Tracking Social Media

Word of Mouth works. There are countless examples of how your brand can benefit from Word of Mouth (WOM) campaigns (as we wrote about here, here and here). But when social media can benefit you in so many ways beyond just traditional advertising, how do you measure it’s effectiveness? This question was recently posed on Mashable (a great social media blog for those that don’t know), and I commented the response below. What do you think about our reporting model? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

First of all, each social media campaign HOPEFULLY has unique goals depending on each business’ individual needs. So therefore the specific metrics that are tracked will vary in each case. For example if the marketing objective is to increase online awareness by 10%, first that “awareness” must be defined, measured, (hopefully) influenced, and then measured again. If you are measuring awareness you would probably be focusing on impression and interaction data rather than site data such as Google Analytics.

In working with clients over the past couple of years we’ve developed a tracking template that most client campaigns can use as a base for tracking ROI. It usually has to be tailored to their specific campaign, however, and certain parts will be emphasized more depending on the campaign. We usually measure:

Level 1: Impressions

These numbers are usually a combination of trackable views (such as forum views, youtube views, blog readership, etc) and estimated views (based on number of followers or fans). We use these numbers to determine how many people are simple EXPOSED to our message.

Level 2: Click – Throughs

These numbers show how many people actually clicked through to our message. They saw what we were offering, and said “yes!”

What’s the best part? We compare our number of impressions to our number of click-throughs, and find out our conversion rates. Then we can adjust accordingly – is our conversion rate good and we just need more of everything? Are our impressions high but click-throughs low (dictating a weak or un-engaging message)?

Level 3: Site Data

Google Analytics. How much time are people spending on our site? Where are they coming from? What % of entrance sources are places where we have started a relationship or are engaging our audience?

Level 4: Interaction Data

Theses numbers are my favorite, because they show how many people are engaging with the brand. We measure things like comments, @replies, direct messages, facebook messages, blog comments, emails, etc. We also look at the sentiment of comments, i.e. positive, neutral, or negative. As always, we are measuring how many people are interacting out of the total number that saw our message, so that we have a conversion percentage to help us adjust and measure our relative success.

There are always qualitative aspects that are harder to measure, and are sometimes even unable to measure in the conventional sense. And in that way, client education is of the utmost importance and is something that we struggle with constantly. We obviously want to be able to tell our clients that we can show success for the money that they are spending, but on the other hand sometimes we are affecting customer service, research, or human resources, and these things can’t be measured like advertising.

I’m going to use this as a blog post, because it seems that people aren’t necessarily aware of how trackable your social media initiatives can get. Our only problem is deciding how much to track, because if we tracked all the different metrics we possibly could, we would spend all our time on tracking. My interns would probably mutiny!

So, what do YOU think?

Blog World Expo – A Creative Writing Piece

On the plane to Vegas, I won’t be able to sleep. This will either be because I am so excited that I won the comment contest on mashable or because I didn’t win and I don’t know how I’m going to pay for these expensive tickets to Vegas. No matter, all I will be able to think of is what I will say when I get to meet people along the lines of Timothy Ferriss. Or Gary Vaynerchuk! These guys, analogous to the famous gunslingers of the old west, rule the untamed (some might say lawless, but they’d be wrong) territory of social media. These guys talk, people listen. They succeed, people study (and try to follow in their footsteps). These are the people that blazed their own way in a new industry that is just beginning to realize that it is, in fact, an industry. The speed of social media growth can only be matched by the growing enthusiasm and commitment of it’s evangelists. I love this community, because we all love what we do, and because we all seem to want to learn more.

This expo is not just a small get-together of people that appreciate social media. This event brings some of the biggest names in blogging/social media together for 2 days of “conferencing” and then 2 more days of exhibits. If you don’t go, you either don’t care enough about social media, or are poor. But if I’m any example, the latter is no excuse – I’ll go even if (more accurately: when) it bankrupts me.

If one of these speakers gets you all revved up, say why in the comments section. If none of them excite you, maybe this conference will be more up your alley.

