Disclaimer: This article will be divided into two sections. The first section will be more-a-less ranting about the state of the social media industry and how it affects all of us in business. The second section will be a practical look at why—despite the ranting—you shouldn’t ignore Google+ Pages. So if you don’t have a lot of time, or are sensitive to blunt and cranky ranting, skip to section two.

Why Google+ Pages Should Make You Cranky

It’s no secret that Google is competing with Facebook Pages (if you don’t know what Google Plus Pages even is, read here). Over three months ago they launched Google Plus. Before that, they gave a college go at social media integration with Google Buzz. The former is replacing the latter and the reviews have been mixed. There are strong opinions and features to back the yay’s and nay’s on both sides. It’s like the iPhone vs. Android, or Firefox vs. Chrome. No matter which way you want to slice it, from maps to email, Google wants to be the digitally institutional standard of awesome everywhere.

This frustrates me to no end.

Why? It’s just another glaring example of how fragmented the social media industry is. I don’t care what anybody says, nobody really knows the full application possibilities of social media for brands and marketing. Yes, there are pockets of geniuses that happen to stumble upon viral greatness. But anybody tells you that they’ve figured it all out is lying, selling you something, or a combination of both.

Right now, I consider Facebook, Twitter and a blog the holy trinity of social media. From there you can add options like Youtube, Four Square, Flickr, Yelp, Linkedin and all other social web offerings with their own features, functions and fickle audiences voraciously ingesting content on iPads, netbooks, smart phones and of course the desktop computer.

Coming up with an integrated strategy for all digital channels is not easy. Integration can be accomplished by anybody, but it’s not for amateurs or the faint of heart. It requires organization, discipline, and commitment. People have a hard enough time getting one digital channel optimized let alone three—or nine.

And if you’re the kind that thinks of just linking all your social media channels to distribute the same content in different forms, think again. Twitter content does not make good Facebook content and vice-versa. Not to say you can’t link for efficiency, but each channel requires a unique approach. But I digress.

Enter Google Plus Pages.

Google Plus Pages is basically the yin to Facebook’s yang. They’re intended serve the same purpose, but are very different. The primary difference being Google+ works with a concept called “circles.” This gives the user ultimate control of who gets to interact with them and how, which can be quite lacking in Facebook.

The whole “+1” function is a completely different animal to the “Like” button. For example Google’s +1 button will not automatically subscribe anyone to a brand page. Of course not. That would be too simple. Instead, Google is introducing a new button that brands or publishers can use to allow visitors to join a “circle” in one click.

I’m not going to get into how it all really works (still exploring it myself). There are plenty of great resources on the web that will teach you how to get your business up on Google+ Pages. The point is we now have yet another digital channel to manage. But what gets me even crankier is our next topic.

Why Google Plus Pages Should Not Be Ignored

First off, Google is not going away. They are an institutional monster that plans to devour all in its path on the way to universal domination. So you can either get the monster working for you, or pretend it’s not in the room while a competitor figures out how to use it against you. So with that being said, let’s look at the benefits of Google+ Pages.

Benefit 1: A Billion Searches a Day On The Top Search Engine

Google is the number one search engine. This means that whatever Google thinks is worth ranking will get ranked. Google’s relationship with Twitter is done. No more indexing tweets. Google already doesn’t index everything on Facebook and I don’t see the two getting cozy ever. Already, there are reports from the field that Google+ content is doing very well in the search engine rankings. Regardless of whether you feel this is fair practice, it’s a reality that can only be ignored at your own peril. So if you rely heavily on SEO or SEM strategies, start working on your Google+ Page right now.

Think about it. People search because they actually want to make a transaction. That can’t be said for all social media. So integrating Google Plus Pages with your search engine spending has the opportunity to catch people right at the moment of highest receptivity for a brand message or offer. This is by far the number one reason Google Plus Pages cannot be ignored.

Benefit 2: Everybody Has a Facebook Page But Not a Google+ Page

Where Google rules the realm of search, Facebook is the largest social network. However, being on Facebook is not always an advantage. You can get lost in the clutter very easily. There are pockets of social media users who are rejecting Facebook completely. Facebook is a great tool to organize people you already know and share stuff you collectively enjoy. But Google Plus is proving to be a unique opportunity to connect with people, that aren’t in your social network, based upon common interests and purpose. So if you are trying to reach a niche untapped audience, Google+ Pages seems to be the place to be in the near future.

