I predict that many CMOs will diminish their support for social media, content and earned media marketing in the next year or two, and when they do, some people's careers will be adversely impacted. If your career relies on Marketing Department support for content or social media marketing, now is the time to take stock of the trends and consider some alternatives to protect your career. You may work at the right sort of company for which social media is well aligned for Marketing Department expectations---that's the "Unless" part of the title--but I believe this is the exception and not the rule.
We entered the social media era suggesting that brands with something to say could use social media to say it; instead, we today have brands with little to say that nonetheless post 4.3 times per day because some consultant told them this was a best practice. Desperate for attention and relevance, these companies continue to invest in content that is neither delivering the scale marketers need nor the content consumers want.
Ironically, even for the best companies, earned media may whither and die in the coming years. In just six months, organic reach on Facebook was halved, and many expect that zero organic reach will soon be the rule on the social network that collects 57% of all social visits. The organic reach game has gotten so tough that Coca-Cola, one of the strongest brands in the world, only earns engagement with 1 in 100,000 of its fans with its Facebook posts. The situation on Twitter is no better; recent Forrester report notes that the average engagement rate with brand posts on Twitter is just 0.03% (that is 75% less than banner ad clickthough rates today!)
Earned media could soon be a thing of the past. What happens to your social media marketing investment if the content you post reaches absolutely no one?
If the prospect of organic reach crumbling to nothing isn't enough to worry about, social media marketing has a variety of other problems marketers must stop ignoring:
- Trust: Forrester's 2014 data reveals that people trust brand social media posts 40% less than they do information on brand websites. Adobe's 2013 research found the same--just 2% of US consumers found company social media page best for credibility compared to 17% for company web sites.
- Acquisition of prospects: Studying data from 86 retailers and 72 million customers, Custora found that Facebook and Twitter deliver essentially zero acquisition. Facebook and Twitter account for just 0.2% and 0.01% respectively.
- Purchase: An IBM study of the online sales generated by 800 retailer websites on Black Friday 2013 and the week prior found that a mere 1% was generated from social media traffic. And Monetate recently published its Q2 Ecommerce Quarterly based on 7 billion online shopping experiences--it found that social delivers an add-to-cart rate of just 0.6% (70% less than search) and a minuscule conversion rate of 0.12% (70% lower than search).
Coorg Escorts 🥰 8617370543 Call Girls Offer VIP Hot Girls
Stop Social Media Marketing (Unless...)
1. ST0P
@augieray/#prsms
Advertising is not social
calling paid media on
social networks
“social.”
Social
Fewer than 15% of
Facebook ads
Media
leverage social data
to reach more
Marketing
relevant audiences.
(Unless…)
Source: Nate Elliott, “Why Facebook Is Failing Marketers,” Forrester
2. What is social media marketing?
Content, People, WOM, Earned Media & Results
Social Media
Marketing is
content…
@augieray/#prsms
Authored or
encouraged
by a brand…
Shared by
Word of
Mouth that…
Creates
earned
media &…
Drives
marketing
objectives.
3. The earned media Venn diagram
What your brand
can say to move
consumers closer
@augieray/#prsms
First, what content help your brand?
4. Marketing metrics prevail
Not RTs & fans but Business or brand benefits
@augieray/#prsms
Awareness
Consideration
Purchase Intent
Purchase
Inbound Traffic
What your brand
can say to move
consumers closer
5. Going viral is not enough
Having a viral campaign did not help Kmart
What your brand
can say to move
consumers closer
@augieray/#prsms
Sales (in billions)
Ship My Pants 4/13
$15.3 $14.6 $13.2
2011 2012 2013
6. The earned media Venn diagram
Second, what can you say that will be heard?
@augieray/#prsms
What consumers
want to hear
from your brand
7. Do people want brand content?
@augieray/#prsms
Consumers are just not that into you
What consumers
want to hear
from your brand
68% of US
consumers “mostly”
or “always” ignore
brand posts on
every social
network.
– Kentico, 2/14
Photo credits: Helga Weber
8. Do they want your content?
Much worse in some categories than others
@augieray/#prsms
What consumers
want to hear
from your brand
71% of Millennials
would rather go
to the dentist
than listen to
what their banks
are saying.
