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Social Media ROI Success StoriesHow 11 companies—like OfficeMax, Nissan, BMC and Microsoft—are listening, engaging and measuring.
CASE STUDY COLLECTION
Contents at a Glance
INTRODUCTION 1
EXCLUSIVE MARKETINGPROFS POLL: SOCIAL MEDIA ROI, AN ELUSIVE TARGET 3
SNAPSHOT: ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND PR MEASUREMENT 5
11 CASE STUDIES: SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT & MONITORING 8
SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT 9
Intuit 9
Nissan Canada 11
Lollapalooza 13
Dell Outlet 15
PR MEASUREMENT 17
BMC Software 17
OfficeMax 19
ShareMethods 20
SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING 23
AAA 23
Crocs 24
SAP 26
Microsoft 28
READY TO GET STARTED? 31
NOW WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! 33
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 34
ABOUT MARKETINGPROFS 34
1SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Socialmediaisredefiningthewaywemarkettoconsumersandbusinessprospects.Majorbrandsareincreasinglyusingblogs,Facebook,Twitterandotheroutletstoreachcustomersinadeeper,morecost-effectivemannerthantraditionaladvertisingallows.Inarecentreport1byForresterResearchInc.,95percentofmarketerssay,despitetheeconomy,theywillcontinuetoinvestinsocialmediaoratleastmaintaintheirsamelevelofinvestment.
Theonefactorthatcouldaltersocialmedia’scurrentgrowthtrajectoryisreturn on investment(ROI).Mostmarketershaven’tfiguredouthowtomeasureityet.Untiltheydo,companiesmaybereluctanttocontinuetheirsocialmediainvestments.
Accordingtothesamereport,75percentofmarketershavebudgetedlessthan$100,000forsocialmediainitiativesoverthenextyear,afractioncomparedtotheamountspentonsearchenginemarketingandonlinedisplayadvertising.Onereasoncitedbyanalystsisthelackofacceptablemeasurementstandardsandprovenimpact.
Forsocialmediatobecomeaseriousmarketingchannel—ratherthanjustacoolyetunprofitableexperiment—businessesmustfigureoutthemeasure-mentgame.Itwon’tbeeasy.Accordingtotheresultsofasmall,informalMarketingProfspoll,70percentofrespondentsdonotfeeltheircompaniesareadequatelytrackingsocialmediaintermsofdrivingtangibleresults.Inanotherquestion,20percentfeelthatsocialmedia,“isn’tprimarilyaboutROI.”
Certainly,responsetosocialmediaeffortscanbedifficulttotrack.Conversationsandactivityaretakingplaceoutsideoftraditionalwebsiteswheremarketerscaneasilyanalyzethemillionsofelectronicfootprints.
Despitethesechallenges,agrowingbandofbusinessesarebucklingdownandgettingseriousaboutsocialmediameasurement.Manyaremakingstrongheadwayinquantifyingtheirinitiatives,asthisreporthighlights.Companiesarealsomakingstrideswhenitcomestopublicrelationsmeasurement—tradition-allyablackboxformarketingprofessionals.
Thenthere’ssocialmediamonitoring:theprocessoflisteningandengagingwithcustomersandprospectswhoaretalkingaboutacompany’sbrandorproductwithinsocialmediacircles.Companiesareusingsocialmediamonitoringlessformeasuringtheircampaignsthanforimprovingawiderangeofinitiatives,suchascustomerservice,prospectingandbrand-reputationmanagement.And
1 Jeremiah K. Owyang, “Social Media Playtime is Over,” Forrester Research, March 16, 2009.
INTRODUCTION
2SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
INTRODUCTION
unlikesocialmediameasurement,socialmediamonitoringhasidentifiablevendorsandbestpractices.
Thiscasestudycollectioncoversthefollowingcategories:
Social Media Measurement:Whatarecompaniesdoingtomeasureandquantifytheimpactoftheirsocialmediainitiatives,suchasthoseemployingTwitterandFacebookConnect?Thesecasestudiesshowhowcompaniesarecombiningmeasurementtoolsandtechniquestobetterunderstandtheirinvest-mentsinsocialmediacampaigns.
PR Measurement:PRprofessionalsarenowmoreaggressiveinmeasuringtheirpublicrelationscampaigns,whichincreasinglyinvolvesocialmediaelements.ThesecasestudiesfocusonwhatcompaniesaredoingtoimprovemeasurementandPRperformance,includingusingtechnologythattranslatesPRandsocialmediaactivityintobottom-lineresults.
Social Media Monitoring:Thisrapidlygrowingfieldenablescompaniestoseewhatcustomersandprospectsaresayingwithinsocialmediaabouttheirbrandsandproducts.Thesecasestudiesfocusonhowcompaniesareusingintelligencefromsocialmediamonitoringtoimprovecustomerservice,publicrelationsandbrand-reputationmanagement.
Inadditiontothecasestudies,thisreportalsofeaturesexclusivepolldata,aselectlistofcutting-edgetoolsandservices,andquestionstoconsiderbeforeyoustartoptimizingyoursocialmediaandPRinitiatives.
Most marketers haven’t figured out how to measure ROI yet. Until they do, companies may be reluctant to continue their social media investments.
3SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ForresterResearchprojectscompanieswillspend$3.1billionannuallyonsocialmediaby2014.2Soitisn’tsurprisingthatsocialmediameasurementistopofmindamongmarketerssurveyedinapollbyMarketingProfs.3Nearly50percentofrespondentssaythatsocialmediameasurementis“Important”tothem;another36percentsayitis“SomewhatImportant.”
Determiningreturnoninvestment,however,appearstobeamajorchallenge.Morethan70percentofrespondentsdonotbelievetheircompaniesaread-equatelymeasuringtheimpactofsocialmediacampaignsintermsoftangibleresults.Only20percentthinktheyare.
Surprisingly,thebiggesthurdletosocialmediameasurementisfindingthepersonneltodothemeasurementandanalysiswork.Ina“pickallthatapply”questionaboutmeasurementobstacles,“DedicatedResources”waschosenby30percentoftherespondents,followedby“Don’tKnowWhattoMeasure”(25percent)and“SocialMediaMeasurementIsn’tPrimarilyAboutROI”(20percent).
Publicrelationsmeasurementrankssimilarlytosocialmediaintermsofpriority,with51percentcallingit,“Important”andanother36percentconsideringit“SomewhatImportant.”
ForbothsocialmediameasurementandPRmeasurement,manymarketersreportusingtheirWebanalyticspackagestoquantifyresults.OthermethodsofmeasuringPRresponseincludetrackingstoriesandblogmentionsovertime.Circulationnumbersisthefourthmostcommonanswer,pollresultsshow.
2 Shar VanBoskirk, “US Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2009 to 2014,” Forrester Research, July 6, 2009. 3 MarketingProfs poll data includes responses from 338 participants. MarketingProfs promoted the poll during a two-week period in June 2009 through a variety of marketing channels, including Twitter, blogs and email newsletters targeting marketing professionals.
EXCLUSIVE MARKETINGPROFS POLL: SOCIAL MEDIA ROI, AN ELUSIVE TARGET
Only 20 percent of participants in a new MarketingProfs poll believe they are adequately measuring the impact of social media campaigns in terms of tangible results.
4SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
EXCLUSIVE MARKETINGPROFS POLL: SOCIAL MEDIA ROI, AN ELUSIVE TARGET
DedicatedresourcesisalsocitedasthebiggesthurdletoPRmeasurement,(re-portedby38percent),followedby“Don’tKnowWhattoMeasure”(27percent)and“LackofMeasurementTools”(17percent).
Fifty-eightpercentofrespondentsbelievesocialmediamonitoringis“Important”totheircompanies;31percentthinkitis“SomewhatImportant.”Agoodsignforvendors,78percentofrespondentssaytheyplantoincreasesocialmediamonitoringoverthenextsixmonths;18percentexpectthelevelofmonitoringtoremainthesame.Notonepersonthinkshisorhercompanyplanstodecreasetheuseofmonitoring.
Intermsofhowcompaniesareusingsocialmediamonitoring,brand-reputationmanagementandprospectingcomeoutontop.Thenextmostcommonuseisidentifyingbrandadvocates.
ThedatafromthisinformalpollclearlyshowsalthoughcompaniesunderstandtheimportanceofsocialmediaandPRmeasurement,theyarenotthereyetintermsofexecution.However,businessesarestronglycommittedtoincreasingtheiruseofsocialmediamonitoringtobettermanagetheirbrandreputationsandtoengagewithcustomersandpotentialprospects.
5SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
SNAPSHOT: ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND PR MEASUREMENT
Forsocialmediamonitoring,therearedozensoftoolsandservices,suchasfreeapplicationsandenterprise-classsolutions.TheoptionsforsocialmediaandPRmeasurement,ontheotherhand,arelessvariedandtypicallyincludethestandardWebanalyticspackages.Thisshortlistwillhelpyougetstarted.