Benefit 3: You Can’t “Buy” Fans

This is a mixed benefit. Google will not be generating any revenue from Google Plus Pages. This means you can’t technically advertise except by using Adwords. This is, in my opinion, incredibly smart on the part of the company. It keeps things honest and integrated with search. Right now, there is a lot of gamesmanship out there to drive likes, followers and subscribers. By eliminating advertising and changing the way fans can join circles, it will be interesting to see how much value a Google +1 is worth compared to a Like on Facebook. Google Plus only has 40 million users compared to Facebook’s 800 million. But that might not necessarily be a bad thing if the value is really there.

So there you have it. Google Plus Pages is definitely yet another sign of more social media fragmentation. But if you can get Google Plus Pages rocking for your brand, any crankiness will be totally worth it.

What do you think of Google Plus Pages? How has your experience been with Google Plus? Will you be migrating from Facebook or doing both? Please comment and share your perspective.

Please join the Full Frontal ROI team in welcoming Ed to our team

Related articles

• John Haydon: You Finally Have a Google Plus Business Page… Now What? (huffingtonpost.com)
• Google+ Pages; The War Hots Up (umpf.co.uk)
• 20+ Helpful Google+ Brand Page Resources for Freelancers (freelancefolder.com)

Do you want to boost your social media efforts? Are you looking for an easy way to measure results that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg? This post will show you how to use HootSuite and Google Analytics to give you a robust reporting dashboard that will demonstrate which pieces of your social media strategy are delivering.

In March, HootSuite announced their release of Social Analytics which combines the power of HootSuite’s ow.ly statistics with Google Analytics, Facebook Insights and more.  This means that with a HootSuite Pro account users have the ability to use a very powerful Google Analytics integration which will show how social media visitors converted. To take advantage of these new features follow these simple steps.

#1 Add Google Analytics to Your Website

To start you will need to add Google analytics to your website. First, go to the Google Analytics home page and create an account. The next step is to add the tracking code to your website. These instructions  (may be helpful. If you have a WordPress website there are several plug ins that can automate this process for you.

• Step A: Create a Google Analytics Account
• Step B: Add the Tracking Code to Your Site

#2 Add Goals and Funnels to Google Analytics

Next, you need to tell Google Analytics where your conversion pages are. This will enable you to track how many people “convert” through social media channels as well as other advertising channels. Google analytics allows you to define up to 10 pages that lead to a goal conversion. These are called “funnels”. This will allow you to track through an entire conversion process and will help you identify where people fall off so you can work to optimize the process later. This post provides instructions for setting up goals and funnels.  One tricky part is that you need to actually click on edit from the Google Analytics home screen to set up your goals, if you are in the reporting dashboard the option isn’t there.

You should think through how you will set up your funnels so you can ensure you have the appropriate steps defined in your conversion process. For example, if you have a lead generation form on a landing page here is an image of how you would set up your funnel. The last step is the thank you page which represents the actual conversion because you can’t get to the thank you page without finishing the process.

#3 Integrate Google Analytics with HootSuite

Click on Analytics to add your Google Analytics Profile

Now, we need to integrate your Google Analytics account with HootSuite so you can start tracking your social media campaigns. To get started open your HootSuite account. Slide your mouse to the left of your screen to activate the launch bar.

• Step A: Click on Analytics
• Step B: Click on Quick Analytics
• Step C: Click on Google Analytics
• Step D: Select Add Google Profile

#4: Start Adding Campaign Tracking to URLS

Click on the gear to reveal the Google Campaign Parameters Dashboard

So now you have the integrations set up and it is time to start putting them to work. The next step is one of my favorite HootSuite features and too many people don’t realize it exists. I call it the “Golden Egg” of Hootsuite. Every time you shorten a URL to your website you have the ability to add 3 campaign parameters that track all the way through your Google Analytics reports. The trick is to click on the little round gear next to your url in the shortener pane to reveal the advanced tab.

• Step A: Type your status update
• Step B: Put in your link
• Step C: Click on the gear to the left of the shrink button
• Step D: Select Google Analytics under “Add customer URL parameters”
• Step E: Add your three campaign parameters

Y0u will need to create a system for how you use the three parameters. One system that has been effective for my clients is:

• Source = Social Media Channel, i.e. Twitter, Facebook
• Medium = Social Media Account (if the client has multiple accounts) or Content Type i.e. status update, photo, video etc.
• Campaign = the campaign name

A word of caution on campaign naming, make sure it will tell you what actually worked. If you use “Spring Promo” as your campaign it is hard to tell which part of the spring promotion worked. I recommend that you create a database and number status updates so that we could tell exactly which update worked the best. It is your choice on how detailed you want to be, but the more defined your campaign name is the more you will be able to tell from your data. If you don’t want detailed campaign data, but just want to know a conversion came from social you can set this up once and click on the “Always apply when creating shortened links.”

#5: Monitor your Results

You can set up basic reports right within the HootSuite interface to provide an overview of how your social channels are comparing to website traffic. But to get to the real heart of the data, it is best to login to Google Analytics.

