BarnRaisers

Social Media Examiner in their 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report says the #1 question people ask is “How do I measure social media return on investment?”

Business measurements abound in social media to determine return on investment and they’re worth considering since only 18% of traditional advertising campaigns ever generate a positive ROI (source: Nielsen).

I asked friend and colleague, David Berkowitz, Senior Director of Emerging Media and Innovation at 360i and blogger at Inside the Marketer’s Studio if I could re-post his blog, “100 ways to measure social media.” This post contains enough measurements to prove to even the most discerning examiners, measurements for social media ROI are there.

David published this post 9 months ago but it’s just as relevant today, maybe even more, because:

• It’s the topic most people are interested in
• Social media interest and usaage continues to accelerate – see Google  Trends graph below
• Great blogs stand the test of time
• When first published, this blog inspired me to start blogging

In fact, with 100 measurements, maybe the question really isn’t  ”How do I measure social media return on investment?”  But is: “What is your business strategy to prove ROI by its most relevant measurements.”

Many thanks to David.  At the end, there’s a presentation of “100 ways…” you can download but there won’t be a test – not interested in grades, just results.

________________________________________________________________________________________

100 Ways to Measure Social Media

By David Berkowitz

If there’s anyone out there left who says you can’t measure social media, here are a hundred answers.

At most of the events I’ve been to lately, measurement continues to be a hot topic. The first question that comes up is, “What can I measure?” That’s where this cheat sheet can come in handy: a list of 100 thought-starters.

Some entries here can be interpreted several ways. Depending on how you define them, some of these metrics may seem redundant, while others may seem so broad that they can be broken out further. Many of these can be combined with each other to create new metrics that can then be tracked over time. It’s a start, though, so dive in and consider which ones may apply to programs you’re working on.