Social Media Measurement• Google Analytics:ThisfreeWebanalyticsserviceisofferedoverthe
Internet.ItrequiresuserstopasteafewsnippetsofcodeintheHTMLoftheirwebsites.Don’tletitsfreestatusfoolyou,though.GoogleAnalyticsisbecomingincreasinglysophisticatedintermsoffeaturesandcapabilities,anditiseasytouse.Plus,itintegrateswithGoogleAdwords.Alsocheckout: Yahoo! Web Analytics,whichrecentlyacquiredIndexTools,asmall-businessWebanalyticsvendor.
• Omniture:Thisservicehasthebiggestmarketshareamongsubscription-based,enterprise-classWebanalyticsservices.ThroughitsSiteCatalystservice,OmniturehasaddedspecializedtrackingforTwitterandFacebook.Theonlydrawbackisitsprice.Alsocheckout:Webtrends, anOmniturecompetitorofferingahigh-endWebanalyticsservice.WebtrendshasrecentlypartneredwithRadian6toprovidesocialmediamonitoring.Expectatechnologyintegrationbetweenthetwoserviceslaterthisyear.
• bit.ly:ItservesasbothaURLshortener(i.e.,atoolthatreduceslongURLstoafriendlierlength)andameasurementtool.Usebit.lytogetreal-timemetricstobetterunderstandtheclicksonlinksyoupostinyourTwitterandFacebookaccounts.Theshorteneralsoprovidesanarrayofstatistics,suchasconversationsincludingthatlink,referralsandlocations.Alsocheckout:ow.ly, anotherURLshortenerandtrackerthatcomespackagedwithHootSuite,ausefulTwittermanagementapplication.
PR Measurement• DIY Dashboard:PRmeasurementguruKatieDelahaye(KD)Paineoffers
aWeb-basedapplicationforcommunicationsprofessionalscalledtheDIY(Do-It-Yourself)Dashboard.ThetoolletsPRprosgeneratechartsandgraphstailoredaroundanorganization’sneeds.Thedashboardfocusesonsentimentanalysis—positivevs.negativementions—andenablesuserstocreatecustomqueries,Webchartsandanalyticsnapshots.Userscanalsomakecustomelectronicclipbooks.Inadditiontothedashboard,Paineoffersextensiveconsulting.
• Tealium:FoundedlastyearbythreeformeremployeesofWebSideStory(aWebanalyticspioneernowpartofOmniture),Tealiumoffersasocialmedia
Google Analytics
DIY Web Dashboard
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SNAPSHOT: ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND PR MEASUREMENT
trackingservicethatplugsintoastandardWebanalyticspackage(includingGoogleandOmniture).Throughpatent-pendingtechnology,TealiumhelpsusersmeasuretheirPRandsocialmediaactivityintermsofbottom-lineresults,suchasdirectWebtraffic,onlineleadsandsales.Tealiumalsocantracknewsstories,blogposts,chatforums,onlinecommentsandvideos.
• Vocus:Usersofthepopularon-demandPRcontactmanagementservicecanaccessextensiveanalyticsforthepriceofanupgrade.VocusAnalyticsoffersnumerousmetrics,includingshareofvoicecomparedtocompetitors;storiesbygeography,publication,reporterorblogger;andtheabilitytofillinsentimentanalysisforeachpresshit.Youcanalsotrackproductandspokespeoplementions,andyoucanmonitorissueresponse.Thepromi-nence-scoringmodulehelpsusersunderstandtheprominenceandimpactof newscoverage.
Social Media Monitoring• Visible Technologies:ItsTruCast®platformcomesinatthehigherend
ofthespectrumofsocialmediamonitoringservicesinbothpriceandfunctionality.VisibleTechnologiesusesaWeb-scrapingtechnologyinsteadofanRSS-basedcollectionmethod,soitpicksupconversationsfromabroaderrangeofsitesandoutlets.TruCastisoneofthefewservicestooffer“human-sampled”sentimentanalysis4(comparedtomanualormachineanalysis).TheTruCastplatformalsoprovidesadvancedcustomerrelation-shipmanagement(CRM)capabilities,whichallowuserstopinpointconver-sationsandthenengageusersdirectlyfromtheapplication.Alsocheckout:TNS Cymfony,anotherhigh-endsolution.TNSCymfonyofferssophisticatedreportingandhuman-sampledsentimentanalysis.
• Radian6:Radian6hasstrongmomentuminthemarketplacethankstodetailedsocialmediamonitoringandanextremelyvisualandintuitiveuserinterface.Radian6offersreal-timelisteninganalysis,socialmediametrics,CRMcapabilities,teamcollaborationandworkflow,andgloballanguagesupport.Radian6hassetitselfapartbystrikingpartnershipswithcompa-niessuchasSalesforce.comandWebtrends.Alsocheckout:ScoutLabs, anothersocialmediamonitoringvendorthatoffersautomatedsentimentanalysis,buzztrackingandteamcollaboration.
• Techrigy:ThispopularsocialmediamonitoringservicescoursthesocialWeb—fromwikistosocialnetworks—insearchofrelevantconversationsaboutbrands,productsandcompetitors.Thecompany’sSM2productoffersmachine-generatedsentimentanalysis,real-timemonitoringandanalysis,
4 White Horse Productions Webinar, “Social Media Monitoring Tools,” 2009.
Visible Technologies
Tealium Social Media Measurement
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SNAPSHOT: ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND PR MEASUREMENT
discussionclustering(groupingsimilardiscussions)andcustomizedre-porting.Note:TechrigywasrecentlyaquiredbyAlterian.Alsocheckout:BuzzGain,whichintegratessocialmediamonitoringwithmediareportingandamediadatabasetotargetinfluencers.
• Trackur:Oneofthemoreaffordablesocialmediamonitoringsolutions,Trackurdifferentiatesitselfbothonpriceandalsobyspeakingdirectlytoonlinereputationmanagement—oneoftheobjectivesofmonitoring.Thesolutionprovidesconversationtrending,emailalerts,customfilters,aniftyAJAXdashboardandtheabilitytomonitorbrands,execs,employeesandcompetitors.Alsocheckout:Google News Alerts, a free alert tool that leveragesthesearchgiant’scrawlingtechnologytopickuprelevantnewsstoriesandblogpostsaboutyourcompanyorproducts.
Trackur Social Media Monitoring Tool
8SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
11 CASE STUDIES: SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT & MONITORING
9SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT Understandtheresultsofyoursocialmediainvestment.
Intuit
ThemakerofTurboTaxembarkedonamassivesocialmediacampaigntobuilditsbrandamonganewgenerationoftaxpayers.Surveyswereabigpartofthemeasurementmix.
Company:BasedinMountainView,Calif.,IntuitInc.(NASDAQ:INTU)isaprovideroffinancialmanagementsolutionsforsmallandmid-sizedbusinesses,financialinstitutions,consumersandaccountingprofessionals.Thecompany’sflagshipproducts(QuickBooks,QuickenandTurboTaxsoftware)enablesmall-businessmanagementandpayrollprocessing,personalfinance,andtaxprepara-tionandfiling.
Challenge:TohelpbuilditsbrandamongayoungergenerationoftaxpayersandpromoteafreeonlineTurboTaxservice,Intuitcreatedalargesocialmediacampaigninearly2009asabuilduptoApril15.The“FreeloaderNation”campaignwaslaunchedinJanuaryandincluded:
• A partnership with MySpacetoco-sponsoritsSecretShowsinitiative,wherebigacts(e.g.,LillyAllenandFallOutBoy)rockedsmall,intimateclubsforinvitation-onlyaudiences;
• HiringTayZonday(famousonlineforhis“ChocolateRain”YouTubevideo)towriteasongaboutthecampaignandtravelwiththeFreeloadercampaignfortheSecretShows;and,
• CreatingtheSuperStatuscontestinwhichparticipantsrespondedtoaseriesofquestionsbyupdatingtheirstatusonFacebook,TwitterorMySpace.com.Forexample,onequestionduringthepresidentialinaugurationwas,“Ifyouwerepresident,whatwouldyoumaketaxdeductible?”Oneresponse:“Iamarockgoddess,andIdeclareliposuc-tionshouldbetaxdeductible.”Contestantswerejudgedbythecreativityoftheirresponses,relevancetotheoriginalquestion,andabilitytogetthewordoutonthesocialnetworks.Thewinnersreceivedmorethan$100,000incashandprizes,with$25,000asthegrandprize.
Thehugechallengeofthisfar-reachingcampaignfortheTurboTaxonlinemar-ketinggroup,ledbySethGreenberg,directorofonlinemarketing,wastracking.
Solution:TurboTaxprimarilyusedWebanalyticsandsurveyresearchtomeasuretheeffectivenessofthecampaign,plusRadian6,asocialmediamonitoringsolution,tohelppickupTwitterresponsesandentries.ThegoalforGreenbergwastounderstandtheimpactacontestant’sparticipationhadonhis/hersocialnetwork.Whodidtheparticipantaffect?Wouldthecontestant’sfriendsget
10SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT
involvedaswell?Greenbergansweredthesequestionsbyusingsurveys,whichcontestantswereencouragedtosendtofriendsandfollowers.Togainacontrolgroup,thecompanyalsosentoutmorethan100,000surveystocustomersnotplayingthegame.Greenberg’sgroupusedWebanalyticstomeasureactivityonwebsitesandvideos.ItalsotrackedthenumberofdownloadsoftheSuperStatuswidget,whichparticipantsusedtogetupdatedcontestquestions.
