Mixing and Measuring Social Media

Author:

Jeff Hassemer

Source:

In social media, marketers are fast learning that their brand is the sum of the conversations about their company. And the rise of social media has created yet another forum for companies to enter the conversation and communicate with their customers. While the final chapter on defining social media and how it will work for companies is yet to be written, we do know that social media cannot be ignored. The key for many marketers is to understand how to use it within their marketing mix to ensure the optimal return on investment for the entire marketing budget.
 
A recent InfoGroup study points out two very important facts. First, "The No. 1 reason someone follows a brand in social media is for exclusive deals and/or offers." Second, "For every customer who complains, there are 26 other customers who've had similar problems and six of these people have had serious problems. Ninety-six percent of customers who've had a bad experience will not complain, 90 percent of these customers will not return." Clearly, these are conversations marketers cannot afford to miss.
 
Social media is both a marketing medium and a customer service medium, but the success criteria for social media in either effort are the same...