Stop Taking the "Social" out of Social Media

Measurement is the “Social Media 2.0” topic of discussion in 2011. From sessions at South by Southwest Interactive titled “Value of a Facebook Fan” to client inquiries about the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) dollar value of social media, metrics and analytics of social media efforts are front and center these days.

The problem is there is no silver bullet for social media measurement just yet. The social aspect itself is what makes measurement so challenging. What and how social media efforts are measured is going to be different for every business and/or business objective. Social networks exist online, but that doesn’t mean they can be tracked in the same ways, or even with the same expectations, as your online advertising or SEO efforts. Don’t forget that social media is “social.”

We all have access to free services like Google Alerts and Twilerts that provide frequent updates on mentions of your brand, but how can you be sure you’re not missing an important conversation? Subscription-based tools like Radian6 and Sysomos* have become the industry standard for aggregating online conversations about your brand and measuring engagement numbers (things like sentiment, share of voice, etc.), but what about those private Facebook conversations or password-protected Yelp reviews that currently aren’t funneled into your results? Similarly, Google Analytics and trackable links like Bit.ly allow us to monitor click-throughs and conversion rates, but how can you know exactly why a person clicked at the time they chose to do so? Was it the post itself that motivated them to click? Or was it a combination of other influences that resulted in a click on that specific post?

I often compare time spent on social networks to time spent at a cocktail party. For me (and most surveys and industry articles agree), it’s extremely annoying when a person talks all about him/herself without actually having a conversation or lively banter with you. And it would be unheard of to have someone walk up to you, hand you a business card, and then turn and walk away. Have a conversation. Get to know the person, what they do, and how they might help your business. Then, take it a step further and introduce people who might benefit each other. That’s the beauty of networking, and that is what should truly be measured as a result of your social media efforts. Social media is first and foremost about connecting with people, building your brand, being a thought leader. The sales leads and CRM will come as a result of making quality connections. It really is about the quality of your connections, not the quantity.

Twitter’s recent announcement that it has started allowing promoted tweets (from brands you don’t even follow) to appear in your feed is a prime example of removing the “social” from social media. I understand the purpose or end goal - Twitter is working to find ways to boost revenue through “guaranteed” or increased visibility and click-throughs. But please, don’t interject yourself in my current conversation, hand me a business card or a coupon, and then leave. You wouldn’t do that at a cocktail party, and you shouldn’t do that on social platforms either. It’s disingenuous, and sure, it might result in a brief spike in web traffic, but what does it say about your brand and the impression you leave with your customers? Treat social media as an opportunity to connect with people, a chance to network and build your brand. Then measure how well you’re doing it.

~ Jim Licko

*GFM subscribes to and frequently uses both Radian6 and Sysomos on behalf of its clients.

A Time to Blog

Your social media strategy has been set. Pages have been built. And, for the first few months, the “shiny new object” of your organization’s social media practice kept everyone motivated to produce strong content on a daily or weekly basis.

But then work gets in the way—new client proposals, business travel, budget forecasts and plan development for the fiscal year ahead. And more quickly than you even realize, the company’s social media content has gone stale and finding the bandwidth to reprioritize can seem overwhelming.

Below you’ll find a few simple suggestions for keeping the content pipeline full without having to reserve nights and weekends for writing.

1. Block time to draft multiple blog posts at once. Find a hole on your calendar and block at least an hour to draft posts not only for the upcoming week, but the one after that also. You’ll need to stay nimble enough to quickly develop content when timely issues break, but most industries lend themselves to scores of evergreen content that can be written in advance and updated slightly just before publishing.
2. Create – and stick to – a social media editorial calendar. This tool works well for blogs, in addition to Facebook posts, Tweets, YouTube videos, Flickr albums and more. Dedicate an hour to mapping out content for the month ahead and you’ll breathe a sigh of relief every Monday when for the most part, the week’s posts have already been written. But do remember that someone still needs to be monitoring for and responding to incoming comments and questions, as well as jumping on relevant trends or any issues that are brewing underneath the surface of the social channels.
3. Think beyond the written word! Many of us forget that we can also rely on photos and a stellar caption for quick, eye-catching blog posts. “Wordless Wednesday” is a popular movement in the mom/female blogosphere that utilizes just one interesting photograph and a word or phrase for that day’s post—a great option for organizations with strong visuals, such as a consumer product manufacturers or nonprofits (with client consent of course).
4. Develop a “weekly roundup” schedule. One day each week, such as Friday mornings, recap the company’s top post of the week based on Web traffic or comments along with outbound links to top industry stories/blogs from the same time period. Readers will eventually become accustomed to turning to your organization as a resource on that specific day to help catch them up on what they might have missed during the week.
5. Secure guest bloggers. Aim to have credible guest bloggers submit content as far in advance as possible – depending on the topic – to fill the coffers on weeks when you or your team cannot dedicate an ounce of bandwidth to social media. For example, you may want to send out a tailored email at the start of each quarter to five or more potential guest bloggers to ascertain their interest in contributing content, providing a few topic ideas and general guidelines for length, accompanying visuals and timing. Be sure also to request that he or she cross-promote your blog on their social media channels once the post is live.

Maintaining a steady blogging cadence is not easy, but by getting ahead of it during the “slower” times, you can avoid losing all momentum when work (and life) gets in the way.

What other tips do you suggest for keeping up a regular blog schedule?


~Alexis