Results:Overall,morethan10,000peopleparticipatedinthecampaign,includ-ingmorethan6,000SuperStatusparticipants.Throughitssurveys,TurboTaxdiscovereda10-percentliftinpurchaseintent(overthecontrolgroup)amongthosewhodirectlyparticipatedintheSuperStatuscampaign.Forfriendsandfollowersofthecontestants,however,thenumberwasonly2percentabovethecontrolgroup,Greenbergsays.
Thecampaigngenerated165millionaudienceimpressions,whichdroveanesti-mated100,000peopletoSuperStatusContest.com.AsforZonday’s“FreeloaderNation”video,itgeneratedsome800,000viewsonYouTubeanddifferentvideoplatforms.AndonlineunitsalesforTurboTaxproductsincreasedby36percentduringthequarter,comparedtothesameperiodlastyear.
Intheend,Greenbergwascarefultonotethatwhilebottom-lineresultsareex-tremelyimportant,thecompanygivesitselfsomeleewaybecauseit—likemanybusinesses—isstillexperimentingwiththerightmixofsocialmediaelements.
Business Lessons Learned• Understandwhatyourmetricsarebeforeyouembarkonalarge-scale
campaign.TurboTaxwaskeenlyinterestedinhowthecampaignwouldimpactfriendsandfollowersofcontestants.
• Usesurveysandcontrolgroupstounderstandhard-to-reachmetrics,suchasintenttobuy.
• ROIisimportant,butit’sstillearlydayswithsocialmedia;don’tbeafraidtoexperiment.
“IwouldsaytheNo.1thing[todowhenlaunchingasocialcampaign]istogetthemeasurementrightbeforeyoulaunch.Askyourselfwhatyouwanttolearnandhow[youwillmeasureit].Don’tdothisasyougobecausethistypeofcampaignistoody-namic.”—Seth Greenberg, Director of Online Marketing, TurboTax
Through its surveys, TurboTax discovered a 10-percent lift in purchase intent (over the control group) among those who directly participated in the SuperStatus campaign.
11SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT
Nissan Canada
Tointroduceitsstylishnewcartoanewgeneration,theautomanufacturerlaunchedaviralsocialmediacampaigntobuildinterest.Gaugingsuccessrequiredawidearrayofmetrics. Company:BasedinToronto,NissanCanadaispartofNissanMotorCompany,amultinationalautomakerheadquarteredinJapan.InNorthAmerica,Nissan’s(NASDAQ:NSANY)operationsinclude:automotivestyling,engineering,consum-erandcorporatefinancing,salesandmarketing,distributionandmanufacturing.
Challenge:Tounveilitsall-newcubevehicleintheCanadianautomarket,Nissananditscreativepartner,Toronto-basedCapital C Communications, decidedtoengagepotentialcustomerswithaviralsocialmediacampaign—in-steadofatraditionallarge-scaleadvertisingcampaign.Theycameupwiththehypercubecontest,designedtotapintothecountry’syoung,creativecommu-nityandtohelpspreadthewordaboutthenewcar.
InlateFebruary,NissanannouncedthecontestforCanadianstoexpresstheirsocialcreativityandauditionforachancetodriveawaywithoneof50brand-newNissancubes.NissanandCapitalCCommunicationshadcreatedanonlineplatformor“canvas”soentrants—especiallyartists,musicians,Webdesigners,programmers,videographers,dancersandathletes—couldshowtheircreativitythroughimages,songandwords.Ofalltheentrants,500werechosenforthefinalaudition.
Thefinal500wereencouragedtosharetheiruploadedprojectswithasmanypeopleaspossiblethroughTwitter,Facebookandothersocialmediachannels.FinalwinnerswereannouncedinlateJune.Gettingpeopletoparticipatewasn’tdifficult.Thebigchallengewasknowinghowtochartthesuccessofsuchalarge,viralcampaign.
Solution:CapitalC’smeasurementgoalwasrelativelysimple:toshowengage-ment,awarenessandreach.CapitalCusednumerousmeasurementtools,suchaspre-andpost-awarenesssurveys;socialmediamonitoring;standardWebanalytics;andsimpleusagemetrics,suchregistrationsandtotalvotestoac-complishthisgoal.ThecompanyemployedGoogleAnalyticstochartWebtraffichighlights,suchassitevisits,referrals,pageviewspervisitor,timespentonsite,andindividualandaggregateviewsofeachartist’scanvas.
Thedifficulttaskwasmonitoringperceptionsandcampaignawarenessthroughsocialmedia.CapitalCdecidedtolaunchanawarenesssurveytargeting1,000
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SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT
participantsatthestartofthecampaign,atthemid-point(60days)andattheend.Totrackhypercubementionsacrossthesocialmedialandscape,CapitalCemployedRadian6,asocialmediamonitoringservice.
Results:Intermsofreach,engagementandawareness,thehybercubecam-paignwasasuccess.
• BetweenthestartofthecampaignonFebruary27andthecloseofauditionsonMay15,thereweremorethan330,000sitevisits.Morethanhalfofthevisitswerereferrals,manyfromFacebookwherecontes-tantspostedlinkstotheircanvases.
• Thereweremorethan1.5millioncanvasviewsbetweenApril15andMay15.
• Morethan50,000peopleregisteredatthesitetovoteonthefinalentriesorindividualcanvases,generatingatotalof250,000votes.
• Thesiteaveragednearlysixpageviewspervisit;visitorsspentanaver-ageofmorethanfourminutesonthesite.
• Afterthemid-pointofthecampaign,therewasan87percentincreaseinawareness(fromthebaseline)ofthecubeandthecube’smanufac-turer(Nissan).
• Thereweremorethan8,000tweetsaboutthehypercubecampaign.Withanaverageof330followerspertweeter,thatismorethan2.6millionimpressions.
Enthusiasmoverthecampaignextendedbeyondtheofficialsitetoincludecu-beclub.ca,anonlinechatforumsetupbyandforhybercubecontestants(about200members).Thisledtootheruser-generatedtributesites.
Business Lessons Learned• Understandyourmeasurementstrategybeforeyoubeginyour
campaign.• Don’tbeafraidtoadjust.CapitalCaddedtheawarenessstudyand
itssocialmediamonitoringjustbeforethecampaignbegan.• Incorporateavarietyofmetricstoolsasthereisoftennoonecompre-
hensivesolutionforsocialmediameasurement.
“Launchingthecubeviasocialmediacreatedsomemeasurementchallengesforus,butalsoopportunities.Typically,we’destimatereachandfrequency,but(now)we’reabletotrackawarenessandengagementwithouraudiencebasedontheironlineactivity.”—Jeff Parent, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Nissan Canada
Nissan’s difficult task was monitoring perceptions and campaign awareness through social media. Its agency launched an awareness survey targeting 1,000 participants at the start of the campaign, at the mid-point (60 days) and at the end.
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SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT
Lollapalooza
Theorganizersofthissummer’salt-rockfestivalimplementedFacebookConnectandothersocialmediasharingtoolstogetpeopletalking.Butwouldthattranslateintosuccess? Company:Lollapaloozaisanannualalt-rockfestheldinChicago,Ill.inAugust.ItisorganizedbyC3Presents,anAustin-basedproductioncompany.C3creates,books,marketsandproducesmorethan800showsnationwide,includingLollapaloozaandAustinCityLimitsMusicFestival.
Challenge:Eachyear,C3Presentsgetsonlyoneshotformarketingitspremiereevents,suchasLollapalooza.Justasthecompanymustdecidewhichbandstobooktogeneratethemostinterestandthemostsales,italsohastofigureoutwhichdigitalmarketingprogramstoinvestin.Afterlastyear’sevent,thestaffatC3brainstormedabouthowtheycouldbetterengagefansonLollapalooza.comforthe2009event.C3decidedtoimplementFacebookConnect,whichleveragesFacebook’snewAPIs,sofansonLollapalooza.comcouldtalkaboutwhichofthemorethan100bandstheywereplanningtosee.C3alsobeefedupitsFacebookfanpage,addingupdates,blogpostsandrelevantlinks.C3staffintegratedsharingfeaturesforTwitterandMySpaceonitswebsite,andtheyincludedanemaillinkandan“AddThis”button.
“Oneofourkeystrategiesthisyearwastotalktopeoplewheretheyarealreadypayingattention,”saysMichaelFeferman,directorofdigitalmarketingforC3.ForTwitter,theysetupasystemwherefanscouldhoveroveraparticularband—forexample,thebandTool—andthenclicktosendoutamessagetofollowersthatread:
“IplantoseeToolatLollapaloozainAugust!http://bit.ly/138DaD.”
Thechallengewiththisapproachwasmeasuringtheimpactofthedifferentwaysfanscouldshareinformationabouttheevent.C3wantedtoknowwhetheritwouldbeworththeconsiderabletimeandefforttointegratethesesocialmediatoolsforfutureevents.
