News Source: http://www.huomah.com
Published: Feb 17, 2008 - 10:03 am
Story Found By: theGypsy 1559 Days ago
Category: SEM
13 Comments
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News Source: http://www.huomah.com
Published: Feb 17, 2008 - 10:03 am
Story Found By: theGypsy 1559 Days ago
Category: SEM
13 Comments
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Comments
This is an excellent post that makes you wonder about the actual value of social media marketing.
Thanks Tony - being a humble search optimizer, I field questions from clients and SMM enthusiasts like (that think I am in the game). As such I started to notice tons of posts on how to play in social spaces, not as many about the business end of things. I have contacted a handful of SMM Providers and hope to bring some clarity to the issue in the next post. Inquiring minds want to know!
As I commented on the thread, this is an excellent post to open up the question. I fear that at the moment we tend to ask the other members of the choir and they all chorus, "Of course, singing is good for you." :)
I am certainly hoping this journey will lead to some more specific answers. There is no lack of posts telling us HOW to USE various sites, to create bait an so on... not as many about the business side nor valuations. I am hoping my friends in the SMM world will be able to shed some light on it all for me... I have been having playful tete-a-tete sessions with some SMM proponents over the last few months, this is the end product...
With social media still relatively new everyone, including the SM sites themselves (ala the FB repetitious miscues), is still trying things on for size. This also means that when something is found to work it tends to get overused until it breaks or is kept quiet so as not to spook the golden goose. Further, with SM becoming such a broad and varied group, what works in one may not easily transfer to another. Excellent article asking the right questions. Now, any bets on the number of answers? Number of answers that address the questions raised? I am definitely in wait for Part 2.
Well, I hesitate to publish the names of folks that I am talking to, ( haven’t obtained persmission at this point, business intelligence and all) but they are certainly some respected members in the space. As with many questions though, one can lead to more... so I don’t expect a definative outlook, but merely some more information and insight more than is presently out there to any degree.On that note, any other professional SMM service providers that want to get involved, feel free to get in touch :0)
@theGypsy,Good post!But, Social Media Marketing Success i’d say is closely linked to Search Engine Success - But you cant just guage it off hand like in SEO where you can gauge success by finding the amount or rise in Organic Search Traffic since Social Media is a Circle.The best way to find out how well Social Media has worked out for you would be by figuring out:1. How well folks in your market recognize you as a brand.2. What has the general rise in sales/traffic been.3. What % of your traffic is re-visits or people who come back.4. What’s the general buzz around your product.Those are my thoughts.But, im only a newbie to this - Not one of those PRO’s you are consulting, so they may have something better to say or no?
@ Organicapex - You see that’s the whole problem, gauging success/value. I work exclusively with SMBs that don’t generally have cash to be throwing around without a defined and timely return on the marketing investment. I appreciate the brand development and management aspects, but that alone is not a reason to participate. I believe in SMM, I just have yet to be convinced it is appropriate in every situation/market...and so I am curious as to goals, benchmarks and primary secondary conversion metrics that professionals consider when providing the service and ultimately auditing efficacy of a program.
Barry, that quip about the choir was right on the money!
Nice post!Will be interesting to see a part two on this one. Will try to provide with valueable input if possible :)
Good post!
I have to say that I tend to agree with the questions posed in this article. I utilise social media fairly heavily, yet do so without any monetary goals. It’s more about learning and networking for myself.I couldn’t see myself recommending it as a corporate marketing tactic given the time taken to develop a respected profile and the lack of conversion rates that social media generates. As you identify, generating a reasonable ROI is highly unlikely and it is likely to be written off as a failure after a couple of months. I suspect most social media communities would be more than wary of a corporate identity. I also question the reach of social communities outside of engaged industries such as digital marketing. Will the traffic benefits occur when the audience aren’t active Stumblers, Sphinners etc?The only model whereby I think it’s feasible from a business perspective is for personal consultancy, whereby a self employed individual chooses to utilise their own time to develop a personal brand/authority.
Hey James... thanks for jumping in. I do believe there are great oportunities for smaller businesses that have the resources and a market that bears it as I do for larger companies that have PR/Branding budgets. There is little doubt that it is most certainly viable marketing tool IMO - for me it is more about understanding it on a business level and where to advise it as a viable investment.My unfortunate problem is a fixation on ROI. Trying to measure engagment data can be tricky at best - see; http://sphinn.com/story/29179