Social Study

:: By Michael E. Rubin, Social Marketing Manager

Renowned media measurement expert Katie Paine came to Cincinnati to speak at a PRSA luncheon, where I was privileged to liveblog and livetweet the event. I was positively thrilled to hear her speak so passionately and forcefully about Social Media ROI because it's a topic we are asked about repeatedly by clients and prospects. KD's message was simple and direct: YES YOU CAN measure social media.

Here are three things Katie said that stuck out in particular, along with my own reaction:

1. "ROI is an economic term, not necessarily an actionable measure of success."
This is all the more reason to agree on metrics of success ahead of time. If you wait to the end, you risk not really agreeing on what constitutes success -- behaviors or sales? 

2. "Research without insight is just trivia."
Exactly. There are any number of tools and services that will collect together posts and Tweets and call it "conversation." But without smart humans to sort thorugh the data and call out the actionable insights, you are just collecting an endless list of useless trivia.

3. "To change the conversation, improve your reputation.  How do you improve your reputation?  Listen first, then respond, and then STOP DOING STUPID THINGS."
Stupid may sound harsh, but the underlying point is entirely valid. If your brand's behavior or message is causing harm or negative conversation, stop doing it.

In summary...
This all may sound like common sense, but that's part of the point.  Measuring Social Media doesn't have to be difficult, and it's certainly not voodoo.  But it's also not a panacea.  Measurement is directly tied to goal-setting, and if you don't agree on these outcomes before you start a campaign or engagement, you won't know what success looks like. With time and resources at such an absolute premium, this is an important lesson that bears repeating (and re-telling) time and time again.

Thanks to Katie Paine for such a terrific presentation, and to Cincinnati PRSA for the generous hospitality.

Learn More
KD Paine's blog
Download Katie's presentation
Cincinnati PRSA
Live blog post
Live Tweet feed

Loading mentions Retweet

:: By Michael E. Rubin, Social Marketing Manager

Liveblogging the Cincinnati PRSA luncheon with KD Paine.  Refresh for updates.

1. Follow the live Tweet feed
2. Download KD's slides (PDF)
3. I have also posted a more coherent summary here.

Signs that it's the end of measurement as we know it:  

- P&G said it will pay for engagement, not eyeballs

- Sodexho cut $300k out of its recruitment budget using Twitter
- BMC Software measures communications effectiveness based on contribution to EPS (earnings per share)

- Human Society US generated $650,000 in new donations from Flickr

 - Red Cross measures effectiveness of Twitter via revenue, lives saved and property lost

- IBM receives more leads, sales and exposure from $500 podcast than it does from an ad

- 11 Moms turned around Wal-Mart’s image and delivered measurable increases in sales  

If we’re not delivering performance-based results, the money is going to go somewhere else.

Everything you know about measurement is obsolete.
- The definition of RESPONSIVENESS has changed
- The definition of TIMELY has changed
- The definition of REACH has changed
- The definition of SUCCESS has changed   

Old School Metrics
- AVEs
- Eyeballs
- HITS = How Idiots Track Success
- Couch Potatoes
- # of Twitter Followers (unless you’re a celebrity)
- # of Facebook Friends/Fans (unless they donate money)

Measurement timeline
MSM à Eyeball counting
Online à Hits
Social Media ßà Engagement 

Engagement Decision Tree
Find (Search) à Observe/Lurk à Participate à Engagement à Purchase/Act/Link/WOM  

5 Levels of Engagement
Level 1: Searchers (% Unique Visitors)
Level 2: Lurkers (% Repeat visitors > 3-5/month)
Level 3: Casuals (% comments, friends, followers)
Level 4: Actives (% repeat comments, retweets, participation in threads)
Level 5: Defenders (% advocating, recommending, defending the brand)

Defining ROI
ROI is an economic term, not necessarily an actionable measure of success.

3 Basic Goals for Social Media
1. Marketing/leads/sales/recruitment
2. Mission/safety/civic engagement
3. Relationship/reputation/positioning

Definitely recommend that you follow the live Tweet feed.  Lots of terrific comments from @mikeboehmer57, @dfriez, @nicolePRexec, @DoreenO, @kissellj, @laurenedoyle, @CincinnatiPRSA and plenty of others! 

More About Michael:
Twitter: @merubin
LinkedIn: Michael E. Rubin 

Loading mentions Retweet

:: By Michael E. Rubin, Social Marketing Manager

What a game, eh? Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for a well-deserved championship. Of course, all of us in Cincinnati hope that come next January, people everywhere will be saying "Who dey!" instead of "Who dat?"

Here is a recap of Empower MediaMarketing's Super Bowl-related posts:

A High-Definition, Highly Social, Super Bowl
http://blog.empowermm.com/2010/02/05/a-high-definition-highly-social-super-bowl

The Super Bowl's Social Paradox
http://empowermm.posterous.com/the-super-bowls-social-paradox

Pepsi Dropping Super Bowl TV Ads (with Pepsi's 1987 ad)
http://empowermm.posterous.com/pepsi-dropping-super-bowl-tv-ads

More About Michael:
Twitter: @merubin
LinkedIn: Michael E. Rubin 

Loading mentions Retweet

:: By Kevin Dugan, Social Marketing Director

When Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz announced his resignation, he tapped into Twitter and his creative writing skills.