1.     Volume of consumer-created buzz for a brand based on number of posts

2.     Amount of buzz based on number of impressions

3.     Shift in buzz over time

4.     Buzz by time of day / daypart

5.     Seasonality of buzz

6.     Competitive buzz

7.     Buzz by category / topic

8.     Buzz by social channel (forums, social networks, blogs, Twitter, etc)

9.     Buzz by stage in purchase funnel (e.g., researching vs. completing transaction vs. post-purchase)

10.  Asset popularity (e.g., if several videos are available to embed, which is used more)

11.  Mainstream media mentions

12.  Fans

13.  Followers

14.  Friends

15.  Growth rate of fans, followers, and friends

16.  Rate of virality / pass-along

17.  Change in virality rates over time

18.  Second-degree reach (connections to fans, followers, and friends exposed – by people or impressions)

19.  Embeds / Installs

20.  Downloads

21.  Uploads

22.  User-initiated views (e.g., for videos)

23.  Ratio of embeds or favoriting to views

24.  Likes / favorites

25.  Comments

26.  Ratings

27.  Social bookmarks

28.  Subscriptions (RSS, podcasts, video series)

29.  Pageviews (for blogs, microsites, etc)

30.  Effective CPM based on spend per impressions received

31.  Change in search engine rankings for the site linked to through social media

32.  Change in search engine share of voice for all social sites promoting the brand

33.  Increase in searches due to social activity

34.  Percentage of buzz containing links

35.  Links ranked by influence of publishers

36.  Percentage of buzz containing multimedia (images, video, audio)

37.  Share of voice on social sites when running earned and paid media in same environment

38.  Influence of consumers reached

39.  Influence of publishers reached (e.g., blogs)

40.  Influence of brands participating in social channels

41.  Demographics of target audience engaged with social channels

42.  Demographics of audience reached through social media

43.  Social media habits/interests of target audience

44.  Geography of participating consumers

45.  Sentiment by volume of posts

46.  Sentiment by volume of impressions

47.  Shift in sentiment before, during, and after social marketing programs

48.  Languages spoken by participating consumers

49.  Time spent with distributed content

50.  Time spent on site through social media referrals

51.  Method of content discovery (search, pass-along, discovery engines, etc)

52.  Clicks

53.  Percentage of traffic generated from earned media

54.  View-throughs

55.  Number of interactions

56.  Interaction/engagement rate

57.  Frequency of social interactions per consumer

58.  Percentage of videos viewed

59.  Polls taken / votes received

60.  Brand association

61.  Purchase consideration

62.  Number of user-generated submissions received

63.  Exposures of virtual gifts

64.  Number of virtual gifts given

65.  Relative popularity of content

66.  Tags added

67.  Attributes of tags (e.g., how well they match the brand’s perception of itself)

68.  Registrations from third-party social logins (e.g., Facebook Connect, Twitter OAuth)

69.  Registrations by channel (e.g., Web, desktop application, mobile application, SMS, etc)

70.  Contest entries

71.  Number of chat room participants

72.  Wiki contributors

73.  Impact of offline marketing/events on social marketing programs or buzz

74.  User-generated content created that can be used by the marketer in other channels

75.  Customers assisted

76.  Savings per customer assisted through direct social media interactions compared to other channels (e.g., call centers, in-store)

77.  Savings generated by enabling customers to connect with each other

78.  Impact on first contact resolution (FCR) (hat tip to Forrester Research for that one)

79.  Customer satisfaction

80.  Volume of customer feedback generated

81.  Research & development time saved based on feedback from social media

82.  Suggestions implemented from social feedback

83.  Costs saved from not spending on traditional research

84.  Impact on online sales

85.  Impact on offline sales

86.  Discount redemption rate

87.  Impact on other offline behavior (e.g., TV tune-in)

88.  Leads generated

89.  Products sampled

90.  Visits to store locator pages

91.  Conversion change due to user ratings, reviews

92.  Rate of customer/visitor retention

93.  Impact on customer lifetime value

94.  Customer acquisition / retention costs through social media

95.  Change in market share

96.  Earned media’s impact on results from paid media

97.  Responses to socially posted events

98.  Attendance generated at in-person events

99.  Employees reached (for internal programs)

100.  Job applications received

There you go. I welcome other entries in the comments. It’s also just the start of the answer to the broader question: “How do I measure it?” Ultimately, you need to start with figuring out your business objectives and then apply these metrics accordingly.

The meaning of this well-known maxim is clear: Some extra planning time upfront avoids a lot of uplanned time undoing and redoing mistakes.

The application to the internet is especially relevant, because once something is out there, it stays there, even if you abandon it, and time commitments to social media are very real.

With many available resources, there’s never been a better time to take this counsel to heart.  Here’s the “Measure Twice, Cut Once” Guide to Social Media with the available tools for those looking to build.

• CONTENT REALLY IS KING:  This may sound like a cliche but, if you can’t start with a passion to tell your story (or your business’s or brand’s) and convince your audience (with the content you bring) you do it better than anyone else, think again about starting.
• LISTEN:  Identify the topics, key words and phrases you’re going to talk about.  Investigate who uses them and how.  Learn from your colleagues and competitors.  There are many available tools.  Starting at 30,000 feet, there’s Google Trends.  Then, be notified daily of news with Google Alerts on primary keywords.  If you want to go where people say the most, which is usually blogs and consumer reviews, some great blog search engines are: 1. Google Blogsearch, 2. Technorati, and 3. Alltop. From there, social networks searches at Twitter Search and Facebook Search are good resources.  In addition to social media, it’s also valuable to see how these keywords and phrases rank with the online tools available for Search Engine Optimization but we’ll save that topic for another blog. 
• CONNECT: Look for the conversations (quantity and quality).  Determine where you will find others who share your interests and values.  For example, we recently did some listening for a company that makes women’s over-the-counter contraceptives.  We found the phrase, “birth control,” to be a magnet on blogs for passionate discussions with women looking for information on choices and product options.  But, we found on Facebook, this same phrase revealed groups that were cheap dating services with questionable content.  Same keywords.  Where would you want to place your client’s business?.
• BUILD:  Create your social media presence.  My advice is to be grounded in a blog because it’s where most of your content comes from, most of your measurement are and benefits to your business are big.  Start with an  ”open source” blogging platforms; one with a great selection of templates, design and custom features.  My favorite is WordPress, which Google owes.  They also have many plug-ins, widgets and the functionality and updates are advanced.  Regardless of the platform, the benefits of blogging are:  97% of businesses that blog have higher search rankings; 55% drive more visitors to their web site and 44% report increased revenues due to their blog.  Connect your social networks to your blog.  Customize background for social networks wherever possible.  Twitter has a helpful feature called Twitter Themeleon.
• BUILD-IN MEASUREMENTS AND ANALYTICS:  Equip your blog/website with Google Analytics.  Equip your blogposts with Social Network widgets and plug-ins to allow for Sharing and Re-Tweeting.  Use Short Links for your blogposts to publish on social networks for outreach.  Add a social network sharing feature like Add This so other can share with their networks. The combination of these tools allows you to measure: 1) Who’s coming to your site, 2) where they’re coming from, 3) how long they’re staying, 4) what they doing while they’re there, 5) where they go after they leave and 6) how many share your information with their friends/networks.  That’s more information than store owners know from customers who walk through their doors. 
• RECOGNIZE OTHERS (MORE OFTEN THAN YOURSELF):  A paradox of social media is, by recognizing the work of your peers (and sometime competitors), you draw greater attention to yourself.   Comment on the blogs of others, Share and Re-Tweet their work with some brief words on why it’s valuable to you.  Put a Blogroll on your blog to show where you go.  This step is relatively easy to do but it is also easy to forget to do, regularly.  
• MAKE IMPROVEMENTS:  Learn and put the learning to use.  Examine what your readers want, what builds audience involvement and what drives further engagement.  For example, I have one blog on this page with over 90 comments.  Another with 0.  I thought they offered equal value in writing them but, obviously, readers told be different.  That doesn’t mean I won’t write about what is meaningful to me but I have to understand the balance of what readers want and why.