Solution:C3reliedheavilyontwomeasurementtools:GoogleAnalyticsandbit.ly.C3usedGoogleAnalyticstomeasurebasicWebtrafficdata,suchasoverallsitevisitsandpageviewspervisit.Its“eventtracking”capabilitiesmeasuredhowmanytimespeoplewereclickingthe“share”iconsC3hadimplemented(linkingtoFacebook,MySpace,Twitter,etc.)andhowoftenusersloggedintotheirFacebookaccountsviaFacebookConnect.
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UsingGoogleAnalytics,C3wasabletodetermineusagepatternsamongvisitorswhousedthesocialmediaapplicationonLollapalooza.comandthosewhodidnot.C3usedbit.lytomeasure:1)thepre-populatedTwittermessagesandcorrespondinglinksfansweresendingfromthewebsite;and2)thereactiontodifferentlinksandcontentitwouldpostonitsFacebookfanpage.Ineachcase,C3wouldgeneratebit.lylinksthatpushedtrafficbacktoitswebsiteorblog.
Results:SinceaddingFacebookConnectandothersharingfeaturesonApril21,2009,traffictoLollapalooza.comhasdoubledcomparedtotheprevioussixweeks,driveninpartbyreferralsfromtheFacebook.comandTwitter.comdo-mains.C3estimatesthatabout70percentofthedirecttrafficfromthosesocialdomainswastheresultofthesharingapplicationsonitswebsiteandmessagingitsfansonthosenetworks. Timespentonthewebsitehasgrown20percentduringthattime;pageviewspervisitareup34percent,Fefermansays.Sincethelaunch,thenumberoffanstotheLollapaloozaFacebookpagehasincreasedby14,000to34,000atlastcount.ThenumberofTwitterfollowershasalsogrowntoabout6,000followers,fromzeroatthebeginningoftheyear.
Meanwhile,C3wasabletodeterminebyusingbit.lythatitspre-populatedlinks,mostlyonTwitter,wereclickedanaverageofseventimeseach,whichhelpedaccountfortheincreaseinsitetraffic.C3alsousedbit.lytodrivesomeofitsmessagingandcontentstrategy,includingthefrequencyofitspostsandwhattypesofmessagesandcontenttoproduce.Forexample,itfoundthatfansreactedmostfavorablytocontentthatshowcasedbandnewsandvideos.
Fefermanwouldnotdivulgeticketsalesinformationsinceimplementingthenewfeatures,butsaidthatoverallsaleshavebeen“verystrong.”
Business Lessons Learned• Makeiteasyforcustomersandfanstosharenewsandlinksabout
youreventswiththeirfriends.• ConsiderFacebookConnectasawaytoeasilyintegrateyourbusiness
withtheFacebookcommunity.
“Ourwholegoalwiththesetoolswastomakeitaseasyaspossibleforfanstotalkaboutthelineup,whichisreallywhatdrivesourticketsales.”—Michael Feferman, Director of Digital Marketing, C3 Presents
C3 used Google Analytics to measure how many times people were clicking the “share” icons C3 had implemented (linking to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter) and how often users logged into their Facebook accounts via Facebook Connect.
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SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT
Dell Outlet
ThecomputermanufactureriswidelyrecognizedforbeingofoneofthefirstcompaniestomonetizeTwitter.Buthowdiditgetthere?Inpart,throughdiligenttrackingandoptimizationofitsTwitterpromotions. Company:BasedinRoundRock,Texas,Dell(NASDAQ:DELL)istheNo.1computermanufacturerintheUnitedStates.DellOutletsellsrefurbishedandpreviouslyownedlaptops,desktops,printersandmonitors.
Challenge:In2007,whenDell OutletemployeesdiscoveredTwitterattheSouthbySouthwestconferenceinAustin,theseedsofanewmarketingchannelwereplanted.EmployeesthoughtTwittercouldhelpselloutletinventorycosteffectively.Buthowcouldtheymakethechannelasviableandprofitableaspossible—ratherthanjustacoolsocialmediaexperiment?Thecompanyneededawaytooptimizeitspostsandpromotions.
Solutions:Tobegintracking,Dellusedaproprietarysoftwaretechnologytocreatecustome-commercetrackingURLs.TheseURLstrackclicksandotherimportantsalesmeasurements,includingrevenue,unitandmarginmetrics,saysStefanieNelson,DellOutletmarketingmanager.Throughthisleveloftracking,DellcantellwhichbrandsandproductsTwitterusersarerespondingto,whichdiscountsworkbest(biggerisbetter),andwhichproductsgeneratethebestmarginsormostrevenue.Forexample,oneproductmightgeneratemoreunitsaleswhileanotherwillproducehighermargins.Nelsonnowknowsexactlywhichoffers(includingcorrespondingcouponcodes)topromotetofollowerstoproducethedesiredfinancialresultforDell’squarterlyobjectives.
ToreducethelengthofDell’sproprietarytrackingURLs,Nelsonbeganexperi-mentingwithURLshortenersandtrackers,includingbit.lyandow.ly.Nelsonhasusedthesetoolstogetreal-timeclickmetrics,whichhavehelpedhertodevelopherpostingstrategy,includingwhattimeofdaytopost.Forexample,ifshewantstoreachaU.S.-onlyaudience,shewillpostintheearlyafternoon.Ifshewantstogetabiggeroverallresponse,fromshoppersintheUnitedStatesandothercountries,shewillpostinthemorning.
Results:Inlate2008,DellOutletmadebignewswhenitannouncedithadearned$1milliondirectlythroughTwitter—oneofthefirstexamplesofacompanymonetizingthemicro-bloggingserviceinaseriousway.ThenonJune11,2009,withawhopping600,000followers,DellOutletannouncedthatithadsurpassed$2millioninrevenuetraceabletoTwitter.
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NelsonnotesthatTwitterisalsodrivinginterestinnewproducts.“We’[email protected]/outletsite,andthenultimatelydecidingtopurchaseanewsystemelsewhereonDell.com.Ifwefactorthosenewsystempurchasesthatcomefrom@DellOutlet,we’veactuallyeclipsed$3millioninoverallsales,”NelsonwroteinablogpostonJune11.NelsonsaysTwitterisnowaseriousandtangiblemarketingchannel,helpingtomovelargeinventorybubbleswithafewposts.
Business Lessons Learned• FindawaytointegratesalesmeasurementdataintoyourTwitterand
socialmediatracking.• Takeadvantageoffreetools,suchasbit.lyorow.ly,tooptimizeyour
postsandpromotions.
“MeasuringTwitterdependsonyourobjectives.Ifyouaretryingtodrivee-commercesales,youshouldtrytoincluderevenuemetricsinyourtracking.Ifyourgoaliscustomerservice,thenyouneedtohavemetricsinplaceforthat.”—Stefanie Nelson, Marketing Manager, Dell Outlet (U.S.)
Twitter is now a serious and tangible marketing channel, helping to move large inventory bubbles with a few posts, explains Stefanie Nelson, marketing manager for Dell Outlet.
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PR MEASUREMENT ImproveyourPRperformancethroughmetrics.
BMC Software
Tohelpboostthecompany’svisibility,thecommunicationsteamatBMCSoftwareimplementedahybridPR-salesapproachthatfocusesonperformancemetricstogenerateresults.
Company:BasedinHouston,Texas,BMCSoftwareInc.(NYSE:BMC)developssoftwarethatprovidessystemandservicemanagementsolutionsprimarilyforlargeenterprisesaroundtheworld.
Challenge:WhenMarkStouse,globalcommunicationsleaderforBMC Software,cametothecompanythreeyearsago,thecompany’svisibilitywasextremelylow,limitedmostlytotrademagazines,financialpressandareanewspapers.Thecompany’senterpriseproductswerebetter-knownthanthecorporation.BMCSoftwarehadnometricsforitspublicrelationsefforts,andthePRteamhadrelativelylittleinfluenceamongmarketingandsalesteams.Stousewantedtodramaticallyraisethecompany’svisibilityonanationalscaletohelpboostsoftwaresales.Heneededawaytofocushis65-personcommunicationsteam,includingmembersofthecompany’sPRagency,WaggonerEdstrom,ondeliveringbiggerandbetterresults. Solution:Stousealwaysfeltthatpublicrelationsismorecloselyrelatedtosalesthanmarketing,sohedecidedtosetuphiscommunicationsteamasaquasi-salesorganizationcompletewithpre-determinedpointquotas.Stouse’squotasystemtakesintoaccountthesizeandstatureofthepublication,thelengthofthearticleandthetonality(positiveorneutral).Forexample,afeaturestoryintheWallStreetJournalmightbeworth5,000points—doublethatamountifthestoryispositive—whileanormalITtradestorymightget500points.
Atthestartofeachquarter,Stousesitsdownwithmarketing,productde-velopmentandothergroupstounderstandwhat’scomingup.Basedonthatfeedback,Stousewillcommitanywherefrom200,000to300,000pointsforthequarter.Hewillthengobackandassignpointquotastohisstaff,anywherefrom30,000to50,000perperson.Stousepreachestraditionalsalesproductiv-itytohisstaff,askingthemtofocusonthenumberofstoriesorreports,thesizeandplacementofthosestories,andthevelocitywithwhichstoriesarelanded.Stouseuseswhathecalls“pre-determinedgatingfactors”tomakesurehisstaffismovingthe“deals”orstoriesthroughthepipeline.Forexample,ifateammembersaysthelikelihoodofastorylandinghascrossedthe80-percentthreshold,then“youbetterhaveareallygoodreasonifthatdealdoesnotmaterialize,”Stousesays.