• Step A: Log in to Google Analytics
• Step B: Click on your website link to view your reports
• Step C: Click on traffic sources
• Step D: Click on Campaigns

From here you will be able to see which campaigns drive traffic to your site and which are converting. This will allow you to optimize your efforts based upon what you see delivering. Now, you can also start testing multiple approaches and tracking the results as well.

View your Campaign Dashboard to see the results of your Social Campaigns

While it may take a few steps to get there, this type of reporting will allow you to continually improve your results and provide benchmarks for future efforts. And the best part is that it’s almost free! Google analytics is free, but to enable the campaign tracking you will need to upgrade to a HootSuite Pro account. But at as low as $5.99 a month it is the least expensive option I’ve been able to find that provides real data that helps to drive better decisions. At this price point it is a great option even for small business owners.

How are you measuring your results? Did you know that HootSuite enables campaign tracking within Google Analytics? What tips do you have for measuring social media success?

Learn more at the Social Media Examiner Small Business Success Summit

*Disclaimer: Nichole Kelly is an avid HootSuite user who has collaborated with HootSuite on multiple projects to help their users better understand social media measurement including a white paper series. HootSuite provides Nichole with a free HootSuite Pro account for content development purposes. Nichole has not received any other compensation from HootSuite or Google.

The Greater Baltimore Tech Council offered attendees a round table discussion on social media this morning to discuss how brands are using social media and shed some light on the realities of business implementation. The panelists included Greg Cangialosi, former CEO of Blue Sky Factory, Michelle Andres, Vice President of Digital Marketing for the Ravens, David Toliver, Chief Marketing Officer for Angel and myself.

You can watch the live stream of the discussion that focused on several key social media areas, including:

Social & Content Marketing Strategy Overview:

1. How does social media marketing fit in to your respective marketing strategies?
2. How do you define social media internally?
3. Has there a been a big shift in marketing dollars towards social media in your business?
4. How do you use content as a social media marketing currency?

Execution

1. Where does social media marketing execution lives in the organization
2. How do you manage content publishing and production?
3. Is social media marketing ongoing / continuous in your organization or campaign based?

Metrics and Measurement

1. What specifically do you measure within your social media marketing efforts and how to you attribute it to ROI for the business?
2. What tools do you use for social media measurement?
3. Has there been a shift in what you measure over the last 2 years? What’s changed?
4. Are there still gaps in measurement?

I’ll start off by saying you shouldn’t trust anything I have to say here, I’m going to review a book that was written by Jason Falls. I know Jason, trust Jason and am honored to call him a friend. I write for his blog Social Media Explorer. And if that wasn’t enough he also gave me a free copy of the book to review. And when I read it, it mentions my name. So be forewarned, I’m a little biased but all that aside, if I thought it sucked I would still tell you. Continue at your own risk…

There are a lot of books out there about social media these days, but only Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer has the chutzpa to come right out and tell you what is and isn’t BS. No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing by Jason Falls and Erik Deckers provides rock solid tips and a compelling case for creating a social media marketing strategy for business. In true Falls of the Rocker fashion, (Jason’s lesser known and occasionally off color blog) we are inspired by a straight forward approach to breaking down the myths and realities of how social media can be used in business.

Jason and Erik make a very important distinction that should be shouted from rooftops all across the world.

I am so glad that this book is clearly written for business owners and all others skeptical about how social media marketing can transform their business. It doesn’t pull any punches about how the authors feel about the “tree-huggers” who sat around singing “kumbaya” about “joining the conversation” in the early days of social media adoption. They don’t think you are wrong, but think you missed the point. The distinction between social media and social media marketing is an important one. In business, it isn’t about being on a social media network, it is about having a purpose and using social media strategically to better your organization whether that be to drive sales, build awareness or keep your customers happy.

There were a few statements that I absolutely loved and highlighted for your reading pleasure.

1. 1. In reference to those fearful an employee will release all their trade secrets on a social media channel, Jason and Erik say, “Social Media Doesn’t Violate Company Policy. People Violate Company Policy.”
2. 2. In reference to CEO’s who want to wait out the social media fad, Jason and Erik say, “if companies waited until the CEO adopted technology before implementing its use, our best digital device would be the abacus.”
3. 3. In reference to the changing attitude of the consumer, Jason and Erik say, “if you assimilate into the community and build relationships with community members, you eventually EARN the right to discuss products, services, and business with community members”

I really appreciated this last one in particular. I’ve talked about the requirement that marketers earn the right to talk about themselves in presentations before and I can see the light go off in people’s minds. It’s a different way to look at things, isn’t it? As marketers we think it is our job to spread our message, but in reality it is to earn the right to spread our message. Another very important distinction that when applied can completely change your perspective on how to develop a social media strategy.