The Benefits of Advertisements, Years Later

Do you ever wish you could get more out of those old advertisements for which you paid so much money? They were so darn expensive, and now they are just sitting in storage, collecting dust! Once again, social media is here to the rescue. Here are some great reasons to put your old ads online:

1. Search Engine Optimization - Adding content to social networks can do wonders for your search engine optimization.  For instance, when we add pictures to Flickr or video to YouTube, we make sure the content is tagged with the right keywords. We also make sure that descriptions and titles include the brand name, keywords and links . All of these things increase the amount of content a company has on the web, and therefore increases the search engine optimization.
2. Another way to reach your audience- Just because there are 240 million Facebook users doesn’t mean you should focus all of your attention on that medium. Yes, uploading multimedia to Facebook is an great way to provide your friends and fans with content, but plenty of people use flickr and YouTube on a daily basis.
3. Increase online footprint- The more content you are putting out on the web about your brand, the more users are going to find you, and the more comfortable they will be with your product or brand.
4. Provides opportunities  for two-way communication – Uploading multimedia is great way to incite commentary and get feedback. Having imput can help brands track the success of their marketing efforts. Knowing that your customers think “This commercial is hilarious,” or “This ad stinks” is valuable knowledge. And unless you are sitting on the couch next to millions of TV viewers, you can’t get that kind of feedback with traditional advertising.  In addition to getting feedback, sites such as YouTube and Flickr also allow opportunities for brands to join the conversation, by talking with viewers or answering their questions.

Robert Andrew Salon & Spa, a client of The Cyphers Agency, has a  Flickr account that we set up for them.  As you see circled in the screen shot below, the brand is mentioned several times for one picture. We have hundreds of pictures uploaded to the Robert Andrew Flickr account. With every single picture tagged and described appropriately, viewers are exposed to the brand name more frequently. The particular set of pictures featured below was viewed more than 40,000 times!

If you’re thinking that 40,000 views is measly compared to the millions of views you can get through advertising on television, you’re right–if you’re just comparing the numbers.

People are opting into the brands message, they are actually interacting with the content (instead of sitting on the couch with glazed eyeballs), and you (the brand) can speak directly to them. Their comments also give you insight into your target audience, and their behavior (clicks, time spent on page, what sites they came from) is highly track-able which also contributes to further understanding of your audience. You don’t get any of that with a TV ad. Unless it’s that old TV ad that you just uploaded to YouTube

Air France Plane Crash: A poignant example of how news has changed

Late last night, an Air France plane (AF 447) with 228 passengers onboard is presumed to have crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. This tragic incident highlights the benefits that social media adds to traditional media in times of crisis.

I didn’t learn about this from a news website, but rather saw it on my Twitter feed, which points out a fundamental difference in the way that some people receive their news. I don’t need to check news sites every morning, because if something important happens (such as the Air France tragedy) I find out via all the conversations that I subscribe to. Instead of going to one source for the news, and hoping they have everything I want to know, I can just let the news come to me, via people that I have chosen to follow.

Instead of getting uppity and challenging the merits of social media, the best way for traditional media to hold their position as a news authority is to enter the conversation. Their credibility is already established, and they already have a fan base. All that needs to be done is to “give the people what they want,” but also focus on where/how they want to receive it. For breaking news, don’t deliver a paper to my front door, because I don’t have time to sift through information. Broadcast your news where discussions are taking place. If you are really on top of your game, maybe even host discussions on your site. That way you can see what people like to talk about, and you will gain loyal fans that come to your site to regularly interact.

What are the downsides for using social media in times of crisis? You can run into sites that aren’t very informative, or are even just plain wrong. The immediacy and lack of regulation online allows just about anybody to write an “article” and have it published in a matter of minutes. This is what makes it easier to pass along important news, but also easier to pass along news that is wrong.

Viral Marketing: For Better or For Worse

Getting a YouTube video to go viral is every marketers dream. It’s essentially free advertisement, and a great way to get people talking about your brand. Here are a few current examples of companies with videos that went viral, and what we think about their strategy.