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Results:BMC’scommunicationsgrouphasmetorexceededitsquotaineachofthelastthreequartersthatStouse’ssystemhasofficiallybeeninplace.Duringthelastfiscalquarter,BMCgenerated375placementsaroundtheglobe(pow-eredinpartbyahigh-profileCiscopartnerannouncement),50executivequotesand294,000“points.”
Oncerelegatedtominortradepublications,BMCnowenjoysbetterandmoreregularcoverageinbothmainstreambusinesspressandhigh-profiletechnol-ogypublications.“Threeyearsago,theprospectofourbeingintheWallStreetJournalorotherheavyweightpublicationswithasubstantialprofilewaszero,”saysStouse.“Today,wearedoingthatnotonlyonceortwice,butmanytimes.”
Thanksinparttotheincreasedcoverage,BMC’ssoftwaresaleshavecontinu-allyrisenoverthelastthreeyears.Stouse’sannualcommunicationsbudgethasalsogrownandisnowaround$5millionperyear.Insteadofbeingthelasttobecalledintotheroomforanimportantproductlaunch,Stouse’steamisthefirst.Thesalesteamhasbeenthrilledwiththeamountofpositivecoverageandcollateralatitsdisposal.Inarecentinterview,BMCCEOBobBeauchamptoldPR Week, “ManyofmysalesexecutivesconsiderthePRandanalystrelationssupporttheyreceivetobeabsolutelyindispensibletotheirsuccess.”
Business Lessons Learned• Considerdevelopingasales-focusedPRapproachthatholdsteam
membersaccountableforperformance.• Developapoint-scalethatfitsyourorganizationalgoalsand
objectives.• Don’tshyawayfromtraditionalPRmetrics,suchasplacementsover
time,iftheystillholdvalueandserveasabenchmark.
“Ifasalesguyrunsintoacustomerandthecustomersays,‘Idon’tknowwhoBMCis,’that’saproblemthatstallsthesalesprocess.Ifbyourworkweensurethatneverhappens,thenwehavemadeapowerfulcontributiontosalesproductivity.”—Mark Stouse, Global Communications Leader, BMC Software
Mark Stouse of BMC Software always felt that public relations is more closely related to sales than marketing, so he decided to set up his communications team as a quasi-sales organization—complete with point quotas.
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OfficeMax
Whentheretailgiantlauncheditsfirstlarge-scalesocialmediacampaigns,itmaintainedthesamemethodofmeasurementithasalwaysused—audienceimpressions—butappliedittosocialmedia. Company:BasedinNaperville,Ill.,OfficeMaxIncorporated(NYSE:OMX)isaleaderinbothbusiness-to-businessofficeproductssolutionsandretailofficeproducts.Thecompanyprovidesofficesuppliesandpaper,in-storeprintanddocumentservicesthroughOfficeMaxImPress™,technologyproductsandsolu-tions,andfurnituretobothconsumersandbusinesses.
Challenge:Earlierthisyear,OfficeMaxreachedanagreementwithinternationallyrenownedorganizationexpertPeterWalshtosellhishome-andbusiness-organi-zation solution (In Place System)initsretailstores.Topromotethepartnership,OfficeMaxdecidedtotryasocialmediacampaign,ratherthanatraditionalmainstreampush.Itstargetwasbloggerspassionateaboutgoodorganizationalhabits.TheplanwastocreatealivewebcastaroundWalshandshowhimwalk-ingthroughspeciallycreatedsetsshowcasingmessyandcleanoffices.Walshwouldthenansweremailquestionslive.
Beforetheevent,OfficeMaxsentoutsamplesofWalsh’ssolution.Morethan175bloggersattendedthewebcastinApril2009.NowhowwouldOfficeMaxmeasuretheeffectivenessoftheevent?Ittypicallyusedimpression-basedmet-ricsfromtraditionalprintandonlinemedia,andthecompanywaseagertocarrythatovertothesocialmediarealm.Anotherchallengewashowtoascertainonanaggregatedlevelwhetherthepostswerepositiveornegative. Solution:Soonaftertheevent,OfficeMax’sPRteam,ledbyWilliamBonner,be-ganscouringtheWebforblogposts,tweetsandothermentionsofthewebcast.Tostreamlinetheprocessofidentifyingblogcoverage,itreliedonVocus,anon-demandPRmanagementsolution,andGoogleAlerts.
Oncetheyidentifiedthecoverage,theyusedavarietyoftools,suchasAlexa,QuantcastandVocus,aswellasdataprovidedbythebloggersthemselves,tocomeupwithaudienceimpressionnumbers(essentiallymonthlyuniquevisi-tors).Bonner’steamalsomanuallyscannedeachpostandassignedapositive,neutralornegativescoretoeachone,andthenuploadedthatinformationintoVocustogetanaggregatedview.Finallytheteamusedsearch.twitter.comtotrackdownallTwittermentionsoftheevent.Theylookedatthenumberoffollowersofeachpostedtweettoascertainthetotalreach.
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Results:Theeventwasasuccess.Itgeneratedmorethan100blogposts(allpositive)withacombinedreachof2.6millionimpressions,definedasmonthlyuniquevisitors.Bloggersalsotweetedaboutthewebcastbothbefore,duringandaftertheshowing,whichgeneratedmorethan1,000totaltweets(acombinedreachof2.3millionimpressions).AccordingtoBonner,thewebcastwasoneofthetoptopics(basedonthehashtag#officemax)onsearch.twitter.comthatafternoon.Traditionalreportersnoticedtheblogcoverageandwroteanother13storiesabouttheevent,generating1.5milliononlineimpressions.TwobloggersevenproducedtheirownvideosabouttheeventandpostedthemonYouTube.BloggersalsopostedproductpicturesonFlickr.
Business Lessons Learned• Usewhatyouknow,andkeepitsimple.OfficeMaxtookitsstandard
methodofmeasurement(onlineaudienceimpressions)andappliedittoblogsandTwitter.
• SetupahashtagtoallowyoutomoreeasilymeasureTwitterconver-sationsduringawebcast.
• Don’tunderestimatesentimentanalysis—positive,neutralornega-tive—evenifyouhavetocatalogitmanually.
“Thefirstthingtoremember[inmeasuringasocialmediacam-paign]isdon’toverthinkit.Justtryit.Thinkofhowyouhavehadtomeasureinthepast.Whenwehavemeasuredinthepast,impressionshavebeenprettystandard,sowehavetriednottogettoocarriedawaynowthatthemediaisdifferent.”—Bill Bonner, Senior Director, External Relations, OfficeMax
ShareMethods
Foranupcomingproductannouncement,ShareMethodsenlistedthehelpofaPRfirmtohelpgetthewordout.ButdiditsPRinvestmentgenerateresultsintermsoftrafficandleads?
Company: BasedinSouthOrange,N.J.,ShareMethodsalignssalesandmar-ketingthroughon-demandcollaborativedocumentmanagementforsmallandmid-sizedbusinesses.Fromanywhereatanytime,salespeople,salespartnersandmarketingcanaccessthemostup-to-datesalescollateralandcustomerdocumentstohelpthemclosemoredeals,faster.
Bill Bonner’s team at OfficeMax manually scanned each blog post and assigned a positive, neutral or negative score to each one, and then uploaded that information into Vocus to get an aggregated view.
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Challenge:Withthelaunchofanimportantnewproductjustmonthsaway,ShareMethodsenlistedtheservicesofaNewYorkCity-basedPRfirmtohelpgetthewordoutaboutthecompany’son-demandsolutionsfordocumentmanagementandsharing.ThePRinitiativewasasignificantmarketingactivityandinvestmentforthecompany.ShareMethodswantedtoknowthenumberofarticlesandmentionsitwouldreceivefromthelaunchaswellashowmuchWebtrafficandhowmanyonlineleadsthepressactivitywouldultimatelygener-ate.Gettingthatkindofdetail,however,isdifficultandsomethingthatstandardWebanalyticssolutionsdonotprovide.
Solution:InDecember,thecompanycameacrossTealium5,whichoffersasocialmediameasurementplug-intostandardWebanalyticssolutions.Throughproprietarytechnology,Tealiumcanmeasurethereferralsfrompressarticles,blogposts,blogpostcomments,videos,chatforumsanddirectlinkstotheclientwebsite.ShareMethodspluggedTealiumintoitsexistingGoogleAnalyticssolutionandbeganmeasuringpressandblogactivitysurroundingthelaunchofitsnewestproduct,ShareSpaces,anon-demandcollaborativedocumentman-agementservicethatcombinessocialnetworkingcapabilities. Results:Followingtheproductannouncement,ShareMethods’sPRagencygeneratedcoverageinanumberofonlineandprintpublications,includingDestination CRM, KMWorld and CMS Wire, aswellassomesocialmediaout-lets.Almostimmediately,ShareMethodscouldseethetrafficfromthesesourcesstarttorisesignificantly.Inthefour-weekperiodfollowingthepubliclaunch:
• 22percentofvisitstothecompany’swebsitecamefromPRandsocialmediatraffic(asmuchas10timeshigherthanothersitesusingTealium)
• 23percentofpageviewsonthesiteweregeneratedbythePRandsocialmediasegment
• 57percentofthecompany’sPRandsocialmediatrafficcamefromtradi-tionalnewsoutlets;34percentcamefromblogs.Theremaindercamefromvideosandothersources.