– Scratch/Viacom, 3/14
Photo credits: Conor Lawless
9. Some brands have a “magic intersection”
What your brand
can say to move
consumers closer
@augieray/#prsms
Content that works
What consumers
want to hear
from your brand
Content
that works!
Boring, Unengaging Engaging, Useless
10. Be in the right category or…
Sports, Entertainment, Style , Tech, B2B
@augieray/#prsms
What consumers
want to hear
from your brand
Content
that works!
What your brand
can say to move
consumers closer
, Local
11. Craft a brand that matters or…
Brands with purpose drive engagement
@augieray/#prsms
What consumers
want to hear
from your brand
Content
that works!
What your brand
can say to move
consumers closer
12. @augieray/#prsms
Be worth talking about
Some brands can let people talk for them
Google Trends, US: Apple iPhone vs Samsung Note
Apple iPhone
Samsung Note
9/3:
Note
Unpacking
9/9:
iPhone
Reveal
Samsung Mobile: Apple:
Aug 8, 2014 Aug 15, 2014 Aug 22, 2014 Aug
29, 2014
39 million 0
9 million 0
1 million 2 million
13. Challenge faced by most brands
@augieray/#prsms
No
Content
What consumers
want to hear
from your brand
What your brand
can say to move
consumers closer
Content
that works!
14. Challenge faced by most brands
Brands that have not given people a reason to
care in the real world cannot do so online
@augieray/#prsms
No
Content
What consumers
want to hear
from your brand
What your brand
can say to move
consumers closer
15. Zero organic reach approaching on Facebook
@augieray/#prsms
Is the point moot?
“Organic reach of the content
brands publish in Facebook is
destined to hit zero. It’s only a
matter of time.”
Top 3 Brands on Facebook by Fan Count
- Social@Ogilvy, 3/14
"We expect organic distribution of
an individual page's posts to
gradually decline over time as we
continually work to make sure
people have a meaningful
experience on the site.”
- Facebook Sales Deck, 12/13
17. @augieray/#prsms
Earned Media Is Dying
Social Media’s Not-So-Existential Question
"If a tree falls in a
forest and no one is
around to hear it, does
it make a sound?"
0 Likes
0 Comments
0 Shares
0 Retweets
0 Replies
0 Favorites
“If brand posts &
tweets are seen by no
one, are they still
brand marketing?”
18. What about trust
@augieray/#prsms
It’s not just about reach
Source: Forrester, Establish Product Credibility On Your Website, Kim Celestre, June 2014
19. What about trust
@augieray/#prsms
It’s not just about reach
Source: Adobe, 6/2013
20. What about trust
@augieray/#prsms
It’s not just about reach
Source: Adobe, 6/2013
, acquisition
21. @augieray/#prsms
It’s not just about reach
Source: Custora, Q2 2013
What about trust
, acquisition
Data derived from data spanning 72 million customers from 86 U.S. retailers across 14 industries.
22. , acquisition & driving purchase?
What about trust
@augieray/#prsms
It’s not just about reach
Source: IBM, 12/2013
Just 1% of purchases &
traffic on ecommerce
sites on Black Friday
and the preceding
week were directly
generated by social media.
Data collected from 800 U.S. retail websites
23. What about trust
@augieray/#prsms
It’s not just about reach
, acquisition & driving purchase?
Based on a random sample of over 7 billion online shopping experiences using “same store” data across each calendar quarter.
Source: Monetate, Q2 2014
Bounce Rate
47%
39%
62%
Add to Cart
4.5%
2.1%
0.6%
Conversion Rate
0.9%
0.4%
0.1%
Revenue/Session
$1.0
$.46
$.14
24. Earned Media Challenges
Does Social align with Marketing objectives?
@augieray/#prsms
Shrinking reach
Little trust
Poor acquisition
Few conversions
25. Does Social align to Marketing?
For which 3 is the CMO held most accountable?
@augieray/#prsms
Acquisition
Reputation
Collaboration
Inbound traffic
Advocacy
Listening
Loyalty
B2B
B2C
Sales/Share
1to1 Relationships
Marketing
Acquisition
Inbound traffic
Sales/Share
Which Marketing Performance Metrics
does your company measure?
Website traffic 79%
Quantity: Sales Leads 62%
Lead Conversion Rate 62%
Website traffic 78%
Lead Conversion Rate 61%
Quantity: Sales Leads 54%
Source: Ascend2, 1/2013
26. Does Social align to Marketing?
For which is Social Media most effective?