Vodafone

Quirky, funny, well-done, and short, this video has all the makings of a great viral piece. At the end you are either laughing or saying to yourself: “what just happened?” Either way, you remember it, and you might bring it up later with a group of friends because you thought it was funny or weird. This video is part of a much larger campaign, mostly housed on Facebook and YouTube. It has been immensely successful because of the multitude of videos, high frequency of their release, direct connection with the products, and of course because it gives people something to laugh at. The spots are entertaining, and these days consumers need something in return for viewing your ad message. The Zoozoos deliver in spades. (Ogilvy & Mather is the agency behind the work)

Nike Basketball

I didn’t get this ad at all. I thought it didn’t make any sense. Go figure.

Cadbury

Cadbury has recently stepped up its viral marketing efforts, and hits another home run with this video. The song is catchy, the kids are creepy and cute at the same time, and the effects are just enough to make it funny without going overboard.

Samsung

This ad is simply brilliant, and is more than just a viral video. This video actually encourages interaction with Samsung’s audience, showcases the featured product, and even uses comments from viewers in the explanation video. Totally cool, and very well done.

How to Use “The Google”

The phone book is dead. It’s a sad truth phone directory publishers might not tell you, but we can’t remember the last time we used a phone book for anything other than kindling for a fire or a booster seat.  Today’s digitally conscious consumers are plugged in 24/7 and research shows they prefer to go online for research. Additionally, it is a fact that consumers are increasingly turned off by most forms of advertising – they despise being sold to, and see it as a monumental waste of time.  So how then, if traditional media such as phone books aren’t working, do you make sure that people can find you or look you up? One of the most important and cost-effective ways is through Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

SEM is defined by Wikipedia.com (you didn’t think I was going to pull Webster’s dictionary off the shelf, did you?) as a set of marketing methods to increase the visibility of a Web site in search engine results pages (SERPs). In plain English, it’sall the stuff you do to get to the top of search engines where people will see you.

Unfortunately, there’s no magic bullet for conquering SEM. It’s a complex process that has lots of complexities; however, conquering two main categories (or paying a professional to handle it) will get you started:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art of adjusting the makeup of your Web site so that it comes up high in organic (unpaid) search listings. Much of this is done as the Web site is being built – in copy, page titles and meta tags. But increasingly, it’s crucial to improve site navigation, name pages and images properly, and increase relevant outbound and inbound links. It’s a constantly evolving process and usually requires monthly maintenance and tweaking by a professional to maintain high rankings.

Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising can be wildly successful and very cost effective. It involves purchasing keywords and phrases that people use when searching online for your product or service so that you come up at the top and to the right of unpaid search listings. These are extremely effective because unlike traditional ads, these are directly related to the needs and wants of the consumer. The challenge is determining which keywords and keyphrases are going to get you the best results for the money you’re willing to spend. Through PPC advertising, you can achieve qualified leads, and you only pay if your ad entices someone to click through to your site. New technologies available to agencies like ours even allow us to target geographically and track phone calls from Web sites.

So next time you’re preparing your yearly marketing budget, ask yourself whether you’re taking advantage of this crucial new medium that’s helping customers everywhere find exactly what they’re seeking. If not, perhaps you should consider dumping some of those print ads and phone book listings and writing SEM into your plan. Get on the bus now, before your competitors beat you to it. “…it’s all the stuff you do to get to the top of search engines where people will see you.”

Word of Mouth Internship at The Cyphers Agency

The Cyphers Agency has an opening for a paid internship during Summer and/or Fall terms. We are seeking a dynamic, creative, fun, and interesting candidate that would like to learn about word of mouth marketing.

We are looking for someone with a thorough understanding of:

- Internet Research

- Social Networking sites (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace, Meetup, etc)

- Blogs

- Online Forums

- Viral Videos

- Flashmobs

- Digg, Flickr, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Wikipedia, Review Sites, etc.

Requirements:

- In college or a recent graduate

- Advertising, PR, or Marketing Majors are preferred.

- Able to work 20-40 hours per week

For consideration, please forward  resume and cover letter to andrew@thecyphersagency.com.

