Leo Burnett - Cultural Fuel

The buzz surrounding Social Media is deafening in marketing today and every marketer is under pressure to deliver smart, powerful campaigns that utilize Social in relevant and effective ways.

However, a lack of benchmarks, combined with a massive amount of data possible to capture has made the actual choice of what to measure no easier for most Brands.  Some experts offer suggestions in the form of lists of possible individual metrics, but I’m not sure this is as helpful as it could be for the people struggling to decide how to invest. What marketers need are strategies that help them craft objectives that can be measured in ways that make sense to the marketing organization.

Garrett Ira (guest blogging here on Kylelacy.com) has collected some great examples of key metrics to track, but the real secret is how to set up objectives for your campaigns (and I do mean campaigns, not just social actions) that include social objectives which can then be measured by actions that the user takes, like clicks, likes, shares, check-ins and tweets.

Some campaigns are about getting the word out about a product, service, activity or cause, so those should have key metrics around both impressions/reach of the campaign message, as well as the viral aspect of how much the message was shared onward from the initial share.  These metrics feel a lot like media numbers, and can be better understood by stakeholders if they are presented as purely that - “Here’s your awareness.”

Some campaigns or actions, however, are aimed at involving the consumer in something - getting them to participate in meaningful ways - and these actions should be measured using brand and impact studies, since you want to know if the people have changed their relationship to the brand in some way, due to the interaction.  Tracking the interactions themselves without examining the underlying impact to building meaningful connections is a quick way to confuse senior management - “Are that many downloads a good thing?”

Lastly, if the campaign is about sales, then don’t be shy - use a panel and find out what your campaign in social did to impact their purchase behavior.  Using proxies for purchase intent is always tempting here, but keep in mind that there really is a difference between a purchase and signing up for coupons/email (or asking for more information).  Be firm and decisive here, and if only a panel will deliver it, then get a panel together - “What means a ‘win’ for me in terms of sales?”

Naturally, some situations and organizations will pressure people to avoid picking a focus (we all want it all, right?), but asking the team to consider “What are we REALLY doing with our consumers?” can help to guide the right choice of metrics for social, and ensure that the team aligns behind a cogent, clear goal.

Photo: D Sharon Pruitt

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A futuristic view of what media surfaces could become - especially if we decide to make them friendly and less like shouting.

I particularly like the idea that we will be asking for some information consistently across all the surfaces that we have resident in the course of our daily lives.

Media surfaces: Incidental Media from Dentsu London on Vimeo.

Via ZDNet

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David Armano has a post over at Logic+Emotion that deftly lays out the basic flow (along with a graphic of it) for companies to follow when monitoring and engaging in Social Media.

It’s great content, and his points about the difference between knowing the plan and living the plan are wonderful advice for companies entering the space, or looking at revising their processes and policies.  There are definite processes for companies to follow to respond correctly to online comments, and his framework of Listen, Assess, Engage, Repeat is a good example of how to set this up.

Two things I would highlight or expand on in his flow, however, are the occasions when there are no scenarios in place, as well as how to proceed when the organization has a fantastic response that can really turn the corner with a consumer, versus when there is ‘no hope’ of a satisfactory outcome. Now I know I’m being expressly picky here - there’s no generic flow in the world that works for absolutely every brand or platform - his model is really good.

In the first instance, there will always be situations that no planning brought forth, and the Community Management team needs to know what to do then, and who to make the call. (You could argue that his Assess boxes are about these processes)  The issue here is that you need a clear hierarchy that can be effective and decisive, but lean and responsive as well.  Addressing this issue requires 3 things from the team - deep expertise in both the brand and the community itself, a spirit of collaboration that encourages people to ask for input to make sure the response is the best it can be, and a really smart toolset that makes communication and collaboration super-easy for the team. Once people trust that they are only a click away from the right expertise to make a decision, they will use it - because it breeds success. I’d like to see more teams make these three elements a formal part of their process flows, because I think it recognizes the importance of their role in the process.

In the second case of being able to hit a ‘home run’, there are times when the Community Manager needs to have the flexibility to make a call about a post - and respond with confidence *in the community* to help other members know that there is a real solution, even in cases of ‘acidic’ complaints.  There is a flow for this in Armano’s chart.  But sometimes there is no solution possible, no momentum behind the complaint, and possibly no validity to it as well.  This scenario could happen even with complaints, as well as other issues, as he shows.In those cases, the best response is sometimes no response.  The consumer has vented, and if there’s nothing that the company can or will do about the issue, then there is nothing more to be done or said without adding fuel to the fire.  In these cases, I would add an element that examines momentum, to allow the team to ascertain if a baseless claim has no momentum that it should be ignored, but if it gains momentum, that the level of alert and attention needs to increase.

Do you agree?  Are there times when there is no possible response to a rant?

Via Logic+Emotion

Photo credit: Lara604 / http://www.laraschneider.com/

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Head on over to the TechCheck download page to check out the latest in technology and digital marketing or download it right here.

TechCheck is a quarterly publication from Leo Burnett/Arc Worldwide that highlights emerging technology and digital services that can enable engagement, conversation or transaction.

Enjoy!

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Check out operation beautiful where Caitlin talks about encouraging positive body image in women through ending what she calls Fat Talk.

Inspiring, and it gives me a lot of ideas for how marketers could be helping women spread the positive word.

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If you haven’t seen it, ask your friend with an iPhone.

It blurs the lines between advertising and mobile applications. It is a game that uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to slide a pint by various obstacles down a bar and into a patron’s hands. Once you do this, your phone turns into an empty glass which fills with Carling beer, ready for you to drain it, virtually.

The application was created by Beattie McGuinness Bungay, who worked with the Swedish developers Illusion Labs. Incredibly viral (well - OK, it could be more viral if you could easily put it on ANY phone…), and a great bar game to boot.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/comment/claire-beale/claire-beale-on-advertising-872637.html

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