@augieray/#prsms
Social
Acquisition
Reputation
Collaboration
Inbound traffic
Advocacy
Listening
Loyalty
Sales/Share
1to1 Relationships
Marketing
Acquisition
Inbound traffic
Sales/Share
Reputation
Collaboration
Advocacy
Listening
Loyalty
Relationships
27. So, is Social a bust for biz?
@augieray/#prsms
Acquisition
Reputation
Collaboration
Inbound traffic
Advocacy
Listening
Loyalty
Sales/Share
1to1 Relationships
Marketing
Acquisition
Inbound traffic
Sales/Share
Social
Reputation
Collaboration
Advocacy
Listening
Loyalty
Relationships
28. So, is Social a bust for biz?
No, it aligns well outside of Marketing
@augieray/#prsms
Social
Reputation
Advocacy
Listening
Loyalty
Public Relations
Product Development
Research
Human Resources
Customer Care
Collaboration
Relationships
Reputation, Advocacy, Relationships
Collaboration
Listening
Advocacy, Loyalty, Relationships
Advocacy, Loyalty, Relationships
29. Earned media on a collision course
If earned media cannot yield marketing goals,
it will not long be part of the Marketing mix
74% of CEOs think Marketers
focus too much on the latest
marketing trends such as social
media – but can rarely
demonstrate how these trends
will help them generate more
business for the company.
@augieray/#prsms
Fournaise Marketing Group,
based on research with 1200 CEOs
and CMOs in 11 countries, 7/2013
Have proven
the impact
quantitatively
Haven’t been
able to show the
impact yet
15%
Have a good
qualitative sense
of the impact , but
not a quantitative
impact
45%
40%
Data collected from 351 top US marketing leaders
Source: CMO Survey, 9/2014
30. What does this mean to you?
Start managing your career for changes ahead
@augieray/#prsms
No No
No
Congratulations! You get to do social media marketing!
Yes Yes Yes
Caution! Danger ahead!
Does your brand
have a “magic
intersection"?
Can you control
the paid media
budget for social?
Does your firm
evaluate marketing
in reputation &
loyalty?
31. @augieray/#prsms
Avoid a career trap
Start managing your career for changes ahead
Redirect: Work to alter expectations and goals.
Educate peers on the real business or brand goals that
social can measurably deliver.
Detour: Consider social opportunities outside of the
Marketing department.
Exit: Consider shifting out of social media and into
related fields such as CX, customer care or mobile.
Caution! Danger ahead!
32. Once upon a time there was a web site
Where we used to post a thing or two
On Facebook we would laugh away the hours
And think of all the marketing we'd do
But soon reality was ever clearer
That fans and likes were not a currency
And content from our brands was no more welcome
Than ads in print, on FM or TV.
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd tweet and pin forever and a day
We'd post our ads for free
With authenticity
Our brands would win and never have to pay
La la la la la la, La la la la la la,
Those were the days,
Oh yes, the social days!
@augieray/#prsms
Those Were the Days!
1968 Song by Mary Hopkins; Written by Boris Fomin and Gene Raskin
33. And now organic reach is ever shrinking
On Facebook people rarely see brand posts
And hashtag programs always seem to backfire
Hijacked by the trolls who spark revolts
@augieray/#prsms
Those Were the Days!
1968 Song by Mary Hopkins; Written by Boris Fomin and Gene Raskin
Social is a place where all our patrons
Can share how much they love us or we suck
So word of mouth comes not from status updates
But care that demonstrates we give a ████ heck
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd tweet and pin forever and a day
We'd post our ads for free
With authenticity
Our brands would win and never have to pay
La la la la la la, La la la la la la,
Those were the days,
Oh yes, the social days!
34. @augieray/#prsms
ignoring the
danger signs &
prepare your
company &
career for
changes ahead.
1 Source: Nate Elliott, “Why Facebook Is Failing Marketers,” Forrester
Notas do Editor
Thank you for having me back at the PR + Social Media Summit.
In this short history of social media marketing, there has always been a gorilla in the room that we’ve largely ignored, and that is that social media has not proven an effective marketing channel for most brands. That gorilla keeps getting bigger and bigger as our social media marketing budgets have grown, but too many brands and marketing professionals continue to ignore him. I aim to change that, not because I like raining on the parade but because I fear for the jobs and careers of many within social media and content marketing. I think the time has come to stop social media marketing, or at least rethink it, and if you are employed in the field, it is time for you to consider the reality of the data and trends and take action to protect your career and your brand.