I thought this book was thought-provoking, compelling, and a great example of how a marketer thinks about social media. It doesn’t use a bunch of conjecture to convince you; rather it goes through tons of case studies, seriously TONS of case studies. It has a plethora of both B2B and B2C examples of social media success. Jason does a great job of balancing the content with a focus on delivering ROI. If you are even slightly skeptical about how social media can help you meet your business objectives get this book. If you know someone who is skeptical about using social media for business, give them this book.

And if you missed him rock it at Blogworld LA, check out a summary of his keynote speech here!

As Jason would say…‘Nuff said. Heh.

Are you an excellent writer who is passionate about social media and marketing? Do you have something to say and want the world to hear you? Well, we have great news!

Be Awesome with Full Frontal ROI

Full Frontal ROI is expanding and we are looking for writers to join the team and create more awesome content to share with our audience. The mission of Full Frontal ROI is to stay on top of what is happening in the digital marketing world and show our readers how it relates to the business world with no apologizes and no fluff. We provide up-front and honest opinions about what is happening and how it applies to our readers.

Awesome describes something that is wonderful, impressive and sometimes frightening. (adjective) YourDictionary

What We Are Looking For

Passionate marketers who have opinions and have excellent writing ability to craft a story. We are specifically looking for writers in each of the following categories.

Brand Side Marketing Rock Star

These positions are for excellent writers that are in the trenches and dealing with the realities of corporate marketing. We want you to share your stories of the challenges you face with getting buy in, resourcing projects, and generating success. Shred the myth of “social media philosophy” and shed light on “social media reality.” If you are trend setting and leading the charge of marketing innovation in your company or you laugh at pie in the sky recommendations for social media this is the position for you!

Agency Side Marketing Experts

These positions are for account executives and strategists who want to highlight case studies of the awesomeness they are seeing all around them. It is your opportunity to highlight brands, technology and your marketing expertise for our readers. Provide thought leadership to show businesses how they can use digital marketing to grow their business, increase brand awareness, and engage their customers. If you understand business, have amazing ideas, and have an innate ability to find great case studies this is the position for you!

Technology Zealots

These people will write reviews about digital products and services that are available for marketers. They will use their innate ability to sniff out what is awesome and what ain’t gonna cut it with the latest products available on the market. If you follow all the tech blogs and literally get ants in your pants when you hear about an upcoming product release this is the position for you! Or if you have an expertise in a specific technology such as mobile marketing, SEO, SEM, email marketing or something else that people need to know about this group is for you!

Don’t see a group for you, but have something awesome to share? Convince us.

How to Apply

Send an email to nichole (at) fullfrontalroi (dot) com with the area you are applying for, an explanation how you rock the awesome in that area, and at least one writing sample.

Wimps need not apply.

On July 12th, 2011 Netflix emailed customers and posted on their blog that they are introducing new pricing plans. Any time a company posts publicly about changing their prices it can be a touchy subject that is ripe for turning into a communications crisis. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened to Netflix.

 “Our current $9.99 a month membership for unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs will be split into 2 distinct plans:

Plan 1: Unlimited Streaming (no DVDs) for $7.99 a month
Plan 2: Unlimited DVDs, 1 out at-a-time (no streaming), for $7.99 a month.

The price for getting both of these plans will be $15.98 a month ($7.99 + $7.99). For new members, these changes are effective immediately; for existing members, the new pricing will start for charges on or after September 1, 2011.”

Basically, they have raised the price $5.99 a month to have both services and they are applying the new pricing to ALL current customers.

I’m honestly baffled, how could Netflix not predict that customers were going to be outraged by this increase? Their streaming library doesn’t even include the latest videos that are available on DVD and is limited at best. The language in their email is quite frankly a little condescending. It comes across as “hey, we’re raising your plan price and there is nothing you can do about it.”

 And then there is this line at the end.

“You can easily change or cancel your unlimited streaming plan, unlimited DVD plan, or both, by going to the Plan Change page in Your Account.”

Really? So you are essentially encouraging me to cancel my plan after ticking me off with your condescending email. Naturally, I was a little miffed after receiving the email and started to look around and see what other people were saying.

That is when I just started to feel bad for Netflix. They clearly messed up and weren’t prepared for the backlash that was ensuing around them.  

This is one of the nicer of the comments I found about how customers are feeling about the change. It is important to note that Netflix has NOT responded to a single comment on their blog and there are accusations that they actually turned off comments for a period of time.

What could Netflix have done differently?