Young and Restless

Recently I have had conversations with my parents about how frustrating it is to watch them use the computer. Whereas I might scan a website for buttons or links, my mom actually spends the time to read all the words. What a geezer!

But now, there is some new research that says these old fogeys might not be the Luddites we once thought. Don’t worry though, I completely disagree.

Below are some sections from an article written by Chris O’Brien at The Mercury News, along with my response.

“When it comes to listening to music on iPods, blogging, downloading podcasts, joining Facebook, and using Twitter, the over-35 crowd is adopting everything from social media to consumer electronics at a faster rate than their Generation Y (ages 18 to 24) counterparts.”

Faster doesn’t mean better, and faster doesn’t mean that they are actually using these tools the right way. More on this later.

“These figures challenge some deeply held stereotypes about technology and age. Tech companies, often obsessed with designing for youth and hiring young, should take heed of this emerging powerhouse to think differently about their products, and where growth and opportunity may be found.”

I don’t place all older people in the same basket, and I don’t think tech companies do either. After all, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are some of the most revered icons of my generation. I also doubt that either would say that they based their successful companies obsessing about youth or hiring young.

“Baby boomers are embracing popular consumer technology applications nearly 20 times faster than the younger generation.”

This quote from an Accenture study is misleading. First of all, what the heck are “consumer technology applications?” I have a feeling this category could encompass such technology-laden products as toasters, microwaves, and pencil sharpeners. Hey, they have a digital readout, that’s technology right?

In all seriousness, right now boomers are definitely embracing new (to them) technology much faster than Gen Y. But that’s because they all waited to see if it was viable technology. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but don’t make it seem like the baby boomers are fast adopters of technology. They are playing catch up after sitting scared on the sidelines for years.

“Over the past year, the percentage of boomers listening to podcasts or reading blogs jumped 67 percent, to 26 percent. The percentage of Generation Y stayed flat at 45 percent.”

This is definitely a large increase in blog/podcast usage. However, these are some of the older and more vetted “new” technologies (blogs have been around since the 90′s), so it just means that the boomers were waiting to take the jump until it was adopted by everyone else.

“During the same period, the percentage of boomers watching or posting videos online climbed 35 percent, to 36 percent. The percentage of Generation Y doing the same dropped almost 2 percent to 67 percent.”

We’re still way ahead of you here. And why do you think boomers are watching so many videos? “Hey mom come check this out…”

I must admit that 36 percent of the baby boomer population is probably a lot more people than 67 percent of Generation Y. Older people have bad eyesight so hopefully they won’t see this!

“Finally, the percentage of boomers playing mobile video games climbed 52 percent to 13 percent. The percentage of Generation Y climbed just under 2 percent to 45 percent.”

It’s not hard to climb 52% when you only started at 7-8%.

“According to Inside Facebook, a Web site that reports on the social networking king, the fastest-growing segment of users over the past 60 days is people over 35 (that’s me!). While the biggest segment of members are still 18 to 25 (19.5 million), there are now 13.4 million members who are 35 to 54 — a figure that ballooned 276 percent over the past six months.”

I’d like to take this opportunity to emphatically point out that a rise in usage (albeit dramatic) does not speak to how this older audience is using Facebook. For example, my aunts and uncles that have joined Facebook use it either as a professional networking/communication tool (confusing it with LinkedIn) or join because someone invites them, and never really use it or keep their profile active.

Fastest growing means only that tons are signing up, not that they are actually using Facebook at all or the right way after that. Maybe next month there will be statistics about how old people are using it for longer times than us Generation Y folks. Is that because old people are doing more on facebook? I’d argue it just takes them longer to do things!

Okay, okay, right now you are probably thinking I need to lay off the energy drinks and that I should receive a spanking for being so contemptuous to my elders.

The fact is that I’m just scared, because O’Brien is right: baby boomers are adopting technology at a scary new pace. You can’t imagine how embarrassing it is every time an older person tells me about some newfangled program I haven’t even heard of. But although I agree with the fact that tech companies should keep the older demographic in mind, I’m just not sure that’s what they need to be worrying about. These are not, and will never be the early adopters of new technology. They are more in-line with the late majority technology adopters, which explains the recent surge of use. And please stop reminding me that older people are becoming more tech-savvy (it totally weirds me out). I was kinda hoping online would forever be the realm of the young and restless.

