Lori Howe posted this comment today on one of our older posts on blogging mistakes, and I thought it was so good, we’d do a whole post on it:
I get that blogging is part of an integrated social media & web marketing strategy and that it takes time and patience to see results. and that it’s difficult to compare to how PR or paid advertising is valuated. However, I’m curious to know if there is any measurement that represents the value of blog posting for a company’s product/service on relevant industry blogs? Like it on not, we live in an ROI-driven business world and some business folks simply need a measurement. Perhaps they’re not a good fit for social media?
ROI is always a hot topic when you’re pitching social media to businesses, especially if the business in question is used to dealing in traditional media marketing with traditional, measurable results. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that social media isn’t a good avenue for that business to take. Any business can benefit from social media interaction, if it’s done correctly. The hardest part is often selling the idea to the people at the top of the company heirarchy.
So, how can your ROI be measured when you’re dealing with social media? [click to continue…]
It’s no secret within the Web 2.0 community that social media is the Next Big Thing for marketing and customer relations, but it may surprise you to learn that your customers are actually asking you to participate.
According to the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Survey, a whopping 93% of customers say that they want businesses on social media sites.
“Americans are eager to deepen their brand relationships through social media,” says Mike Hollywood, Cone’s director of new media. “It isn’t an intrusion into their lives, but rather a welcome channel for discussion.”
As we’ve mentioned, being involved in social media gives your company a human face and gives a sense of transparency to the people who are using your products and services. Just being a face on social media platforms isn’t enough, however: 85% of those surveyed agreed that businesses should also utilize these new methods to interact with their customers. They cited customer service, solicitation of feedback on new products and services, brand interaction, and direct marketing as the areas businesses should explore in their social media endeavors.
This doesn’t mean you should be forcing your product down their throats all over the blogosphere, Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, however. Customers want the capability and the option to interact on their terms, initiating the conversations themselves and having their conversations listened to with earnest.
One of the best ways to develop new marketing strategies is to listen to what your customers want and cater to their needs, and from the sounds of it, what they want is your participation in the social media revolution.
I think that speaks for itself.