Thenumberssurroundingleadgeneration,however,werenotascompelling.ShareMethods’PRactivitygeneratedonlyamodestnumberofWebleads(forexample:aprospectcompletinganonlineformforafreedemoortrial).ShareMethodsCOO,PaulSoukup,reviewedtheTealiumcampaignanddecidedthatadjustmentsneededtobemade.
SoukupaskedhisPRteam,“CanwemakeadjustmentstoourPRstrategytoimproveourleadflow?”Together,theydecidedthatShareMethodsshouldtry
5 Disclaimer: The author of this report works with Tealium to provide social media marketing services to clients, and is familiar with the company’s technology
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moreindustry-specificnewsandblogoutlets,includingonescoveringhigh-tech,networking,telecommunications,andhealthcare.Soukupiseagertoseethedifferenceinbottom-lineresultsgoingforward.
Business Lessons Learned• MeasuringPRandsocialmediaintermsoftrafficandleads(and
sales)ispossible.• MakesureyouhaveaPRmeasurementsolutionandstrategyinplace
beforeembarkingonamajorinitiative,suchasaproductlaunch.• ExamineWebtrafficdataandtrytolookatbottom-lineresults,if
possible.
“Forthefirsttimewereabletoseewhattypeofreturnwewereget-tingforourPRinvestment.Itwasincrediblyusefulindeterminingournextsteps.”—Paul Soukup, COO, ShareMethods
ShareMethods plugged Tealium into its existing Google Analytics solution and began measuring press and blog activity surrounding the launch of its newest product, ShareSpaces.
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SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING Usesocialmediaintelligencetoimprovemarketingandcustomerservice.
AAA
WithanincreasingnumberofmembersstartingtotalkaboutAAAinsocialmedia,thecompanydecideditneededtostartlisteningandengaging.
Company:BasedinHeathrow,Fla.,andfoundedin1902,theAmericanAutomobileAssociation(AAA)isanot-for-profitinsurancecompanyknownprimarilyforprovidingemergencyroadsideservice,mapsandtravelservices.Ithasmorethan50millionmembers.
Challenge:AAAnoticedthatanincreasingnumberofmemberswerevoicingissuesandcomplaintswithinsocialmediainsteadofcallingtheirlocalAAAoffice.Withmorethan50millionmembers,AAAneedstokeepontopoftheseconversations,notonlytoberesponsiveaspossibletocustomers,butalsotomakesureissuesdonotsnowballintoaPRcrisis.AAAwaschallengedtobettermonitorandrespondtocustomerissuesbeingairedonthesocialWeb. Solution:AAAalreadyhadbeenusingasocialmediamonitoringsolution,butthecompanyneededamorerobustenterprisesolutionthatcouldmonitorabroaderrangeofsocialmediaoutletsandalsoprovideCRMcapabilities.AtaconferencefortheSocietyofNewCommunicationsResearch(SNCR),JanieGraziani,AAA’ssocialmediamanager,discoveredRadian6.ThesolutionfitexactlywhatAAAneeded.Withinashorttime,thecompanybeganmonitoringanaverageofabout8,500AAAmentionspermonthinsocialmedia.
Becauseofherexpertise,Grazianibecamethefocalpointforthecompany’scustomerserviceoutreachonthesocialWeb.WorkingthroughGrazianiandus-ingRadian6,thecompanybeganrespondingtoeverythingfromroadsideassis-tancequeriestowebsitelinksthatdidn’twork.Inoneinstance,Grazianihelpedprovidesupporttoawomanwhosecollege-agesonwasstuckinhiscaralongthefreewayinanotherstate.BecausehiscarhadbrokendowninanareawhereAAAwasn’tallowedtotow,thesituationrequiredspecialattention.Grazianifirstnoticedtheprobleminachatforumfortheparentsofcollegestudents.
Grazianisetsupdailyalertsforcertainkeywords,suchas“AAA,”andinstantalertsforothers,suchasanymentionofthecompany’spresidentandCEO,RobertL.Darbelnet,whichmayrequireaPRresponse.Associalmediahitsthemainstream,moreandmoremotoristsarebeginningtoshoutoutonTwitterandothersocialmediachannelsforhelp.AAAiscertainlylistening.(Pleasenote:GrazianisaysthebestwaytogetimmediatehelpisstilltocalltheAAAhotline.) Results:AAAdoesn’thaveenoughdatatoquantifythespecificimpactofsocial
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mediamonitoring,butthecompanyhasincreasedtheimmediacywithwhichitrespondstocustomerissues.Ofthe8,500socialmediamentionsthecompanygeneratespermonth,AAArespondstobetween100and200ofthose,Grazianisays.Ifshecan’taddressthecomplaintorissueonherown,shewillfunnelittothecustomersupportteam.SocialmediamonitoringhasalsobeenaboontoAAA’spublicrelationsbecauseissuesthathavethepotentialtoflareuponblogsandinchatroomsareaddressedmorequickly.Thecompanyisalsousingsocialmediaforgeneralcustomercommunications,suchastweetingaboutthecompany’snewiPhoneapplication.
Thoughthecompanyhearsitsfairshareofcomplaints,mostofthecommentsarepositive.Graziani’sfavoritewasonethatappearedonTwitterrecently:“Don’tyouthinkAAAservicetechniciansshouldwearsuperherocostumes?”AlthoughGrazianiistechnicallyinpublicrelations,herroleinsocialmediameansshealsohasonefootincustomerservice—proofthatsocialmediacontinuestoblurthelinesbetweenpublicrelations,marketingandcustomerservice.
Business Lessons Learned• Considerincorporatingyourpublicrelationsstaffintoyourcustomer
serviceresponseprocesswhenitcomestosocialmedia.PRprosunderstandthemedium.
• Monitorothersocialmediachannels,suchaschatforums,soyoucancatchimportantconversations.
“[Socialmediamonitoring]isdoingacoupleofthingsforus.Wearefindingoutwhatpeoplearesayingaboutus.Theotherthingitisdoingishelpingusquicklyrespondwhenthereareissueswithourproductsorservices.It’sdefinitelyhelpedimproveourresponsetimes.”—Janie Graziani, Manager, New Media & Technology, AAA Public Relations
Crocs
Withmillionsofshoessold,thepopularfootwearcompanyknewithadmanyfansoutthere.Buthowtoorganizethemintoacommunity?Firststep:Listen.
Company:BasedinLongmont,Colo.,Crocs(NASDAQ:CROX)designs,manu-facturesandmarketsfootwearformen,womenandchildrenundertheCrocsbrand.Thecompanysellsshoesinmorethan6,000storelocationsintheUnitedStatesandinmorethan40countries.
Janie Graziani sets up daily alerts for certain keywords, such as “AAA,” and instant alerts for others, such as any mention of the company’s president and CEO, Robert L. Darbelnet, which may require a PR response.
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Challenge: Startedin2002,Crocsgainedrapidsuccesssellingmillionsofitsbright,quirkysandalswithholesinthem.ItknewithadalargebaseofvocalfansoutthereontheInternetandinsocialmedia,andthecompanywantedtoreachthosefansandorganizethemintoacommunityofbrandambassadors.
Solution:GeorgeSmith,socialmediaspecialist,startedoutusingGoogleNewsalertsandotherfreetoolstomonitorsocialmediaconversations.Helearnedalotaboutreal-life crocodiles and alligators,anddiscoveredheneededamorepowerfulsolutiontopinpointconversationsaboutCrocsshoes.HebeganusingRadian6,apopularsocialmediamonitoringservicethatcutsthroughthechatter(asmanyas250conversationsperdayonTwitter,discussionboardsandblogs)topinpointimportantconversations.Smithbeganmonitoringseveralkeywords,“crocsshoes”beingoneofthemostimportant.Soonhebeganengag-ingindifferenttypesofconversations,mostlyinTwitterbecauseit’sinrealtime.
Smithfocusesonseveralobjectives:
• Customer service:Smithhelpscustomerswithproduct-relatedproblems.Forexample,hepointsthemtotherightWebpagetogetabrokenstrapreplaced.Oftenhe’lljustletcustomersknowhe’sthere—andthathecares.Whensomeonetweetedaboutbeingonacustomersupportlinefor10minutes,heletthecustomerknowtherewasanunusuallyhighamountoftrafficandtopleasebepatient.Justtheacknowledgementthatthecom-panyunderstandsthesituationandisworkingdiligentlytogettotheircallcandowonders,Smithsays.
