Social Media measurement

7 ways to tell how you’re doing

So how do you measure success in Social Media?

And I don’t mean by playing the game of “the new ROI or Risk of Ignoring.” No, I mean once you’ve jumped into the Social media pool how do you measure whether you’re creating waves or merely ripples?

7 Social Media Measures

1. Sales: It seems obvious, but perhaps not. If you are selling more stuff or getting more members was the increased activity after you first jumped into Social Media? Success is: Sales increasing independently of your traditional and other non-Social Media marketing efforts.

2. Opt-in e-mails: The most valuable asset any marketer or PR professional can have. These are people who want you to reach out to them. Success is: More people giving you their email addresses.

3. Time on site/Page-views per visit: It’s not enough to get people to your site, you need to keep them there. Success is: When your Web analytics show an increase in one or both of these scores.

4. Downloads: If you offer good stuff for free – White Papers, How To Guides and coupons, for example – people will come looking for you. Success is: Month over month you are getting more and more traffic to (and then downloads from your) Downloads page chances are your business is about to go crazy because people are finding you and finding value in you.

5. External links/External referring sites: If you are tracking how many sites link to you (and you should) you’ll want to see that number and the quality of those sites go up. This in turn helps with your SEO. Success is: When the number of external links builds exponentially and the referring site traffic also grows steadily.

6. Comments: This is one of the more social aspects of Social Media and whose value is often overlooked. Success is: Getting more and more people to engage on your blog or anywhere else you ask people to comment, rate or generally have an opinion.

7. Social Media metrics: By this I mean Facebook fans, Twitter followers, LinkedIn connections etc. These relationships all have value. Success is: A steady growth in the numbers of followers etc across platforms and the increasing flow of messages between you and your fans.

Related Posts
10 Commandments for Social Media
5 Really Useful Sites for Social Media Newbies
10 Things To Watch Out For In Social Media
10 Social Media No-Nos
5 Steps Before Jumping Into Social Media
5 strategies to get the Boss into Social Media

Social Media is the answer … partially

A letter to a future client

Dear Prospective Client,

I’m looking forward to our upcoming meeting and excited to hear about your business and its goals. I’m glad to hear that you are anxious to get into Social Media and that you are willing to try a new approaches.

However, before we meet I would like to be sure we’re all on the same page and not going into this meeting with unlikely, implausible or even impossible expectations. I’d like to talk to you about …

5 Things Social Media Can’t Be

1. A magic bullet. While there are many wonderful tools in Social Media that will help you understand and reach out to customers, employees and/or the community none of them individually or collectively will solve ALL of your business problems.

2. A one- or two-string violin. No matter how many Social Media platforms we agree will help you they will still only be a part of your plans moving forward. We will be looking at integrating tactics in Social Media with some of your existing and traditional customer- and employee-relation, sales and marketing methods. Be assured though, this “multi-string” approach WILL make beautiful music.

3. Left to an intern. To get the best results from Social Media someone in your organization (and depending on its size it may be two or more someones) will need to dedicate time to managing Social Media. While a young intern may understand the tools they likely will need a lot of GUIDANCE on their correct use and the strategy you will be using in Social Media.

4. Cheap. It is true that Social Media tools are usually very cheap or free. However to use them effectively will require a commitment of your organization’s TIME (and other resources) … and well know: Time = Money.

5. Rushed. Setting up shop in Social Media is just the beginning. It should take quite some time for you to work through the steps of Listening, Engaging and then, and only then, Contributing. A small dose of PATIENCE early on can pay big dividends.

Thank you for your interest and I very much look forward to our future successful collaboration.

-- Mike Johansson at Fixitology

Related posts:
10 Commandments for Social Media
10 Things To Watch Out For In Social Media
10 Social Media No-Nos

10 things to watch out for in Social Media

With Social Media being the “it” thing for businesses to “do” these days perhaps it’s a good time to look at 10 things any organization should be wary of:

1. Jumping in for the sake of it: Social Media is like a huge swimming pool. If your only goal is to get wet, by all means jump in. But if you want to get somewhere or to achieve something you need a plan. Work with a trusted Social Media consultant to get measurable results.

2. Being pushy: When you’re new to Social Media people will give you a chance and be forgiving. Get too “it’s all about me” or “you need to buy something from me” and just watch that goodwill evaporate faster than a drop of sweat on hot summer asphalt.

3. Being too talkative: Social Media, at the very least, means communications is a two-way street. The best in this industry are the best listeners.

4. Not sharing: The very best at sharing get more friends, fans and followers in the social world because of their generosity. The more they give the more they get.

5. Not being grateful: People help others in Social Media all the time. Your social capital goes up when you publicly acknowledge that help.

6. Not being honest: The expected in Social Media is total honesty. Be dishonest and you will be publicly humiliated (at the very least). The self-governing social world is littered with the wreckage of people flamed to a crisp by those who were incensed by duplicity.