I know many people reading this blog may use many of these tools, if not all and more.  But I thought it was worth putting down because I didn’t know about them when I started.  People like Chris Brogan, Amber Nusland, Jason Falls, Mack Collier, Mike Volpe at Hubspot and Mike Stelzner at Social Media Examiner helped me “Measure Twice, Cut Once.”

Social media promotes a culture of sharing so a refresher is worthwhile, occasionally, to help guide others.  Can you think of others tools or advice worth considering that has helped you “Measure Twice, Cut Once?”

Social media/PR maven and friend, Sarah Evans, let me know Armani paid Kim Kardashian $25K for 1 Tweet.  It drove 40,000 people to the Armani website in less than 24 hours.  Is she worth it?  I had some questions considering:

1. The amount of money for so little work
2. Kim may have more curves than a ski slalom course but she doesn’t have a real talent
3. The rest of us who tweet, blog and use social media to try to provide something of value don’t make anywhere near $25K for our tweets

Michael Corleone said in The Godfather, “It’s not personal, Sonny; it’s strictly business.” Maybe it is worth it when you consider:

1. Kim has 4,202,855 Twitter followers
2. 40,000 visitors to a website in less than 24 hours is a big response; it’s a better response rate than most other media channels and definitely quicker
3. Armani paid 59 cents per 1,000 followers, a very attractive price by media standards
4. 90% of all purchase decisions begin online and 75% are looking for a personal recommendation
5. The connection between the brand and the personality is strong

As Kim’s case demonstrates, you see results almost instantly.  It’s quantifiable and accountable.  My guess is to Armani it is worth it and we’ll see more endorsement tweets from celebrities.

But maybe there is something we can do to also advance positive values.

Right now, there are millions of people just getting started with social media who aren’t Kim Kardashian.  They are trying to find their voice, start a business and establish a reputation.  Maybe they’ve just written their first blog, started attracting a Twitter following and established relationships with experts in their field and potential customers.

We can help, offer encouragement and tell our followers about people to watch.  I read blogs regularly.  Today, I read a great 1st blog post from Jonathan Kay, entitled  The 3 Most Common Mistakes When Growing an Idea into a Business.  He’s really good and I look forward to more blogposts from him.  You should read what he has to say.

Maybe you already do this but by giving a little recognition to one person per week who is starting out and doing interesting things, we help raise the human value of social media.  Since social media has been so good to Kim, I’ve reached out to @KimKardashian for her help too.

Do you think Kim Kardashian is worth $25K a tweet?

Before starting BarnRaisers, I worked at well-known advertising agencies.  I was fortunate to have worked on major brands, some at times of profound change, and with very talented people.  It was a lot fun for a lot of years.

A former client, Brian Perkins, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at J&J, said at Cannes this year, ”holding companies for ad agencies should consider taking themselves private.  Advertising is a labor-intensive, not capital-intensive, business and it’s inevitable digital agencies are going to gravitate toward brand stewardship.”

You may or may not agree, but Brian’s comments indicate a shift is taking place.  To help explain why, here are 7 reasons social media agencies are like ad agencies and 8 reasons they’re not.

