Bastard series finale: “Plan social media strategies like any other major initiative”
The Bastard has written thousands of words on the subject of social media in the past few months. I packaged them in a neat “seven-step argument for taking care in adopting a social media program.” With so much buzz around the topic, I believed that the most valuable intelligence carefully explored only the most relevant information for leaders of small industrial, second- and third-tier suppliers of products and services—the target of this blog. Industrious Bastard is the delivery of insight you deserve in exchange for your valuable time. And the less words the better. So here is step seven (from a total of eight posts) offering two simple points—two takeaways—summing up my series: “Plan social media strategies like any other major initiative.”
Argument Number One:
Engage your business in Social Media,
sooner than later
“Social Media engagement is an irreversible trend that your business cannot ignore,” Industrious Bastard, post of July 02, 2010. To wit, I provide you this entertaining and dramatic video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFZ0z5Fm-Ng]
Argument Number Two:
Define ROI as return on impressions,
and move on
One of the most common barriers to adoption of social media is the push back you get from defeatists in your own organizations. They challenge you to show them the ROI. I addressed the subject in my previous post: “Measuring social media may test your mettle. Stand by for results” (September 15, 2010). But here’s where I come out.
“There is not enough ROI for figuring out ROI. It’s an intellectually bankrupt exercise,” says Andrew McAfee, Harvard Business School. Mr. McAfee studies the ways that information technology (IT) affects businesses and his research investigates how IT changes the way companies perform, organize themselves, and compete. His blog, >andrewmcafee.org/blog< is widely read, becoming at times “one of the 10,000 most popular in the world”* (according to Technorati).
Convinced? [And you’re not going to worry about measuring the ROI of social media?] Great. You’re done. Scroll to Comments and tell me how much you love me.
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Or, if you still need more fodder to take to your own “Dr. No!” (CFO). Read on.
Challenge the naysayers with their own language
Fire these questions back at your “Dr. No!”:
- What part of our marketing are we currently measuring now? Do we know the ROI? Is it positive?
- Are we measuring the ROI of our combined sales efforts? If so, have we factored in every bit of the associated overhead?
- Do we know what we’ve gained from the investment in our website? What about our logo and other basic marketing tactics? Could we not do an ROI exercise for any number of things we already pay for? Is it worth the time and effort to find out?
Most marketing tactics, in particular, aren’t easily measured but we often have to sell them up anyway. Likewise, with social media engagement, expect undue pressure to justify any obvious outlay for the time being due to 1) lack of knowledge and understanding 2) shortage of funding 3) management or cultural resistance and, of course, 4) inability to easily measure the ROI. [But remember the point from the previous post—the measuring part will change—it will get easier, and information more available.]
Another valuable point you can use is the potential for added complexity to your business. By attempting to measure the ROI of social media you could veer into paralysis. Micro management activities tend to stifle the urgency that is so needed, particularly right now, on other more important fronts.
Last word: impressions
B2B firms are more pragmatic than say B2Cs, they tend to focus more on outcomes that translate positively to their bottom line. It’s the reason they’re rarely famous for their TV ads. But social media is even fuzzier than traditional marketing. There’s only one question “Dr. No!” should ask of you: does engaging in social media as a branding initiative produce more impressions than not including it? (Say “Yes!” assuredly.) Social media is more about connecting with customers than converting them; therefore it is a more qualitative enterprise than quantitative.
HIT Solutions believes the more your business can avoid the common pitfalls, the more you will be “improving your product, improving your bottom line.”
Look for much more on these subjects in the near future; send me your comments or questions.
*Current number of active blogs worldwide, estimated: 200,000,000+