His resignation, while compact in the format of a less-than 140 character Haiku , is notable in relation to social media. By resigning via Twitter, Schwartz galvanizes his title as the first Fortune 200 CEO to personally utilize social media to accomplish company goals.

The New York Times reports that “Mr. Schwartz has been fond of using the Internet as a soapbox. At Sun, he became the first chief executive of a major company to put up his own blog. Mr. Schwartz also pushed the Securities and Exchange Commission to put blogs on equal footing with press releases and filings when it comes to disclosing critical business matters to investors.”

Schwartz efforts fueled the Notice and Access movement. Hopefully his next opportunity will surface sooner than later based on the impact he's had on social media and its impact on investor relations. 

More About Kevin:
Twitter: @prblog
LinkedIn: Kevin Dugan

Loading mentions Retweet

:: By Michael E. Rubin, Social Marketing Manager

Last week, I had an opportunity to visit Shaw Floors in Dalton, Georgia (full disclosure: the company is a client).  While there, I met a wonderful host of people who are doing great work manufacturing some of the products that we encounter every day but don’t always give a second thought to: floors and carpets.

While I can’t go into detail about what we discussed, the overall topic was social media (of course). Whether we were talking about advocates or the nature of consumer conversation, I was continually reminded that this is a medium truly open to people from all walks of life.

We also talked about how some people might consider flooring could be a less than inspiring topic. This made me think of the power of story.  When you have a powerful story to tell, it can turn most any subject into an exciting topic just waiting to be discussed and passed along.

Think about it:

• Savings accounts could possibly be considered boring. With its S.T.A.R.T program, U.S. Bank is telling a compelling story: we make it easy for people to save money toward their goals (disclosure: U.S. Bank is a client).
• Before Starbucks transformed it into something glamorous, did anyone really think coffee was all that exciting (or worth $4 a cup)? The story Starbucks told was less about coffee and more about the coffeeshop lifestyle and culture.
• Driver safety is not boring, but it’s not exactly a topic most people feel worth the time to discuss.  Allstate built a site called Vehicle Vibes which uses videosharing and blogging to tell the story that driver safety is less about avoiding tickets and really about helping to create a safer community.

On the Brand Autopsy blog, John Moore posted a terrific exercise: how to “WOMify” a boring product. The case study was centered on gauze pads, and I encourage you to check it out.

Bottom Line:
Tell your brand’s story. You may think others will find it boring, but there are always new chapters to tell.

Special thanks to Steve, Todd and the rest of the Shaw Floors team for their wonderful hospitality.

More About Michael:
Twitter: @merubin
LinkedIn: Michael E. Rubin 

Loading mentions Retweet

:: By Deanna Behrens, Client Strategist

It is becoming increasingly popular for movie fanatics to get their daily dose about the entertainment industry online. Those who are fans are familiar with the following sites: IMDB.com, ComingSoon.net, Yahoo! Movies and many more. Each of these sites provide movie fans with important knowledge about coming attractions, information about actors or actresses and personalized movie reviews.

IMDB.com is the Wikipedia for movies. The site (which stands for Internet Movie Database) provides consumers with information on upcoming movie and DVD releases, TV and movie news, videos, and a community link to meet others who are interested in the same thing.

Personally, some of my favorite uses for the site are finding out whether or not a movie will be made into a sequel or what your favorite actor/actress is currently working on. For instance, say you're interested in finding out if there will another Jason Bourne movie. You can either do a search on Matt Damon or one of the Bourne movies, or you can look at movie news to find that if there is another Bourne movie coming up and whether or not it will be a prequel.

Bottom Line
Next time you have a movie/TV question, check out IMDB.com to help you answer your question.

Loading mentions Retweet

:: By Michael E. Rubin, Social Marketing Manager

Tesa Nicolanti is a blogger who writes the 2 Wired 2 Tired blog.  She recently wrote a wonderfully positive post about some new products we sent to her on behalf of our client, Meijer.  But that's not why I'm writing this.

Instead, I am writing this to point out the amazing photo Tesa posted at the end of the review. She shared the food items we sent her with her family, and the photo tells a story all on its own. There is such joy and happiness on their faces. To think that we helped make that possible simply by reaching out, making a connection, and serving a need is truly humbling. This is where working in Social Media feels like a privilege.

Thanks, Kora, and Logan (and Tesa and Dave)!  We're glad you enjoyed Meijer Gold.

Image credit: Tesa Nicolanti, 2wired2tired.com

More About Michael:
Twitter: @merubin
LinkedIn: Michael E. Rubin 

Loading mentions Retweet

:: By Taylor Wiegert, Social Marketing Associate

Canada’s Metro News has announced a partnership with Foursquare.  This makes it Foursquare’s first location-based editorial partnership.

The new integration will feature restaurant reviews, city tips, to-dos and articles that are relevant to city locations. Essentially, it’s a travel guide that brings location-relevant information to a user’s mobile device.

Metro is providing new badges, rewards that can be earned by completing certain tasks on Foursquare, and giving away an iPhone 3GS to promote the partnership.

The merging of traditional and new media to make each other better is a great way for traditional media to spread its content across multiple platforms and for new media to tap into established user bases and gain relevant content that it wouldn’t have otherwise. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship.

More about Taylor:
Twitter: @twiegert
LinkedIn: Taylor Wiegert

Loading mentions Retweet