7. Being just “the spokesperson”: If you’re not perceived as being human then you might as well be a computer. Social Media’s stars have found away to make all their communication have a personality and be hyper-human.

8. Being boring. To avoid it, say something original and from the heart (and keep in brief).

9. Living in TMI-land: Yes Social Media can seem awfully intimate when you update your status and think you’re telling just a few friends about you diarrhea. For the rest of us that is just too much information (TMI).

10. Taking it too seriously: Come on. We’re talking about social platforms like Twitter and Facebook and MySpace and YouTube. These are all dominated by humorous writing, pictures, audio and video. If you can have some fun, others will too.

The online reputation you end up with is everyone else’s sense of how you handle all of the above.

Most of all? Your mother was right: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is a good basis for all of life (including Social Media).


Related posts:
10 Commandments for Social Media
5 strategies to get the Boss into Social Media

The Twitter Juggernaut

Social Media’s fastest growing platform won’t slow down

Twitter continues to tweet up a storm and seems unstoppable in its drive to be the No. 1 Social Media platform.

The latest evidence comes in a poll on LinkedIn that rated Twitter more important to business than LinkedIn! This in a time when LinkedIn is widely considered to be “The Social Media network for business.”

In his excellent summary of the survey, “Poll: Business People Say Twitter More Important Than LinkedIn” Marshall Kirkpatrick at ReadWriteWeb points out that the poll question may have been tilted against LinkedIn. As asked in the poll, the question was: “What is the most important new platform for brands to master?" And he quibbles that if the question had been "what do you prefer" that LinkedIn would have fared better. Nonetheless Twitter did come out on top in a poll on LinkedIn.

And if you’re looking for more evidence that Twitter will be the Social Media App of the Year in 2009 and likely the No. 1 Social Media platform in 2010 (if not sooner), here's the latest:

- Twitter is the fastest-growing major website in the U.S., according to USA Today in its May 25 story Twitter has millions tweeting in public communication service. It had 17 million registered users in the U.S. in April — up 3,000% from a year ago, according to market researcher ComScore

- Twitter founder Evan Williams points out that in a single year Twitter has gone from 1.6 million to 32.1 million users. In a CNBC interview Twitter's growth 'just getting started he says: "We think we can grow a long term sustainable valuable business here, and we're just getting started."

- A Squidoo lens called Twitterapps lists 275 Twitter applications and believes it does not have anywhere near all of them covered.

- When an old school media publication such as Time magazine devotes space to 10 Ways Twitter Will Change American Business you know the Twitterverse has reached into every corner of our existence.

And on the subject of Twitter’s universal reach Brian Solis has posted an excellent visualization of the Twitterverse on his blog PR 2.0. I highly recommend it.

Whether Twitter is the No. 1 Social Media platform now or later, one thing is certain its rapid growth and adoption for all kinds of purposes will not slow anytime soon.

Related posts
Twetiquette: 10 basics for Twitter politeness
What Twitter isn’t

Social Media expertise is hard to find

Beware of people claiming to be experts and offering dubious training

It seems a day doesn’t go by when there isn’t an email solicitation, a tweet or a Facebook status update offering the services of “a Social Media expert,” “a Social media guru” or “a Social Media marketing authority.” But who are these people?

With the notable exception of a few universities and some fairly new institutes and academies there is not a lot of professional teaching of Social Media going on. So how is a business or individual to decide which “expert” to hire?

In Microgeist’s excellent blog post What a Social Media Expert Should Be explains that a Social Media Expert, SME, will likely need to be well-versed in (among other things) the wide range of Social Media tools, the correct way to use each of these tools, a broad knowledge of trends in the rapidly changing world of SM and be able to offer a wide variety of options for any given client.

But there is more to consider … and it really is more about the SME’s approach to Social Media.

A flyer I recently saw promised that in less than a day a particular seminar would teach participants how to “gain the competitive edge in Social Media” and “position yourself as an expert.” It goes on to say that in just a few hours seminar participants will learn to “leverage the power of Social Media marketing to grow your business.”

This seems counterintuitive because Social Media is about:

· Being social, not being a marketer or a salesperson.

· Helping others, not gaining a competitive edge (presumably at the expense of someone else – a decidedly anti-social approach)

· Growing your relationships, not growing your own self-interest (business and otherwise).

Yes, Social Media is a powerful new tool for connecting with others. And it will by its nature allow relationships to sometimes lead to commerce. But when someone offers a seminar lasting a few hours and promises to make you an expert and show you the “secret” of using Social Media to grow a business … be careful.

Many of these people are well-intentioned, but some are just in it to make money and grow their reputations. Before spending your hard-earned cash here are

5 Questions to Ask Any Prospective Teacher of Social Media:

1. What are your credentials to teach Social Media?

2. How long have you been in Social Media? (And where can I find you in Social Media – which platforms?)

3. How successful have your past seminar participants been?

4. Among past students who recommends you and where can I contact them?

5. What is the potential for follow up once the course/seminar is over? (Will the instructor be available for further consultation?)