• Creating brand advocates:Crocsshoesdefinitelyhaveauniquelook.WhenpeoplecommentthatCrocsare“theugliestshoesalive,”Smithwillseeifhecanturnthemaround.Forexample,whensomeonementioned:“Ionlywearflip-flops,IwouldneverwearCrocs,”Smithchimedinwith:“DidyouknowCrocsalsomakesafulllineofsandals?”ThepersonwasimpressedthatsomeonefromCrocswasoutthereandwillingtotalkwiththem.“Wegetalotofconvertsthatway,”Smithsays.
• Product assistance:SmithoftenhelpscustomersfindCrocseitherbysend-ingthemalinktothecompany’sonlinestorelocator,ordirectingthemtoonlineretailpartners,suchasPiperlime.comandAmazonwhenCrocs.comisoutofstockonaspecificproduct.
Results:Smithhasdefinitelynoticedanupticknotjustinthenumberofsocialmediaconversationsbutalsointhequalityofconversations.Peopleareincreas-
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inglyusingtheverbiageandmessagingthatCrocsputsoutthroughblogs,Facebook,Twitterandotherchannels.Sincethebeginningoftheyear,Smithhasdoubledthenumberofconversationshehaseachdayfrom15to30.Althoughitisdifficulttocorrelateincreasedengagementwithsales,CrocsQ1onlinesalesdidincreasealongwithSmith’ssocialmediamonitoringinitiative.Downtheroad,thecompanyisplanningtousethesocialmediaintelligenceitgathersforotheruses,suchasproductdevelopmentorpinpointinglocationswhereCrocsaren’tsold,butshouldbe.
Business Lessons Learned• Ifyou’reseriousaboutsocialmediamonitoring,upgradetoan
enterprise-classpaidservicethatcanfilterimportantconversations.• Takeitslow.Sometimeslettingcustomersknowyouarethere—and
thatyoucare—isthebestthingyoucando.• Lookforactionableconversationsinwhichyoucanmakeadifference
oreventurnaroundanegativeopinion.
“Peoplehavetounderstand[socialmedia]isnotamagicbullet,andlotsofcompaniesarelookingforthat.Withmarketingbudgetsgoingdown,peoplesay,‘Wearegoingtodoitinsocialmediabe-causeit’scheapandeasy.’Itdoesn’tworklikethat.It’salong-termstrategy.”—George Smith, Social Media Specialist, Crocs
SAP
Theenterprisesoftwaregiantusessocialmediamonitoringtobetterunderstandwhatpeoplearesayingaboutitscompany,productsandservices,whilealsoengaginginfluentialbloggers. Company:BasedinWalldorf,Germany,SAP(NYSE:SAP)anditssubsidiariesdevelop,marketandsellenterpriseapplicationsoftwareproductsforcorpora-tions,governmentagenciesandeducationalinstitutions.Thecompanyemploysnearly50,000peopleworldwide.
Challenge:Since2006,SAPhasrunarobustbloggerrelationsprogram,oftentreatinginfluentialbloggersastheywouldtreatmembersofthemoretraditionalmedia.However,withthecontinuedproliferationofblogsandtheexplosionofsocialmediainthelastyear,SAPfounditincreasinglydifficulttokeeptabsonthenumberofblogpostsandothersocialmediaconversationsaboutSAP.
George Smith, social media specialist, started out using Google News alerts and other free tools to monitor social media conversations. He learned a lot about crocodiles and alligators, and he discovered he needed something that could pinpoint conversations about Crocs shoes.
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MichaelProsceno,vicepresidentofsocialmediaforSAPinNorthAmerica,ini-tiallyattemptedtokeeptrackoftheseconversationsmanuallyusingRSSfeedsandcreatingalertsonvarioussearchengines.HequicklyrealizedheneededamorerobustsolutiontolistentovoiceswithintheB2Bmarketplace.
Solution:Throughamutualfriend,ProscenowasintroducedtoMukundMohan,CEO of BuzzGain.BuzzGainprovidessocialmediamonitoringservicesthathelptargetimportantconversationsacrossawidearrayofsocialmediaoutlets.Proscenonowusesthesolutionto:
• Uncovernewinfluentialvoicesinthemarketplace,particularlybloggers. ProscenospendsmuchofhisdaylisteningandmonitoringconversationsthatrelatetoSAPandthemorethan26industriesitservices.Inassessingwhethertodeveloparelationshipwithablogger,helooksatthatblogger’sposts,blogrollandjob.Isbloggingahobbyoristhebloggerconnectedtotheindustryinsomeway?Oncethatrelationshipisestablished,Proscenowillserveasanongoingresource,whetherit’sprovidinginsightonaparticulartopicorpointingthebloggertoadditionalresourcesbothonlineandwithinthecompany.
• Notify company departments of important social media conversations.Proscenoprideshimselfon“turningintelligenceintoaction.”Eachdayhesendsout12to18communicationsnotifyingdifferentdepartments—fromproductdevelopmenttomarketingorcustomersupport—aboutimportantconversionsthatmaymeritalistenoranonlineresponse.Sometimes,hewillaggregatevariousconversationsintoahigh-levelsynopsisoremailalink.Forexample,whenTomRafteryofGreenMonk,anenvironmentalsustainabilityblogfortheITindustry,postedavideointerviewofSAPexecu-tiveTomMcClellanddiscussinghowsoftwareishelpingtochangetheutilityindustry,Proscenoimmediatelysenttheinterviewtothecompany’sutilitiesandenergydivisionandotherkeyexecutives.Ifthereareimportantconver-sationsoccurringaroundthesoftware-as-aservicemarket,hewillsendthattoofficialswhooverseeSAP’sproductdevelopmenteffortsinthatarena.
Results:Twoyearsago,Proscenohadactiverelationshipswithabout20blog-gers.Today,heinteractswithmorethan200punditsandbloggersregularly,mostlyinNorthAmerica.HecitesAmeedTaylor,CEOofApplation,andVinnieMirchandaniatDealArchitectastwoinfluentialbloggersheuncoveredthroughsocialmediamonitoringtechniques.Henowhasfruitfulrelationshipswiththem.“[Blogging]isnottheirdayjob,buttheyarepassionate,”Proscenosaid.SAPreliesonProscenoforinsightintohowcustomers,partnersandpundits
Michael Prosceno prides himself on “turning intelligence into action.” Each day he sends 12 to 18 communications notifying different departments—from product development to marketing or customer support—about important conversations that may merit a listen or an online response.
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onthesocialWebregardthecompany’sproducts,servicesandkeyinitiatives.Increasingly,thisintelligenceisevenbeingusedtoinformproductdecisions.
Business Lessons Learned• Commitasingleresourcetoberesponsibleforsocialmedia
monitoring.• Usesocialmediatouncoverhidden,influentialvoices,including
thoseofbloggers.• Endeavortomaketheintelligenceactionable—whetherinternalizing
productfeedbackorbuildingnewrelationships.
“Welistentothemarkettounderstandwhatisgoingon.WehavealotofbrightmindshereatSAP,butIwouldn’tsaywehavethemarketcorneredongoodideas.Whenyouopenupandlisten,youtendtolearnalotmore.”—Michael Prosceno, Vice President of Social Media Relations, SAP
Microsoft
TohelpbuildmomentumforitsupcomingWindows7launch,Microsoft’sWindowsBusinessGroupdidn’twaitforITprostocometoit.Thegroupwentout,foundthemandengaged.
Company:Microsoft Corp.(NASDAQ:MSFT)providessoftwareproductsforcomputingdevicesworldwide.
Challenge:WiththeanemiclaunchofWindowsVistainearly2007andasub-stantialportionofthemarketstillontheagingWindowsXPsystem,Microsoftwantstomakesuretheupcomingreleaseofitsnewestoperatingsystem(OS),Windows7,goesassmoothlyaspossible.RapidadoptionofthenewOS,especiallyamongdesktopITpros,iscriticalforthesoftwaregiant.
Togainthisearlymomentum,MicrosoftdecidedtotargetthoseITproswhomaystillbeonthefenceaboutthenewtechnology(dueoutinOctober2009forconsumers).ReachingthatkeygroupwasthechallengefacingStephenRose,seniorcommunitymanagerforWindowsClientITPro,partoftheWindowsBusinessGroup.
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SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING
Solution:Insteadofmerelybuildinganimpressivewebsitewithrelevantcontentandwaitingforvisitorstocome,theWindowsgroupfelttheyneededamoreproactiveapproach.Theydecidedtheyneededareal-time,enterprise-classmonitoringtoolanddiscoveredVisibleTechnologies.
Next,Rosesetupasmallteamofevangeliststoscourthesocialuniverse—onTwitter,onblogs,inchatforums,etc.—toidentifykeywordsindicatingthatpeopleweretalkingaboutthemeritsofWindows7.Overall,theymonitoredabout40keywordsandphrases,including:“Windows7releasecandidate,”“WindowsVista,”“WindowsXP,”“Windowsmigration,”and“WindowsXPversusWindows7.”