7 REASONS THEY ARE

1. Both have to demonstrate a deep understanding of consumer attitudes and buying behaviors
2. Both have to find insights into unmet consumer needs
3. Both have to know how to create and build brands
4. Both have to be able to take the brand idea and translate it across all media platforms
5. Both have to be on top of media usage and trends
6. Both have to find unique tactics and executions that accelerate sales and have people talking
7. Both are accountable for results, return on investment and sustainable sales growth

8 REASONS THEY’RE NOT

1. Ad agencies communicate through a monologue.  Social media agencies through a conversation
2. Ad agencies work with product benefits.  Social media agencies with shared interests
3. Ad agencies target heavy users of brands who they encourage to buy more.  Social media agencies find advocates who they encourage to spread the word
4. Only 14% of people trust advertising.  80% of people trust the recommendations of other people
5. Ad agencies use multiple mediums and are ”media neutral.”  Social media agencies work mostly on the internet where 90% of all purchase decisions begin.
6. Ad agencies are labor intensive.  Social media agencies are even more labor intensive because, once the campaign is launched, the work has just begun (e.g. content refreshment, community management, measurements and analytics).
7. Only 18% of ad campaigns ever generate a positive ROI.  While people kick the tires on the ROI of social media, brands, like Blendtec blenders, have proven an ROI of 500-to-1 with much less investment.
8. Ad agencies tend to be secretive about their “proprietary” and “trademarked” process for creating ads.  Social media agencies tend to share their work and publish for all in places like SlideShare.

I’ve found social media promotes a culture of givers, not takers.  People like Joe Sorge, Toby Bloomberg, Tom Anderson, David Berkowitz, Kelley Connors and Mike Rogers (to name just a few) have routinely offered to help or participate in speaking engagements, workshops and presentations with no mention of “where’s my cut” or “what are you getting.”  It something that’s a little different and a whole lot more fun.

Do you have an opinion on the difference between the two?

Search Engine Optimization and Social Media are two relationships vehicles meant to work together.  We have Google to thank for making this happen and it’s a relationship built to last.

Google determined ”links” to be of primary importance for a high search ranking.  What matters to Google is who goes to your site and who goes to the sites of people who go to your site.  These links means your site has “authority” and authority means a higher ranking by Google’s standards.

Simply letting viewers know, on your website, they can follow you on Facebook, Twitter, etc. increases links.  Since Facebook and Twitter friends and followers can be substantial (130 and 129 on average), social media is important to search.  If you blog, publish frequently and readers follow, your site gains: Frequency X Links X Time spend on your site = A powerful effect on search ranking.

What this is doing is significant.  It’s changing online marketing for a monologue to a conversation.  In the old world of search, everything was focused on talking with and winning over Google.  Now, it can be balanced with talking with and winning over consumers.

For any business or brand, search and social media should support one another.  Here are 5 ways to use Search and Social Media for better results.

1. BALANCE KEYWORDS WITH CONVERSATIONS:  Keywords are the currency for search and social media but conversations around them matter.  Social media lets you listen to what people say, see how much conviction they have and understand what is their emotional involvement.  For your key keywords, do a little investigation on conversations around them.
2. LOOK AT DESTINATIONS WHERE KEYWORDS ARE FOUND:  Where keywords occur is important.  For example, we recently did a “Social Search” for a company that markets over-the-counter female contraceptives.  The keyword used most often to find contraceptives is “birth control.”  It is most  often found in blogs and communities for women like iVillage.  There, it is associated with passionate discussions around a “woman’s most fundamental right.”  ”Birth control” is also found on questionable Facebook pages that serve as cheap dating services.  Same keyword.  Same search value.  Where would you choose to begin a discussion about your brand?
3. FIND ADVOCATES AND BUILD RELATIONSHIPS:  There are online conversations happening about your business right now.  If you’re done #1 and #2, you can find advocates.  Engage.  Be human.  Show appreciation.  Build relationships.  I guarantee it’s worth the effort.
4. EXECUTE SOCIAL MEDIA “CONTENT SEEDING” WITH SEARCH “LANDING PAGES:”  In order to benefit from keywords, many companies build “landing pages” with content including important keywords.  This helps benefit from keyword searches, establishes links and avoids having to make frequent changes to website pages.  Now, social media gives an additional option.  Put these keywords in social conversations.  It adds reach and valuable connections in visible and targeted online destinations.
5. MEASURE RESULTS, LEARN AND REPEAT: Both search and social media share the same characteristics of giving real time results that are easy to modify.  For both, establish a schedule for measuring and increase what’s working and pull back on what’s not.

