Monthly Archives: September 2010
What’s Your Social Media Conversion Strategy?
Social media isn’t only about conversation, it’s about engagement and influence rooted in conversation. Yesterday, I read a New Yorker article on “Small Change.” The article shares the idea that social media will never be able to spur social activism or social change.
Two topics in the article truly struck me. The first is the notion that social media interaction is based on weak ties. These channels are based on managing acquaintances and building weak networks. However, true relationships are based on face-to-face, personal communications. My opinion is that social media has the power to connect people who never would have met in person. It helps us cast a wider net, for professional and personal reasons. However, it will never replace our network of deep personal connections.
The second is: “Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things that people do when they are not motivated enough to make a real sacrifice.” If you had asked me a few months ago if I believed in this statement, I would have said, “Absolutely.” So, really my opinion here hasn’t changed. A couple of weeks ago, I posted about social good, moving to the online space. Is it possible? The answer is no, if it lives in a silo. However, if we integrate grassroots advocacy, strategic partnerships, traditional marketing tactics and online tactics – then yes – we are closer to success.
In the New Yorker article, Gladwell shares that social media is about participation. In my mind, it goes beyond simply participation. Social media engagement lives in a spectrum of passivity to action and influence. Our role as marketers is to convert conversation and simple “likes” to intentional outcomes that still hold true to the authenticity of social media.
Brian Solis recently shared his How-to on this very topic. Here are a few things he said we must do:
- Create programs with an end in mind: I agree with this completely. Although it can get annoying, the one question I always ask during our strategy meetings is “So what?” What do we want?
- Adapt on the fly: This is an important skill that we as social media marketers have to learn early on, or we’ll fail. Change or die right? Our world is constantly changing, and social media allows us to have the real-time result, to make fast, smart changes.
- Data is a Fountain of Inspiration for Social Marketers: Why guess when you don’t have to? All the data in the world is out there for us to analyze and adapt to the environment. Why risk it and leverage guess-work as your research?
What are ways other companies are leveraging social media to attain actionable results? What are questions that you always ask when you’re developing your strategy?
Bloggers Want More: Paid vs Earned?
Earlier this year, I shared my insights on relationship-centric outreach. In all my work with influencer outreach, I’ve always stressed the importance of building a relationship and offering bloggers valuable content. It’s not about the hit; it’s about the relationship that may one day lead to a post.
As part of our rubric for implementing IO, we have to ask ourselves the scary question of WHY. Why does the blogger care? Why would the blogger take the time to write this? Recently, my brain has shifted to the “What’s in it for me?”As bloggers become inundated with 100 of pitch emails, we have to be even more respectful of their time and give them something worthwhile and truly relevant.
Today, eMarketer shared that 56.2% of influential publishers received direct monetization (through ads, sponsorships or affiliated programs), while 32.1% said they would like to. Although simply paying for placement is something that was slightly foreign to me from a PR perspective, we have to recognize and respect that this is a business. It takes time and it takes money to upkeep and run.
Another topic of conversation lately is how much a tweet or a blog post is worth. I’m not a big fan of this question simply because I’m not a fan of adding a dollar sign to everything I do or everyone I know. For me, that’s like saying “How much is your friendship with Sarah worth?” According to IZEA’s study, influencers believe that a sponsored tweet is worth $124 while a blog post is worth $179. Same goes for the Fast Company article on TwitChange. So a tweet from Ryan Seacreast is worth $1,525, but what am I really getting out of that? What do I really want people to do, or say or know about? A number is just a number, until it’s an action. Until then, your worth isn’t measured by the friends you know, but what you can truly influence people to do.
Influencer outreach blurs the line between earned and paid media. What I’ve always believed, and will always believe, is that authenticity and relationship building needs to be at the foundation of any outreach, tactic or strategy. Through earned and paid opportunities, we can have a lasting impact.
What are your thoughts on paid and earned media when it comes to influencer outreach?
Consumers Demand Cause Marketing
Seems like this week should be dedicated to cause marketing and social media. Today, eMarketer publish results from “2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study” by Cone. I’ve included the tables from eMarketer below, but the over takeaway is that moms and millennials (18 to 24) emphasized the importance of cause marketing. Eighty percent of all those surveyed said cause marketing made them likely to switch brands, and 19% were willing to pay more for a pricier brand that participated in a positive social or environmental cause.
As more and more companies begin to include cause marketing into their overall corporate social responsibility initiatives, it’s important to think about how the cause integrates into their overall CSR strategy and plan. Companies like Starbucks have received accolades for their integrated work. Two questions to ask: does your CSR initiative speak to the company’s brand image? And to the simplest root: does it make sense?
Would a company’s CSR initiative impact your buying decision? Also, what is your company doing in the CSR realm?
More on Social Good
Check out this new infographic that was posted on Mashable. This relates directly to Saturday’s post about how social media can play a role in advocacy and fundraising. What I find most interesting is the percentage of people (per generation) who give, paralleling that with the number of people per generation that are online. Looks like Boomers and Mature Adults still lead the giving trend, but Gen Y is inching toward the 60% mark. Why do you think Gen X numbers are lower?
Also, mobile changed the way in which we give. I remember being at an Alicia Keys concert where she asked us to text a number to give $5 to benefits children in Africa. I felt empowered, I supported her cause and it was easy, so I did it. When the earthquake struck Haiti earlier this year, our mobile phones made it so easy to give that 3 million of us helped raise $32 million. I imagine cause-related organizations will leverage mobile for future giving opportunities. But, for the time being, when was the first time you gave to a charity through your mobile phone?
