Sorry...I'm taking a deep breath....trying very hard not to rant. As Gary Vee says: "Don't be a hater"
But....ok start by taking a look at the following graph. More truly great insight from eMarketer (never shoot the messenger)
So let's start with the first point. Frankly we solve that one and almost every other argument here goes away.
"We Don't know where to begin"
You begin with a Corporate Blogging Strategy. So simple, the first step and the highest value social media online marketing strategy is to begin telling your stories with a human voice. Who are you? Why are you doing this? Who are your customers and why do they buy from you? What problems do you solve?
Look at Gartner's newest technology wave report. Corporate Blogging is growing in adoption faster than any other technology in marketing. It is the hub of every other social media strategy. Why? Well that brings us to problem number two:
"There is no established way to measure the effectiveness of Social Media"
You measure the effectiveness of Social Media just like any other online marketing effort. Effective blog marketing measurement starts with Traffic and for the most part this means search marketing. The vast majority of blog traffic comes from first time visitors and most of that comes from searchers.
This by the way is fantastic. Searchers are people with problems. You are in the business of solving those problems....so by telling your stories and the stories of your customers, you win more search and begin more relationships. This starts with search traffic which is easily measured and easy to calculate the ROI. Compare your blog traffic to what it would cost on PPC and you have an instant ROI to show the boss.
Next, traffic isn't enough. Is that traffic happy? That is calculated by looking at your bounce rates. High bounce rates tell you point blank that you are not making your visitors happy. Read times help too.
I can't tell you how many discussions I've had with "thought leader" purists that have 89% bounce rates when I can show other blogs that may appear "too commercial" with 30% bounce rates. Which one is making the visitor happier? It's not up to you it's the data that tell the truth (ok.....breath....starting to sound like a rant....)
The final measurement is the same one you use for every other marketing effort you engage in. Conversion. So many people in Social Media get wrapped up in Conversation that they forget about Conversion. Now granted, some people like to talk. However, most of us online are either here to solve a problem for someone or to have a problem solved. Only conversion rates can tell you if you are being successful.
Summary: Traffic, Bounce Rates, Conversion...that's how you measure Social Media ROI
As for the rest: Funding, Time, Legal.....amazing how they all melt away as objections once you start driving more business.
But....ok start by taking a look at the following graph. More truly great insight from eMarketer (never shoot the messenger)
So let's start with the first point. Frankly we solve that one and almost every other argument here goes away.
"We Don't know where to begin"
You begin with a Corporate Blogging Strategy. So simple, the first step and the highest value social media online marketing strategy is to begin telling your stories with a human voice. Who are you? Why are you doing this? Who are your customers and why do they buy from you? What problems do you solve?
Look at Gartner's newest technology wave report. Corporate Blogging is growing in adoption faster than any other technology in marketing. It is the hub of every other social media strategy. Why? Well that brings us to problem number two:
"There is no established way to measure the effectiveness of Social Media"
You measure the effectiveness of Social Media just like any other online marketing effort. Effective blog marketing measurement starts with Traffic and for the most part this means search marketing. The vast majority of blog traffic comes from first time visitors and most of that comes from searchers.
This by the way is fantastic. Searchers are people with problems. You are in the business of solving those problems....so by telling your stories and the stories of your customers, you win more search and begin more relationships. This starts with search traffic which is easily measured and easy to calculate the ROI. Compare your blog traffic to what it would cost on PPC and you have an instant ROI to show the boss.
Next, traffic isn't enough. Is that traffic happy? That is calculated by looking at your bounce rates. High bounce rates tell you point blank that you are not making your visitors happy. Read times help too.
I can't tell you how many discussions I've had with "thought leader" purists that have 89% bounce rates when I can show other blogs that may appear "too commercial" with 30% bounce rates. Which one is making the visitor happier? It's not up to you it's the data that tell the truth (ok.....breath....starting to sound like a rant....)
The final measurement is the same one you use for every other marketing effort you engage in. Conversion. So many people in Social Media get wrapped up in Conversation that they forget about Conversion. Now granted, some people like to talk. However, most of us online are either here to solve a problem for someone or to have a problem solved. Only conversion rates can tell you if you are being successful.
Summary: Traffic, Bounce Rates, Conversion...that's how you measure Social Media ROI
As for the rest: Funding, Time, Legal.....amazing how they all melt away as objections once you start driving more business.
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