There are some great companies advancing the dialogue on Search and Social Media.  Some I find particularly helpful are Hubspot and SEOmoz.  They’ve taught me a lot so I hope what I can pass on helps.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week, in looking at the glass as half full or half empty, most of us see the economy as half empty.

Is it time for a Social Media Stimulus Plan?   Here are the facts why.

CONSUMERS AREN”T SPENDING AND BRAND LOYALTY HAS ERODED

• 59% of consumer still rate the economy as “poor;” 73% describe their sentiments as pessimistic
• Under $50K, 79% of consumers are cutting back on spending
• Between $50K-$100K, 73% are cutting back
• Over $100K, 66% are cutting back
• Less than 50% now buy “the brand I want most” when they shop
• 42% cite “unemployment/job security” as a primary concern followed by “rising prices” at 33%

ONLINE SPENDING IS GROWING FASTER THAN OFFLINE

• 8.1% of retail sales now occur online – double what is was 7 years ago
• Online sales are growing +80% faster than offline sales
• 60% of consumers say the internet is more important in making buying decisions; up +56% from a year ago
• Sales at all major retailers, even brick and mortar companies, are growing online:  Amazon (+19%), Apple (+25%), Best Buy (+7%), Home Depot (+3%), Lowe’s (+5%), Macy (+4%), Sears (+6%), Staples (+5%), Wal-Mart (+3%)

PEOPLE WHO USE SOCIAL MEDIA SPEND MORE MONEY AND TIME ONLINE

• Facebook and Twitter users spend 1.5X more time online than average internet users
• People who spend time on Facebook and Twitter spend 2X more money online than people who don’t use these networks
• Heavy online buyers spent $592 on average in Q1 2010
• More people are spending more time on Facebook; it accounts for 8.0% of the time consumers are online
• 23% of Twitter users use the service for retail purposes
• Cost per thousand impressions on social media are $0.55 versus $2.55 for paid online advertising

COMPANIES WHO USE SOCIAL MEDIA INCREASE THEIR PROFILES AND SALES

• 97% of companies report a blog improves their search ranking
• 55% say a blog increases site visitations
• 45% have gotten revenue from their blog
• 36% of companies see an increase in positive perceptions fom their blog
• Companies from Dell, Best Buy, Procter & Gamble, Starbucks, Blendtec and AJ Bombers now have great social media case studies, particularly in the area of innovation, customer service and sales

Sources: comScore, U.S. Department of Commerce, Nielsen, Harris Interactive

A rising tide lifts all boats.  If spending continues to move online and people who use social media spend more, shouldn’t our administration take a hard look at the segment likely to lift us out of a bad economy the fastest; the one with the greatest likelihood to impact positive change?

Our administration has the experience too.  Let’s not forget, when Barrack Obama was campaigning, he used social media and it raised 87% of the funds he put to work to help get elected.

Wouldn’t you like to see the glass as half full again?

I’m seeing more companies find value in blogs.  That’s good news, especially considering these facts for companies that have blogs:

• 36% see an increase in positive perceptions
• 46% say they have gotten revenue from their blog
• 55% report increased visitors to the web site
• 97% have improved search rankings
• And since 95% of people spend less than 5 minute on a web site and view less than 5 pages, most people actually get to know a company better from a blog than a web site

Sources: comScore and HubSpot

So how do you begin?  Get everyone at your company on the same page?  Make sure there is alignment on goals, content and schedules for posting.  I’ve found a brief for the company blog is a good idea.  

Working at ad agencies for a good number of years, the creative brief was the foundation for any ad campaign.  Since a blog represents the voice of a company, shouldn’t a company have a brief before they begin blogging? 

The company blog begins a conversation and, hopefully, a long-term relationship.  A CEO of a major CPG company told me the company blog requires “soft hands,” not only to capture the essense of a brand or company (like the ad brief), but to define conversations.

Here is the brief for the company blog with a few “for instances” to help you along. 

