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.

Are you befuddled by all the social media tools out there? Are you wondering if Radian6 is a good choice for your organization? Do you need a way to compare different vendors? Keep reading for a comprehensive review…

If you’re looking for a social media monitoring tool, you’ve probably noticed that it’s quickly becoming a confusing landscape. For those who are new to social media and looking for tools to manage their presence, it’s difficult to know how to compare one vendor to the next. Here’s the skinny on where Radian6 fits into the picture.

Where does Radian6 fit into the social media measurement landscape?

Radian6 helps brands ensure that no post is missed.

We offer unequalled coverage of the social web and provide metrics to measure what is being said, and by whom. —David Alston, CMO Radian6.

Primarily, Radian6 is a monitoring tool. It can help you monitor brand mentions across the social landscape and the new Engagement Console offers you an end-to-end presence management tool.

For consideration: Think about how much “noise” you have in your space. In order for monitoring to be actionable you want to keep in mind that for industries and brands that are targets for spammers it can take a considerable amount of work to filter and find the “meaningful” conversations. I experienced this problem myself, as CareOne and the entire debt relief industry are hounded by spammers and it required intervention from Radian6 to get it in line.

Tip: Many people start by putting in keywords that are used in SEO and paid search. To narrow your results, sort them by comment count. Because comments indicate more engagement, it’s more likely that the conversations are meaningful. Look for other words that are used frequently with your keywords and add them as modifiers to narrow your results to conversations, rather than spam bots.

Read the rest of the post  on Social Media Examiner

Are your social media leads converting poorly? Are you struggling to show that social media is leading to actual sales? Do social media leads seem to get lost in your sales process? Here are some tips on where you should look if your social media leads seem to get sucked into oblivion.

Are Sales & Marketing Efforts Killing Your Social Leads

Marketing and Sales Efforts Can Kill Social Media Leads

We have all been there. You are busting your arse to build relationships with prospects in social media only to find that once you pass the lead on the sale disappears. What is killing your hard-earned leads? The answer may lie in your marketing process. Have you taken a look at what type of materials are sent to prospects? Many marketers haven’t taken a hard look at these materials since social media started driving leads and that may be part of the culprit. If not, second on the list may be your sales process.

Serial Social Media Lead Killer #1- Hard Sell Marketing Communications

Many of our existing marketing materials are geared toward a prospect who has expressed a direct interest in buying our product or service. But many times you are reaching social media leads much earlier in the buying process and at a point where they haven’t yet begun to research solutions or recognized that they have a problem you can solve. Additionally, social media leads tend to have a very large pushy sales radar. So your marketing communications pieces may feel like they are too pushy or have too many buy-now sales messages and will quickly turn these leads off. And as you know once we perceive a company as skeevy we run for the hills and never look back.

Serial Social Media Lead Killer #2- Hard Sell Sales People

If your marketing communications pieces aren’t killing the lead than it may be your sales people. Let’s face it, sales people are looking for results and have numbers to meet. They don’t have time to be dilly-dallying with your proverbial social media “fence-riders.” But they are all going into the same sales funnel and so they follow up with them like any other lead and work to close the deal. Just like your pushy emails, sicking pushy sales people on your social media leads may be a deal breaker.

So what do you do? Separate leads into two categories based on whether they came from: Direct Conversion Points or Indirect Conversion Points.

Direct Conversion Points

You are probably handling these lead well. They have seen a product demonstration, a product webinar, filled out a lead form for more information or some other conversion point in your process that shows that they are directly interested in your products. Your current communications likely show these customers product information and push them along the path to buy. Great. Let’s talk about the others.

Indirect Conversion Points

This is where your social media leads likely fall. They have downloaded an e-book, attended a content based webinar, clicked on a status update, or subscribed to your newsletter. To convert these leads you want to tailor your messages around helping them content that helps them self-diagnose the problem you solve and tips on researching solutions. Then once they find their way to a direct conversion point you want to transition them over.

From a sales perspective, they may not be far enough into the sales process to have a sales person following up with them like a direct conversion point lead. You may want to have a sales person do an introductory call and offer to help them with anything they need, but beyond that you probably want to put the sales team on hold until they reach the direct conversion point transition. Trust me, your sales people will thank you and so will your prospects.

Immediate Action Item: Create separate email lists for direct vs. indirect conversion points so you can market to them differently.

How about you? How are you marketing to social media leads compared to other leads? Do you have tips for readers? Please post a comment and share your thoughts and ideas.

What's the Difference?

Have you been wondering what’s so great about HootSuite’s new freemium model? Are you wondering if it’s worth the investment? Are you upset about having to pay for something that used to be free?

Read the full post on Social Media Examiner

Do you know how social media is helping your business? Want to find out how Twitter, Facebook and other sites are impacting your brand awareness?

The good news is social media has finally made it to the grand stage of “accountability.” A place where there are lots of people who want to measure it. The bad news is there isn’t a single clear-cut answer.

However, with a few simple steps, you can build a measurement strategy that accomplishes your goals.

Defining Terms

To start, let’s agree that brand awareness is a measure of how recognizable your brand is to your target audience. For those looking to get ahead of the curve on social media measurement, the first step is to align your social media metrics with metrics your company is already comfortable with.

Also, let’s agree that the measurements for social media aren’t all that different from how you’ve been measuring traditional media. To put brand awareness measurement into the context of the sales funnel, the key areas to evaluate fall into three categories:  social media exposure, influence and engagement.

With that understanding, let’s look at how you can level the playing field between your traditional media metrics and your social media metrics.

#1:  Measuring Social Media Exposure

How many people could you have reached with your message?

In social media, this measurement is about as reliable as a print magazine’s circulation, but knowing your potential audience does have value because it represents your potential sales lead pool.

Unfortunately, as of the writing of this post, some of these metrics have to be accounted for manually, so you’ll have to balance the level of effort to track the metrics versus the value you’ll receive from them to determine their importance to your overall strategy.

A good example of where there can be unreliability in social measurement is when isolating unique users for each of your metrics. You want to avoid counting the same person twice in the list below, but realistically it’s difficult to do.

These measurements highlight the number of people you’ve attracted to your brand through social media. To mitigate the potential for duplication of users, track growth rate as a percentage of the aggregate totals. This is where you will find the real diamonds.

Read the full post on Social Media Examiner.

Do you think social media measurement is only about return on investment (ROI)?

Are you struggling to find measurements that are meaningful to your organization? Do you feel like you’re searching for a needle in a haystack of metrics?

Here are 8 useful metrics that you may not be measuring, but should be.

#1: Conversion Rates

Everyone wants to measure the volume of leads generated to get to the bottom-line ROI of social media efforts. But don’t forget about the value of the conversion rate! While the volume may not be there yet, the propensity to convert may be staring you right in the face.

You’ll need to have a mechanism in place to know when a lead comes from social media. Most people use the combination of a URL shortener and some form of a “cookie” to attach a campaign to a lead. Hootsuite has integrated Google Analytics into their URL shortener for a seamless transition to success metrics in analytics, while some companies are using proprietary shorteners and others are still trying to figure out how to do it.

One of the most important steps in understanding where your lead came from is to know when someone clicks on a social media link and then converts. The most reliable way to do this is to place a “cookie” on the user’s machine with the campaign name for the social media channel that generated the click. Then use your campaign reporting to track the number of leads and conversions you’ve generated.

The number will likely be fairly low in the beginning but by looking at conversions divided by leads, you can get your conversion rate for social media leads. Compare this against other marketing channels to see if it’s higher or lower.

Read the full article on Social Media Examiner.