Defining Your Brand

Not too long ago, ‘defining your brand’ meant getting together with your marketing department or an advertising agency to decide what you wanted your brand to mean to consumers. Then you would kickoff a PR or advertising campaign, and voila, your brand is defined.

Nowadays, it’s not so easy. Whereas marketers used to tell the consumers what our brand stood for, we are far less trusted these days for several reasons:

1. Over-Stimulation – Consumers have been inundated with marketing messages their whole lives. Brands are vehemently fighting for a piece of our attention, and constantly intruding into our lives in new and different ways. There is so much information out there that people know they can find it if they want. So that’s exactly what happens – they only listen to what you have to say if they are looking for it in the first place. Stop shouting. Talk to people that want to listen.

2. Credibility – Do we really expect people to take our word for it? After all, we work FOR the company that we are advertising, for goodness sakes! They pay us money, so of course we make them sound as good as possible. Consumers are wise to this and instead look to trusted sources for information. These sources include friends, social networks, online and offline communities, mainstream media (less these days), user generated media, and tons of other groups that aren’t paid to tell them how awesome a product is.

3. Information – The sharing of information has become so simple and instantaneous in this new mediascape that consumers find almost anything they want to know. User reviews, companies pretending to be consumers, product information, expert opinions, and everything else surrounding a brand or product can be researched from one place – a computer. Use this to your advantage by knowing what types of information people seek (i.e. user reviews) and giving them the information they want (i.e. sneak peeks).

Alas, if consumers aren’t listening to us, what are we to do?!?

1. Talk to them the right way – Know that as the brand you may not be trusted, but people will listen if they think you have something worthwhile to say. Find things to tell your audience that they find interesting, informative, engaging, or special. Inside tips and exclusive information are important to the modern consumer, because it makes them more in-the-loop than their peers. After all, everyone wants to be e-famous.

2. Be honest – Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. You don’t need to tell everyone on the web about your dark secrets, but if you know you did something wrong, own up to it. What’s worse than not saying anything to your consumers? Lying to them.

3. Find your target audience – The web is excellent for finding target audiences. People connect online (and offline) based on shared interests. If your brand applies to any of these shared interests, there is a community out there that would love to talk to you.

In conclusion, the definition of a brand is no longer a monopoly held by marketers. Rather, it is an ongoing discussion moderated by the consumers themselves, in which the brand still plays a large part. Enter the discussion, and honestly tell people what you are about. Give them information, relate to them, and engage them. Hopefully, that’s what I’m doing with you now. Thoughts?

Google Helps Protect Your Name Equity

Have you ever “Googled” someone and found their embarrassing photos or information? Have you ever “Googled” yourself and found your own embarassing web content? Well now Google is giving you a little help to redeem yourself.

Now when you search for a name on Google, any Google Profiles that fit your search will show up at the bottom of the screen. Why is this helpful?

1. Redeem Yourself - If some of your less-than-savory content appears in a Google search, this is a way to show the world that you really are a responsible person. “See, mom!”

2. Lessen Confusion – If your name is Michael Bolton, you don’t have to spend the rest of your life overshadowed on the web.

3. Better SEO – If you don’t have a webpage, or are anonymous thus far on the web, this is a way to put your name out there.

Sounds great! Google has totally helped people clear their name, right? Well, kind of. Here’s what we are wondering about…

1. The “John Smith” Effect – What happens when everyone realizes they need to have a Google profile, and you are just one of a thousand John Smiths or Matt Robinsons?

2. Fab 4 – Only 4 profiles show up right now. Who gets the spots and who doesn’t?

3. Funky Names – Hyphenated names don’t seem to activate the Google Profile search. Stage names don’t work, so Prince seems to be out of luck as well.

Overall, we think this is a great tool. The benefits definitely outweigh the negatives. If you want to be found, we recommend you create a google profile. If you want to increase your SEO in tons of other ways, or just want more advice, just let us know!