• WHAT IS THE BUSINESS OBJECTIVE? (e.g. demonstrate accessibility, build 1-on-1 relationships, handle crisis management) 
• WHO IS THE READER? (e.g. consumers in general, customers, heavy users, business customers, employees)
• WHAT IS THE INTEREST THEY ALL SHARE? (This is the “insight” part.  Hint: it’s not your product; it’s what’s important in readers lives - e.g. love well prepared meals, support enviromonmental causes, want personal touch with customer service)
• HOW DOES YOUR COMPANY/BRAND MEET THIS SHARED INTEREST? (This is the proof and transparency part; not only that your company/brand delivers on these interests in real, tangible ways but you understand their lives) 
• WHAT IS THE VOICE OF YOUR COMPANY/BRAND? (This is what’s behind your company/brand; its core values and beliefs. (see “The ‘Be’s’ Behind Your Social Media Brand” 4 blogs down for additional advice)
• WHAT ACTION DO YOU WANT YOUR READERS TO TAKE? (e.g. ask us a question, tell us your opinion, go to an event, visit our store and let us show you our appreciation.  A blog can do a lot of heavy lifting for a company.  Business results and ROI are highly measurable)

There are important adminstration requirements to the company blog – What are expectations, measurements and reporting?  Who is the company blog champion to handle topics, scheduling and comments? What is handled internally versus outsourced?

But, like anything worth doing, my belief is the company blog if done right is likely to have one of the highest returns on investment of anything your company does.  If you don’t belief me, just refer to the facts at the top of this blog.

Would you include any other key questions for your company blog?

A first rule of blogging is to be helpful.  A second rule is if you need help ask for it.  Hopefully, in this blog, I can accomplish both.

A friend of mine has done very well in life. He has an important job, loving family and lives in a great town.  His daughter has a rare disease called Rasmussen’s Encephalitis.

Rasmussen’s Encephalitis is a rare, chronic inflammatory disease that affects one hemisphere of the brain.  It occurs in children under the age of 15 and is characterized by frequent and severe seizures, loss of motor skills and speech, paralysis on one side of the body and mental deterioration.  After the the first 8 to 12 months, most individuals with Rasmussen’s Encephalitis enter a phase of permanent, but stable, neurological deficits.

While this could tear anyone apart, in my friend’s case, it made him stronger.   He’s dedicated his life to a solution by founding the RE Children’s Project to increase awareness of Rasmussen’s Encephalitis (RE) and to support scientific research for a cure. The organization supports research toward the recovery process following hemisphrectomy surgery, a life altering surgery that is the only known “cure” for the disease.

I’ve offered to do what I can to raise awareness through social media.

I know first hand how powerful social media is in health care.  For conditions like Multiple Sclerosis and Epilepsy, patient communities on Facebook and Twitter offer support to one another with member numbering in the 10′s of thousands.  Studies in countries around the world have proven social support from patients with similar health conditions actually results in better health outcomes.

But for rare disease like Rasmussen’s Encephalitis, community creation is more difficult because there are less people to rely on for support.  There are valuable videos on YouTube.  One (below), less than 2 minutes, is factual and hopeful.

So I thought what if the blogging community and Twitter, the micro-blogging community, could help out.  What if, when you read this blog, you just re-tweet it.  In your re-tweet, you ask the next reader to re-tweet it.  If one person did this and so did the next person and so on, pretty soon, we would generate greater awareness of Rasmussen’s Encephalitis and the chances of finding a cure would be that much more likely.

What do you say?  The re-tweet button is at the top of the blog.  After all, it’s called social media for a reason.

According to Social Media Examiner (http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com), the top three social media questions people ask are:

1. How do I measure social media return on investment?
2. What are the social media marketing best practices?
3. How do I manage my time with social media?

Here’s a the roadmap: 2 hours/day X 60 days = social media ROI.

It’s my experience but, more importantly, a conclusion reached at an SAS and AMA webinar last week led by John Bastone and Chris Brogan (http://www.chrisbrogan.com).  John and Chris challenged the popular excuse there is no pure sense of ROI with social media saying:  If you put  in 2 hours/day for 60 days, you’ll see social media’s return on investment.