Showed that they valued customer loyalty

The thing that is clearly upsetting customers is that there was no acknowledgement of the years of loyalty they have shown to Netflix. Instead they provide this cheesy blanket statement thanking us for our business.

“We realize you have many choices for home entertainment, and we thank you for your business. As always, if you have questions, please feel free to call us at 1-888-357-1516.”

It feels disingenuous and doesn’t feel like they really appreciate MY business in a personalized way. I have been a customer since June 2009, so essentially right after my 2 year anniversary you have increased my prices. And I’m kind of a newbie for them; there are a whole lot of customers who have been with them for over a decade.

If I were Netflix, I would have grandfathered in all existing customers for a specified period of time that is calculated based upon how long they have been a Netflix customer and said something like, “to thank you for your loyalty we are extending a 6-month price freeze on your account which will allow you to continue at your existing service plan for the same price you have enjoyed for the last 2 years. We hope that you will continue to enjoy your Netflix services and see the value it brings to your home. On X date, your service will be rolled over to the new plan pricing if you choose not to change your subscription options.”

This personalized thank you message shows your customer that you understand the value they bring to your organization and are willing to go above and beyond to make sure they know you appreciate them.

Prepared for negative backlash

It is quite possible that even if customers were given an extension there still would have been outcry. However, a crisis management strategy should have been developed for questions and comments like:

• “This sucks. I’m cancelling.”
• “How can you increase prices during these economic times?”
• “Your streaming library doesn’t have the same videos as your DVD library, why is it worth the extra money?”
• “Why are you increasing your prices?”

The biggest mistake Netflix has made is not responding to any of the comments posted on their blog, Facebook, and Twitter. Apparently, they think ducking and hiding is the best way to make it “die down.” Unfortunately, every comment that is being posted using a social profile is being shared with their network. The average Facebook user has 130 friends  and the post has generated almost 3,500 Facebook comments and 5,000 blog comments as of the time of this post. And that’s just on the blog, there are over 16,000 comments on their Facebook page. Further, it appears that they shut down blog comments for about an hour after the negativity starting pouring in, which caused more backlash and there are claims that they are deleting comments and paying for people to hit the like button. Just for Facebook it is a potential reach of 2.5 million people not including those who are seeing the massive amounts of “likes” the comments are receiving or what’s being shared on Twitter. I can’t even count the amount of people who have simply posted saying they are cancelling their plans. The loss of business combined with the negative perception of taking advantage of customers is going to take a long time to overcome.

Provided an explanation for the increase

The explanation provided makes it sound like there is this great demand for a DVD only plan which quite frankly sounds like a bold faced lie designed to increase revenues from a channel they have decided is worth more money or is costing them more to operate.

“Given the long life we think DVDs by mail will have, treating DVDs as a $2 add on to our unlimited streaming plan neither makes great financial sense nor satisfies people who just want DVDs.”

They should be honest about why they are making this switch. Is it because they are losing money due to the unexpected usage on the DVD side? Is it because revenues have suffered as a result of the economy and they can’t operate at their current rates?

Let’s be honest, there isn’t a substantial amount of overhead on their streaming side once the video has been added to the library and royalties have been paid, so it’s kind of hard to say that they are only making $2 for the DVD side. That is simply how they chose to position the pricing. The reality is that it probably is a reverse situation where they are charging $2 for streaming and $7.99 for the actual DVD fulfillment.

Either way, honesty and transparency into why they are making the change could have prevented some of the back lash. While I may not have liked the change, I could have at least respected the fact that they are a business and need to make money to keep their doors open.

So How Much Will This Blunder Cost Netflix?

I think Netflix will see a large fall off from their existing customer base. For myself, at a minimum I’m going to downgrade my account to the streaming only option which will result in $2 a month less in revenue for them each month and I’m considering switching to Zune. I use Vudu to stream new movies and they are more convenient than waiting for a Netflix DVD and always have the movies I want. Consumers have choice of providers between Hulu, Zune, CinemaNow, Blockbuster, Roku , Redbox and cable onDemand libraries so this was probably not the best time in the market place to push Netflix customers to start considering other options.

If we do some simple math we can arrive at a potential cost to Netflix. There are 8500 comments on the blog alone and I have found 1 positive comment, yes 1. If half of the people just from the blog actually cancelled as they say they will and the average plan is $9.99 a month that is a potential loss of $42,457 in revenue every month or essentially over $500k a year. That’s just a guess based on the blog and doesn’t consider the effect this will have on Netflix stock or cancellations from Facebook or Twitter feedback. There is likely a substantial increase in fall out from those who simply read the email or the blog and cancelled without saying anything.

And Now to the Big Question…What Should Netflix Do Now?

