social
media?
Buddha. He would have been able to reach the masses through Twitter and
Facebook.
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Donna Maria
Larry Brauner
Who's Blogging What
Spotting things you'll want to see today.
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Susan Payton
For social media marketers, 2010 will be the year that ...
Larry Brauner
Larry Brauner
Online Social
Networking
@larrybrauner
...late adopters, concerned about falling behind, will rush to establish their social
media presences with blogs, Facebook pages, LinkedIn profiles and Twitter
accounts. Expect a lot of false starts and misguided attempts, such as companies
trying to push their messages to consumers.
The term 'Social Media ROI' is still full of mystery as we enter 2010. What
type of benchmarks should marketers be using right now?
As I discuss in "The Social Media ROI Obsession," most so-called social media
marketing is really PR, not marketing, and trending soft metrics of engagement
and reputation may be more promising than studying acquisition costs and
computing net present values.
Have you read?
The Social Media ROI
Obsession
By Larry Brauner
How do you separate hype from reality in social media as we enter 2010?
An emphasis on targeting, reaching and engaging your audience is probably
more real than emphasizing the use of trendy tools, projected website visits or
expected return on investment.
Will we be more, or less optimistic about the ability to sell through social
media by this time next year?
There will be some amazing success stories in 2010, but for many marketers,
failure to fully grasp social media concepts and to adjust to social media's long tail
of ROI will lead to disappointment. This, in turn, may prematurely dissuade
marketers from further investment in social media, which would be a strategic
error.
Any parting advice as we enter the first social decade?
While certain social media, such as blogs and Facebook pages, will have broad
application this year, focus on objectives and paradigms before selecting the sites
and techniques you will use.
←
Susan Payton