Here’s why:

• HIGHLY MEASURABLE:  With standard analytics, you can measure: 1) LEADS: Social media traffic to your web site and/or store and how many share your news with others 2) CONVERSION: What actions they take on on your site and/or at the store and 3) RETENTION/LOYALTY: If they come back and repeat their activity.  These are the standard metrics for benchmarking return on investment.
• SUCCESS COMES FROM LISTENING, CONNECTING AND PUBLISHING:  These spell out the dynamics, time commitments and activities that build a following, momentum and results.  But they don’t occur unless the activities are performed continuously.  In any 2 hour period, you should spend 30 minutes listening, 60 minutes connecting and 30 minutes publishing.  A common mistake companies make is to use social media as an outlet for press releases.  Bad idea.  This creates the impression your brand is impersonal and not listening or willing to connect.
• STARTS WITH PITCHING IN: Conversations are occurring about your brand and category as we speak.  Search them out on Google, Yahoo, Technorati, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and you will quickly see where most happen - blogs, online communities or social networks. Then, pitch in and join. You’ll quickly find where you get the most bang for your buck so you can spend time on what’s working and pull back on what’s not.
• MADE FOR ROI: If you’ve defined your business goals, (e.g. increase sales of X%, generate new subscriptions of Y%), there should be NO reason why you can’t now look at your business pre and post, relate it to activities, identify strong performers, apply measurements above and have an ROI – robust with as much data and analytics as you like.

With the learning, you can improve or “optimize” the process for even better results in the next 60 days.

One other piece of advice to help with connecting with your customers.  Talk about your customers’ interests before you talk about your product.  Content about customers always draws more customers than content about your product.  Pretty soon, they’ll start generating content for you to help you manage your time and investment.

2 hours and 60 days may seem like a little or a lot depending on your perspective.  I’m not aware of a marketing channel that does it more expediently or is more transparent.

I hope this gives you a helpful perspective and demystifies some often asked questions.  If it doesn’t, I hope you’ll let me know.

A frequent comment from businesses and people new to blogging is:  I have a website, so why do I need a blog?

Here are 5 reasons blogs pay off.

1. IMPROVED BRAND IMAGE: Positive perceptions of  a business or company increase +36% if there is a blog either on or linked to the website. That’s because consumers view you as accessible, transparent and willing to help (source: Nielsen) .
2. BETTER SEARCH RESULTS: A blog is a major asset for better search results, especially since you can link your blog to others (and visa-versa), a primary characteristic search engines use for determining relevance. For example, my name, Rob Petersen, is pretty common. In searching the name, this site, BarnRaisers, comes up 4th, ahead of a famous magazine publisher and a former running back for the Philadelphia Eagles (sorry, I’m not them).
3. STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS: 95% of people never read more than 5 pages or spend more than 5 minutes on a website (source: comScore). If your company or brand website has more than 5 pages, consumers are likely to get to know you better through your blog than the chance your website can beat these odds.
4. RETURN ON INVESTMENT: “Open source” blogging platforms are very good now and keep getting better.  To reveal a little about myself, seven months ago, I built this site with a little sweat equity and $7.50.  Given the platform capabilities, I also made it the company website and put 5 tabs on top to tell the story of our business (with great respect to comScore). Although it also took knocking on dozens of doors (well, dozens of dozens) to secure initial assignments and there was  time, travel and other business expenses, blogs played a critical role delivering the necessary ROI to  start and build a business.
5. SHARED OBJECTIVES:  Blogs and brand websites share (at least they should) the same business objectives; that is, to drive leads, provide useful information, be helpful, convert consumers, complete desired transactions (e.g. create inquiries, sign up subscriptions, make a purchase) and keep your audience coming back to build your brand. Can any business have too much of that?

I go to blogs, before websites, for inspiration, ideas and help.  Bloggers I admire keep me in the know and have graciously helped me, either directly and indirectly, be a better communicator, business person and blogger.  I also feel like I have a relationship with someone which is always preferable.  Just a  dozen of the many I turn to are:

1. http://www.chrisbrogan.com
2. http://sethgodin.typepad.com
3. http://mashable.com
4. http://www.marketingprofs.com
5. http://www.bloombergmarketing.blogs.com
6. http://www.tomhcanderson.com
7. http://www.marketersstudio.com
8. http://mackcollier.com
9. http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com
10. http://www.n2growth.com/blog
11. http://conversationagent.com
12. http://altitudebranding.com

A blog I also admire for its business acumen is http://www.singleservecoffee.com

The blog’s creator has smartly identified a topic that is also be a niche business in a big, crowded, competitive category.  The brand name/URL establishes category authority and comes up #1 on search engines for “single serve coffee” and “single serve coffee makers.”  The blog reviews products, has relevant ads (that generate revenue) and sells single serve coffee makers and accessories direct to consumers.  On the site, there is also social community on the subject.  The ROI must be extraordinary.

Does this help you see the value of blogs?