• Apologize – First and foremost, Netflix owes their customers an apology. They should apologize for not providing the opportunity for customer feedback prior to the change and for not responding to the feedback after the change was made.
• Be Transparent – Provide an honest explanation to customers stating why the change was made and how it will provide value to them in the long run. They should release a public statement explaining their actions, preferably a video from an executive with a written transcript for their website. The video should show empathy and understanding for their customer’s frustration.
• Retreat – The only thing they can do to save face at this point is to roll-back the pricing changes for existing customers for some period of time or increase their service level at the new price, for example adding free Blue-Ray for 6 months at the new price. They will likely still lose some customers, but hopefully this gesture will be enough for some of the unhappy customers to stay.

What do you think about Netflix’s response? What could they have done differently? How do you think they should handle it at this point? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Related articles

• Your Brand Hit The Fan: 6 Tips for Using Social Media to Manage a PR Crisis (fullfrontalroi.com)
• Thousands threaten to quit Netflix (technolog.msnbc.msn.com)
• Netflix hikes prices, announces DVD-only plan (digitaltrends.com)
• Want Netflix DVDs & Streaming? That’ll Be $16 a Month (mashable.com)
• Netflix’s Price Reduction is Also a Price Hike (technologizer.com)

A major challenge for marketers who are trying to get buy-in for social media from a “sales” guy or gal is that they can’t see the sale…they don’t know how it is going to impact revenue. In the corporate world, there is a large contingent of CEO’s and Chief Marketing Officer’s who started out in the sales world. Naturally, they found creative ways to deliver revenue and as they moved up the corporate ladder they either chose to move over to marketing or marketing is under the same umbrella as the sales team. So how in the world are you going to get them to understand the value of something as intangible as social media?

Then there is the other side of the coin. You need to get your sales people behind your social media channels and support information sharing so you can do your job more effectively. But your sales people are rewarded for…SALES. Getting them to take the time to pursue a case study with a client or ask for anything other than a sale is going to be tough, unless you can show them how it is going to help them.

You are dealing with the conundrum of “What’s In It For Me” syndrome. You aren’t alone, and can you really blame them. Just like you they want to do the best they can at their job. To be effective, you need to show them exactly how it is going to benefit THEIR goals, not YOUR goals.

First, you need to show them how social media ties to overall revenue and financial goals for the company. Specifically, you need to show them how it is going to HELP THEM DELIVER on their revenue and financial goals. That’s a pretty big concept, I know. Many of us are still trying to figure out where social media fits in our marketing strategy much less where it fits into the sales process.

Second, it is critical that you don’t walk in trying to get them to “understand” social media. It isn’t worth your time and quite frankly they probably don’t care. If they did they would already be on the band wagon. If you have executive support for social media, congratulations! However, recognize that eventually you are going to need to justify it’s existence or need sales support just like everyone else, so it’s better to start early.

So how do you do it? You can start by figuring out how to “Translate Social Media to the Sales Funnel.”

Full Frontal ROI and HootSuite partnered to provide this free whitepaper, which focuses on showing where social media fits within your sales process and how it helps drive more people into the top of your sales funnel creating more opportunities to convert leads. Whether you are a B2B or B2C marketer, if you are grappling with getting a sales-driven person to understand social media, these tips will help you.

It also provides excellent visuals of the social media sales funnel and clear metrics you can use to measure your progress over time. In the Full Frontal ROI no-fluff style, you will find actionable strategies that you can walk away and begin executing.

Download “Applying Social Media to the Sales Funnel”

Want more? Check out the Social Media Measurement BootCamp course, “3 Steps for Translating Social Media to YOUR Sales Funnel.” This e-book contains 36 pages of step-by-step instructions, worksheets and hands on exercises so you can align your current sales process with the social media lead and more importantly, track where you are losing them!

Have you faced this challenge? How did you handle it? Have you considered how social media helps your sales process?Are you a sales person who wants to understand how social media will help you? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the comment section. As always, multiple perspectives and healthy debates are welcome, but be respectful of each other.

Today is a big day for the Full Frontal ROI team. We have been working tirelessly on some amazing resources to help readers take their social media measurement strategies to a whole new level. We want to make sure that we provide you with content that gives you actionable tips that you can walk away and execute and we are delivering on that promise. Here’s what released today.

Social Media Measurement Boot Camp

You’ve been asking for courses on measuring social media and we are proud to announce that we are releasing the first no-fluff social media measurement boot camp. You won’t find a bunch of information on how to gather stats on mentions and retweets. No way, that’s not how the Full Frontal ROI team rolls. This is a series of 5 courses dedicated to tying your social media strategies to financial results. Plus they come in a convenient e-book format so you don’t have to schedule time at your desk to get the information. Thanks to the convenient PDF format you can take them with you on-the-go and even read them on your mobile device, iPad, or Kindle.

