Next Steps

Social Media Marketing and Business Results

June 23, 2009 @ 11:34am

Updated — June 26, 2009 @ 11:39am

by Mason Razavi

Despite the success and popularity of social media and networking sites, there are still plenty of objections, misconceptions, myths, and plain old concerns that I hear from people in small and large companies alike. Perhaps the most pressing question is one of metrics; can you really measure the results of a social marketing campaign?

Businesses are understandably concerned with how they invest their advertising dollars, especially in an economy where companies have cut costs by letting their marketing budgets shrivel like a salt-covered slug. As a result, marketing and advertising directors have to show that the money they do have is getting them real, measurable results and high ROI.

There are enough examples out there of businesses who have in fact come up with ways to measure the effectiveness in concrete, quantifiable terms. Perhaps the most prominent example is provided to us by Dell Computers, who reportedly have generated $3 millon in sales through Twitter. Dell has actually created proprietary software to measure very precisely the effectiveness of their Twitter presence, allowing them to confidently disclose such figures.

Of course, not everyone has the resources to build a proprietary analytic tool, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to throw in the towel. You might be able to measure the success of a well-implemented social media marketing campaign by tracking spikes in web traffic before, during, and after various points during the campaign. Also, you can offer promotions specifically through Twitter or Facebook and track the number of orders that come in that way.

Furthermore, even if you can’t asses the value of every click, the amount of brand equity built in every page view, or the likeliness that a Facebook fan will buy your product or service, you can take comfort in the fact that social media marketing is extremely cost-effective in nature. Some companies actually hire a full-time social marketing expert to drive such efforts, while others look to social media and web marketing specialists to create and monitor anything from a blog page to full-fledged, cross-channel online ad campaigns. If you play your cards right, you can get the right services for a great price, meaning you don’t necessarily need to plop down the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or more on your social marketing campaign. Yet, social marketing can reach as many if not more people, in a more meaningful and impactful way than many traditional marketing methods.

Finally, there is the copycat theory. As much as we strive to make business decisions that stress innovation, forward thinking, and unique strategy, it’s no secret that once one company does something to successfully improve itself, others will follow in its footsteps. Keeping that in mind, why not follow the footsteps of CNN, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Coca Cola, The Cleveland Cavaliers, and many other major organizations by hopping on into the social media pool. The water is fine, jump right in! The web is chock full of articles discussing how companies large and small alike have found that using web 2.0 tools to create personal, meaningful and direct dialogue with their customers has improved their business and made them more recognizable. If that isn’t measurable proof, I don’t know what is!

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MySpace Giving Way to Facebook, Twitter

June 9, 2009 @ 7:06pm

by Mason Razavi

“Why-eee-iii-eee-iiii-eee…..yeaaaa….MySpace is dead….”

MySpace seems to be suffering the same fate as the Our Lady Peace, the band who’s lyrics I so artfully butchered. Like the mid-nineties pop-rock outfit, MySpace got its 15 minutes of fame and now seems to be on its way to the land of irrelevancy.

In the world of social networking, it’s all about what’s hot, what’s new, and what everyone else is doing. We’re nothing if not a society of sheep!

In an article from CNN, the author points out the decline of MySpace and the rise of Facebook, as well as the social media tool that may eventually dethrone Facebook: Twitter.

Really, who uses MySpace anymore? It may be better for blogging, and it is certainly a better site for bands, but for the average Joe who wants to connect with his network, Facebook and Twitter have successfully usurped MySpace as the industry leaders.

What’s your take?