An unsatisfactory answer to any of these questions should be your first red flag that you are dealing with someone who wants your money more than your Social Media success.

Social Media REALLY scares some businesses

It’s the technological boogeyman of the moment. What businesses can do to overcome the fear.

Social Media you’ve really come a long way. You’ve grown from geeky young kid to awkward teenager. And now you’ve really made it: You’re a young adult and you really, really scare a lot of business owners and managers.

Social Media is the technological boogeyman of the moment.

What if my employees give away company secrets? What if they harass someone? What if they waste time?

In an earlier age it these questions were all asked of other “new” technologies: first the telephone and then the personal computer. It seems each age has a piece of technology that frightens business.

A recent survey found businesses fear Social Media. Sophos, a British IT security firm, found that”Two thirds of businesses fear that social networking endangers corporate security”. The basis of this fear is that business owners believe employees will reveal too much personal information and too much company information – thereby endangering the company.

But its more than that. Businesses – at least some of them – actively dislike the idea of Social Media because customers have all the power.

Mary Ellen Slayter writing on SmartBlogs.com explains Why business is hostile to social networking and says Social media makes the top people at any business nervous because it makes them feel vulnerable.

But, really there is nothing to fear. Here’s what businesses need to do:

Review existing company policies: Is there anything in the existing company handbook or the employee policies that needs new language to cover any situation in Social Media? It’s unlikely. Harassment, revealing company secrets and being unprofessional look and sound the same regardless of where they happen.

Reinforce the policies: Make sure everyone who works for you understands that the employee policies apply for all interactions and in all places where they can be perceived to be representing the company.

Train and empower your employees: Encourage your workers to engage in the community – in person and online. Make sure everyone knows that they have the power to help the business by the way they behave in public … and yes, Social media counts as in public. Give them great information about your business and encourage them to help tell your story.

Walk the walk: Many top executives talk about open communications and welcoming feedback … it’s time to live up to that. Encourage employees to communicate with you and be sure to respond. Also: engage with your customers yourself. Start a blog. Sign up for Twitter and or Facebook. You will be surprised how much your customers appreciate the access.

Monitor your brand name and competitors in Social media: This seems obvious, but most companies do not yet understand that conversations about them are happening all the time in the Social Networks, they just aren’t aware of them. Either make kit someone’s job or hire someone to do it for you.

Relax: Really! Now! Would you think twice about your employees using a PC or a telephone. One day you WILL laugh about how you were once so worried about your employees being on Social Media.

5 Reasons Social Media is Like Sailing

Or why sailors may make the best Social Media consultants!

There are many analogies between pastimes and business, but because I’m a sailor I have been struck by the parallels between sailing and Social Media. I also happen to think that business generally is best-served when sailors – or would-be sailors – are at the helm: they have faith in their skill, their vessel and their ability to navigate even the worst of tempests.

Here then are five parallels between sailing and Social Media for business (you may think of more and I welcome feedback):

1. You can’t control the wind
It is always true: You cannot control the wind, only the trim of your sails and heading of your boat. The winds of public opinion and customer satisfaction are unpredictable and constantly swirling. As a business you need to be aware of those winds and their subtle or not-so-subtle shifts. Social Media monitoring allows the business enterprise to react to sudden squalls of bad publicity and to get the most out of any favorable “winds” of opinion that come your way.


2. When bad weather hits
When bad weather hits … as it assuredly will: You, your vessel and your crew had better be prepared. Davey Jones’ Locker is lined with the boats and crews who set out ill-prepared for sudden changes in the weather. The same will happen to businesses ill-prepared to handle a crisis within their community and their customer base. A professional and rigorous Social Media Plan will help a business know what to do when the sudden tempests hit. It will also allow the “captain” to sleep well at night knowing his business and his “crew” are prepared and have a plan for any eventuality.

3. A well-founded sailboat is a sum of its efficient working parts
Just as a sailboat moves forward through a combination of hull shape, sails, masts and rigging, a business in the Social Media space needs to be about the combination of the right elements to keep it moving forward. A professional Social Media Plan will assess existing strengths, competitive threats and business goals to come up with the correct combination of parts to keep your business sailing forward.

4. The quickest route to port is NOT always a straight line
Like sailing, business in the Social Media world must navigate all kinds of challenges to get to its goals. Along the way there are likely to be winds (customer feedback) and currents (the business climate) that challenge a business trying to get to its port (business goals). The best-laid Social Media Plans will include contingencies to deal with these. Although the course may be less than perfectly straight, the business will get to its goals ahead of its competitors.


5. You can, and sometimes WILL, find yourself becalmed
What do you do if forward motion ceases? What can you do with the time on your hands? This is not something to fear. A thorough Social Media Plan includes a list of “To Do” items that are not pressing, but certainly help make the enterprise if not stronger at least better able to make the most of the next opportunity. Remember that the “calm usually comes right before the storm.” Using it to ready your business is just smart sailing!