Check out the Full Frontal ROI Social Media Measurement Boot Camp

“This project has been a labor of love. It was something I had been working on in my spare time, but while I was working on the white papers with HootSuite, I decided there was no better time to jointly release a full-blown course with everything a marketer needs to measure social media to the results executives care about: sales, revenue and cost. That led to over 175 pages of actionable tips that are offered in The Full Frontal ROI Social Media Measurement Boot Camp. It truly represents some of the best content we’ve ever released and I’m very proud to finally introduce the Full Frontal ROI product line.” – Nichole Kelly

Social Media Measurement White Paper Series in Partnership with HootSuite

Nichole Kelly from the Full Frontal ROI team has been working with HootSuite (affiliate link) to release a series of 5 white papers over the next few weeks. Today, the first in the series “Introduction to Social Media Measurement” released with a huge bang. These white papers provide you with tips on measuring social media down to financial goals and even include How To documents for using HootSuite to get the metrics.

Download “Introduction to Social Media Measurement”

“Marketers want to measure social media in a way that is meaningful to the organization, but unfortunately most of us aren’t metrics junkies and there isn’t a silver bullet answer. This whitepaper series is about showing marketers how they can finally tie their results to financial metrics like sales, revenue, and cost. I partnered with HootSuite on this project because my analysis of their Custom Social Analytic Reports shows that it fits with the Full Frontal ROI approach, which isn’t about giving you a pretty set of social media metrics. It’s about data that will drive better decision making in your organization.” – Nichole Kelly

Are you trying to generate brand awareness at events? Do you want to make a splash at your next tradeshow? Several brands are working to incorporate social media into their event strategies read on to see what you can learn from a couple of brands that have done it exceptionally well.

Every year that I make the trek down to my beloved Austin for SXSW I’m always on the lookout for a brand that makes an impact. As an attendee we almost expect to get lots of schwag and get pitched numerous times. It’s just part of the show and I honestly welcome it when done really well. I am encouraged by brands that think outside of the box and leave a lasting impression. This year Chevy was that brand. Let’s take a look at what they did.

Chevy Provided a Needed Service

Chevy utilized a mini promotion called “Catch a Chevy” where they had several intern-esque drivers riding in marked Chevy’s that attendees could wave down to get a ride to several desired locations. This worked because attendees “needed” transportation. Two tracks of sessions were at locations that required a shuttle to get to and the shuttles didn’t leave at scheduled times so that attendees could plan their trek. Many, like me, found themselves waiting on shuttles trying not to be late for the next session. This was brilliant because Chevy is after all selling cars, they have an inventory of them that they can use at little cost, and it gave them the opportunity to get people who may not normally check them out at a dealership actually inside their cars. Now, I think they also did this last year but I didn’t notice last year. This could have been because I didn’t go to any of the sessions that weren’t in the convention center or Hilton last year.

They Trained their Drivers on Pitching the Car

Providing a service was great, but the execution on the service was brilliant. I personally, “caught a Chevy” on three occasions during the show. Each time, I was greeted by a friendly driver who asked where I was going. After figuring out my destination the driver proceeded to welcome me and tell me to send a tweet or check in on Four Square telling my friends that “I just caught a Chevy in Car 13” or whichever car number it was. On the drive, I was extremely impressed that each driver would tell me about the type of car I was riding in and the special features the car had that I might be interested in. I rode in a Chevy Cruz 3 times.

Here’s what I remember about what I was told. The Chevy Cruz gets 35 miles to the gallon and is uber eco-friendly. It even has a special plate that runs across the bottom of the car to give better aerodynamics and increase gas mileage. It has Bluetooth capability, XM, OnStar, navigation, and optional leather seats to compete with luxury vehicles. And oh, it has a much desired USB port that is lacking in my Acura.

I noticed that the cup holders were conveniently located; the car rode nice even from the back seat and even had a little sporty feel to it. I liked it!

They Extended the Experience

Before leaving the car, I was encouraged to go to the side of the convention center where I could test drive one of several cars including the new Volt.

That was it. I welcomed the pitch because they were doing me a favor and actually remembered it because they had made my experience at SXSW more pleasurable.

Last year, I was really impressed with FourSquare’s creativity. They didn’t buy a big tradeshow claiming; hey we’re the next big thing. They used some side walk chalk outside of the show and actually played FourSquare with attendees. It provided some needed enjoyment and left their brand name on the tip of people’s tongues. They also had a super cool party with Ashton Kutcher in attendance, but the lines were too long for my tastes.