Oncetheyfoundrelevantconversations,groupmemberswouldactivelyengagethoseITpros,answeringquestionsandprovidinglinkstowebsitesthecompanysetup,includingwww.microsoft.com/springboard,aTechNetcommunitypackedwithtechnicalresourcesforITprosaboutallofMicrosoft’soperatingsystems,includingtheupcomingWindows7;andwww.talkingaboutwindows.com,asofter,high-touchmicrositefeaturingvideos,blogpostsandinterviewswithseniorMicrosoftdevelopers.
Thecompanyalsosetupamulti-languageTwitterfeed(@MSspringboard)tofurtherengageITprofessionalsaboutWindows7.TheTwitteraccount,whichisco-hostedbyRose,poststweetsinEnglish,FrenchandSpanish.
Results:Afterjustafewmonths,Rose’steamisaveragingbetween1,000and1,200engagementsperweek,upfromabout40to60perweekwhenRosewasdoingitalone.RosecannotgiveanyspecificWebtrafficinformation,buthedoessayactivityonthewebsiteshasincreased.
Rosecantellthecompany’ssocialmediaapproachtogainearlymomentumforWindows7isworkingduetocommentspeopleareleavingindifferentforumsandontalkingaboutwindows.comthatspecificallyreferencethesocialmediaengagements.Also,justweeksafterlaunching,the@MSspringboardTwitterfeedalreadyhasmorethan3,000followers.RosesaysthecompanyhasusedsomeoftheTwitterfeedbacktohelpguidecontentcreation.
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SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING
Business Lessons Learned• Usesocialmediamonitoringandengagementaheadofproduct
launchtogeneratesupportandmomentum.• Makecontentabigpartofyourengagementstrategy,steeringpeople
torelevantlinksandinformation.• Providededicatedresourcestoengageyourpotentialcustomers.It’s
toomuchworkforoneperson.
“WearenotlookingtosellWindows7.Wearelookingforpeopletounderstandwhywearemakingthedecisionswearemaking,whywearemigratingfromWindowsVistatoWindows7.”—Stephen Rose, Sr. Community Manager for Windows Client IT Pro
Stephen Rose of Microsoft set up a small team of evangelists to scour the social universe—on Twitter, on blogs, in chat forums, etc.—to identify keywords indicating that people were talking about the merits of Windows 7.
31SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
READY TO GET STARTED?
Answering the questions in this section is the first step toward designing your own social media measurement and monitoring processes.
You’veseenthedifferentwaysbusinessesaremeasuringtheirsocialmediaandPRinitiatives,aswellasapplyingsocialmediamonitoringtofurthertheirmarketingobjectives.Now,askyourselfthesequestionsbeforelaunchingyourmeasurementandmonitoringinitiatives.
Social Media & PR Measurement
• What are your social media and PR objectives?Considerwhetheryouaretryingtodrivebrandingandawareness,likeNissan’shypercubecampaign,ortogeneratee-commercerevenuelikeDellOutletdoes?ForPR,doyousimplywanttogaugeaudienceimpressions,likeOfficeMax,orwouldyouliketoquantifytrafficandleadgeneration,likeShareMethods?Understandingtheanswerstothosequestionswillhelpyoufigureoutwhatyouneedtomeasure.Ifyouareexpendingresourcesonso-cialmedia—whetherit’swritingablog,staffingaTwitterfeedormanagingaFacebookaccount—youshouldbequantifyingtheresultsofyourinitiatives.
• What tools will you use? Onceyouhaveyourobjectivesandcampaignssortedout,youneedtofigureoutwhattoolsyouwilluse.WillWebanalyticstoolsbesufficienttocapturethemeasurementsyouneed,ordoyouneedtoaugmentwithotherservices?Inalmosteverymeasurementcasestudyinthisreport,companiesusedavarietyoftoolsandservices,fromWebanalyticsandURLtrackerstosocialmediamonitoring.ForPRmeasurement,companiesalsoreliedonamixoftools,includingcustomperformancemetrics,totrackoutput.Mostimportant,decideonyourmeasurementgoalsandprocessesbeforestartingyourcampaign.Thentrytosetbenchmarksforgaugingincrementalincreasesintraffic,mentionsandimpressions.
• What will you do with the data? Onceyouhavethedata,whatwillyoudowithit?Ifyoucanuseittoquantifyyoursuccess,great.Ifyoucanuseittomakeadjustmentsandoptimizecurrentorfuturecampaigns,evenbetter!Remember,dataisreallyonlygoodifit’sactionable.Don’tbeafraidtoleanonyourin-houseWebanalyticsteamforhelpinprocessing,reportingandunderstandingyourPRandsocialmediadatapoints.Ifyoudon’thaveaninternalteam,consideroutsideconsultants.
32SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
READY TO GET STARTED?
Social Media Monitoring
• What are your objectives? JustlikewithsocialmediaandPRmeasurement,youneedtodecidewhatyoursocialmediamonitoringobjectivesare.Areyoulookingtoimprovecus-tomerservice,toprospectforclients,ortomanageyourbrandreputation?Also,whoisyourtarget,andwheredotheyhangoutonthesocialWeb?
• What do you want to monitor? Decidewhichkeywordsandphrasesyouneedtomonitortohelpyoumeetyourobjectives.Yourcompanynameandproductnamesaregoodplacestostart.Somebusinesses,suchasAAA,setupinstantalertstotrackanymen-tionoftheirCEOs.Youmayalsowanttomonitorcompetitors,ormentionsofwhatyoudo—likeemailmarketingbestpractices,revenuecollectionmanagementandsocialmediamonitoring.
• What tools are you going to use? Weighyouroptions.Willfreetoolsandnewsalertsdothejob,ordoyouneedamorecomprehensivepaidsolution?Canyouusealower-endsolution,ordoyouneedanenterprise-classtool?Alsoconsiderreal-timereportingandCRMcapabilities.Youranswerswilldependonyourneedsandbudget.
• Who is going to do it? Yourmarketingmanager?YourPRteam?Anoutsideconsultant?Manycompanies,suchasCrocs,SAPandAAA,haveonefocalpersondedicatedtolistening.They,inturn,filterfeedbacktootherdepartmentsandgroups,suchascustomerserviceorproductmanagement.Othercompanies,likeMicrosoft,setupteamsofpeopletomonitorandengage.Whateveryoudo,assignonepersontoberesponsibleforyourmonitoringefforts,eveniftheyalsouseadditionalresources.
33SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Inthisreportwe’vedetailed11meaningfulcasestudies,mostlybigbrandsthatarecommittedtoshowingresultsfromtheirsocialmediainitiatives.We’veprovidedexclusivepolldata,listedmeasurementandmonitoringtoolsyoucanuse,anddescribedtipsforgettingstarted.Nowit’syourturn.
Areyoutacklingsocialmediameasurementandmonitoringinaninnova-tiveway,withtangibleresults?Wewanttohearaboutit!PleaseemailusatCaseStudies@MarketingProfs.com.Youringenuitycouldmakeitintooneofournewslettersorournextspecialreport.
YoucanalsoconnectwithusatTwitter:
Ann Handley twitter.com/marketingprofsHeadofcontentatMarketingProfs,editor,socialmedia,marketing,greatfood,goodwine,writer.
Shelley Ryan twitter.com/shelleyryanDenmotherforMarketingProfs,Webseminardiva,copywritingwhiz,lazyblogger,foisgrasfoodieonabaconbudget.Amateurdesigner,too.
Allen Weiss twitter.com/allenweissCEO/FounderofMarketingProfs,marketingexpertise,entrepreneur,professor,meditationteacher.
MarketingProfs Wiretwitter.com/mprofswireThePremiummembershipgangatMarketingProfs,updatingfollow-ersonspecialcontent,newsandoffers.
NOW WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
34SOCIAL MEDIA ROI SUCCESS STORIES©2009 MARKETINGPROFS LLC • ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ABOUT THE AUTHORErik BrattisaregularcontributortoMarketingProfs.HeisaformernewspaperjournalistturnedPRandmarketingprofessionalwithmorethanadecadeofexperienceintheonline marketingindustry.HepreviouslyworkedinmarketingforMicrosoft,andbeforethatinPRandcommunicationsatWebSideStory(nowOmniture),theleaderinonlinebusinessoptimizationsoftware.Fornearly10years,hewasareporteratThe San Diego Union-Tribune.Brattisnowpresident of Engage Social Media,whichprovidesresults-orientedPRandsocialmediaconsultingservicesforbothconsumerandB2Bcompanies.Follow him on Twitter.
ABOUT MARKETINGPROFSMarketingProfsisarichandtrustedresourcethatoffersactionableknow-howonmarketingapplicationsofFacebook,Twitter,andothersocial-mediatoolsalongwithcoverageof traditionalmarketingtopicslikeleadgenerationandemailmarketing.TheMarketingProfsteamiscommittedtohelpingyoumarketproductsandservicessmarter.Entrepreneurs,small-businessownersandmarketersintheworld’slargestcorporationsmakeupour320,000 members.Ourlibraryofonlineseminars,ourconferences,thediscussionforum,specialreportsandmorethan3,000articlesdeliverthetools,templates,andtacticsyouneedtoquicklyturneventhetoughestmarketingchallengeintoyourownmarketingsuccessstory.