What Should they Measure

So in Full Frontal ROI style, the big question is, “did Chevy make a measurable difference.” If I were them I would compare this to traditional PR, TV, and Radio metrics. This is the list I would use.

Reach and Cost Per Impression

How many people did they reach and at what cost? This should be compared against the cost per impression of their TV and Radio spots as well as their standard public relations story. They should include mentions in stories like these in addition to Twitter and Facebook mentions.

Cost Per Engagement

Did people actually engage with the brand and at what cost? This can actually be measured with an index of engagement built on a scale from actually riders in the car, to tweet mentions, to retweets generated.

Cost Per Incremental Site Visitor

Did the experience actually drive more people to Chevy’s site? Did they look at vehicle features, etc? I would argue that they should only measure the gain in site traffic rather than total site traffic for the day, but while only directional it is interesting to see what happened to site traffic and at what cost. If they wanted to try and isolate SXSW users they could try to look at referring URLs only from social media sites as that would be the likely path.

While I don’t personally have the data, I believe if Chevy looked at these metrics they would show that this was a relatively inexpensive promotion for them that generated lower costs than their traditional advertising and PR channels.

What are your thoughts? What brands stood out for you at SXSW? How would you measure the impact? Please drop a comment and share your perspective.

Other great articles about SXSW

• Chevrolet Provides Ultimate SXSW Experience (geardiary.com)
• GM at SXSW: Blending Social Media, Branding and Real Life (prnewswire.com)
• The Over-Branding Of SXSW: How Much Is Too Much? (adage.com)

As social media and social media accountability move to the forefront of the marketing conversation there is an equal shift to the importance of having the right social media tools in your wheel house. In the last year, the discussions around social customer relationship management or social CRM have been inching towards center stage. I think most of us are in the same boat in that we hope social CRM is a customer relationship management system on steroids that includes the social conversation.

18 Use Cases of Social CRM

“According to Gartner, social CRM will be a $1 billion subsector of the CRM market by the end of this year. The various sites, blogs and communities that comprise this arena represent the fastest growing areas of the Internet. Further, it now reaches more people than email, according to Nielsen Online.” Source

Here’s my dilemma…what EXACTLY is Social CRM to you? I’ve been playing with some tools that claim to be social CRM and I’ve come to the conclusion that in the rush to get to market it’s possible that these tools focused on way more of the social than they did the CRM part of the equation. And for some companies that may be all they need. It’s also legitimately difficult to play with a true social CRM system because the backbone is your existing CRM system so most of what we are hearing about are tools that have built something that kinda…coulda…might be social CRM.

But my vision of social CRM is very different. I imagine being able to look up a customer record within our existing CRM system and being able to see their most recent posts in my online community, on Twitter or public Facebook pages and integrate that information with any kind of customer service complaints or service requests whether on or offline. I don’t necessarily require that everyone in the organization be able to “engage” with tweets or status updates within the CRM, but I want them to have the insights the information would provide. I imagine creating a prospect record and it automatically populating their online activities so I can see their digital footprint on our website. I would be able to see what information they found valuable and what path they came to our company from.

This information would be hugely insightful so that service people could provide better service and so sales people could provide a better sales experience. That would be awesome and help the company deliver on their promise to deliver great service. Eventually I will want people to be able to engage with the information where it was placed, but most of us are still in the stage of proving this social media stuff even has merit and value so I can personally wait for that.

But there is still a piece to the equation that is missing…ROI. With all the hoopla about how social CRM can improve the engagement experience some of the products I’ve seen completely missed the boat on the revenue part of the equation. I get it. Customer RELATIONSHIP Management system. And engagement is managing the relationship. Sure, but let’s be honest. To understand if that relationship management actually works it needs to be connected to the bottom line. It’s hard to find a traditional CRM today that doesn’t hold customer transaction information and the revenue associated with those sales. So how could it be possible to call a product a social CRM tool and not contain customer sales data? If you ask me, you can’t.

Social CRM is still in its infancy and with all the products that are rushing to the market to try and capitalize on the $1 billion in revenue that is up for grabs it is important that as marketers we call their bluff when we see it. Don’t accept a social CRM system that isn’t a CRM system, because that’s just a social monitoring and engagement tool.

Ask yourself, what CRM system am I using today? Does this social CRM tool do ALL of that and add in social insights? Can I measure how those social insights impact things like service levels, conversion rates, costs, or revenue? If not, your social CRM might not be CRM at all. The great news is that because these tools are so new we all have the opportunity to help guide the direction they go.

So this is your chance. What does social CRM mean to you? What features does it have? What MUST it do? What features are NICE to have? Which tools are BS and which tools are the real deal? Drop a comment and let’s chat about it. Let’s create a list of all the features that we feel make a social CRM system…CRM and a CRM system…social.