Unless… There are some caveats that we will discuss, and they are pretty big ones. However, the caveats are not about different strategies (do this, don’t do that) but about the kind of companies for which social media will work. You either work for the sort of company for which social media will tend to work, or you don’t. Which is it? We’ll get to that shortly.
But first, let’s talk about what social media marketing is. Here is what it is not: It is not paid media. Advertising on social networks may be effective marketing, but don’t call it social. Fewer than 1 in 6 ad dollars on Facebook use social signals, and the two most common types of advertising on Facebook are retargeting and custom audiences. Moreover, neither Facebook nor Twitter even considers itself a social network any longer. So, go ahead and buy media on these sites, but that is not social. What is?
http://blogs.forrester.com/nate_elliott/13-10-28-an_open_letter_to_mark_zuckerberg
If any piece of this is missing, it stops being Social Media Marketing. Without content, people, WOM, earned media or marketing results, it is not Social Media Marketing. Any objections?
It all starts with content, so let’s take a look at what is required for content to work for your brand.
The first circle in our Venn diagram is simple—if content does not move people closer to your brand, then it cannot deliver on marketing objectives. What do I mean by “Closer to the brand.” That’s not difficult—just look at marketing metrics.
These are the ways marketers measure success. Not in RTs or fans.
Success is not achieved with “going viral” unless you also achieve one or more of these objectives. For example, last year, the most viral brand was Kmart…
Kmart’s “Ship My Pants” video went viral in April 2013 and was followed with other irreverent and popular videos.
It’s fine to go viral, but if it does not move consumers closer to the brand, then it is just wasted time and effort. “Ship My Pants” didn’t stop Kmart’s consistent downward plunge to its inevitable demise. “Go the blue light, Kmart.”
So that’s the first half—the content must help you achieve marketing goals. I trust that sounds pretty obvious. So will the second half of the Earned Media Venn Diagram.
What do you consumers want to hear from your brand? If they do not want it, will not listen, do not see it and cannot share it, then your content cannot deliver for your brand.
While brands keep on pumping out content, consumers are not, for the most part, having anything of it…
Over two-thirds of consumers mostly or always ignore brand posts. This should come as no surprise since you, as human beings, do not sign on to social networks to hear what brands are hearing but to stay in touch with friends and the world.
Of course, the situation is worse for some brands in different categories. For instance…
Photo credit: Helga Weber, https://flic.kr/p/5SNFLi
http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/study-68-of-social-users-ignore-the-brands-they-like_b86260
Almost three quarters of millenials would rather go to the dentist than listen to anything their banks have to say. If they remake the movie Marathon Man, Dustin Hoffman would be forced to listen to a banker talking about the value of saving accounts and 529 plans. (Old person’s joke lost on young audience.)
The point is not merely to ask if people want brand content but do they want YOUR content? Too often, we see case studies that reference brands like GoPro, Starbucks and Disney, but chances are, your brand is not GoPro, Starbucks or Disney!
So, bringing together the two halves of our Venn Diagram, we have this…
Photo credit: Conor Lawless, https://flic.kr/p/3oWfWn
http://www.millennialdisruptionindex.com/
When you bring together the two halves—what you can say that will move consumers closer to your brand and what consumers want to hear from you—you find the “magic intersection.” Here is the content that creates earned media success. Not everything you post must fall in the “magic intersection,” but the more you post on one side, the more boring and unengaging, and the more on the other, the more engaging but useless.
So, how do brands find this “magic intersection”?
First, some brands are in the right category. There are many verticals where people ARE interested in what brands have to say, and they can post content that DOES drive marketing objectives. For example…
Sports: Every time the Packers post a picture of Aaron Rodgers or a video of a key play, people eat it up and it drives great engagement. At the same time, it also drives more interest in the next game, more viewership and more interest in team jerseys. How great must it be to do social media for the Packers?
Entertainment: Fans of TV shows and movies crave behind the scenes tidbits, inside info and info about their favorite actors. This, in turn, drives more awareness of the show or film.
Style: One of the points to make, and the style category helps us make it, is that social hasn’t changed the desire for our the effectiveness of branded content. Year after year, women buy up the important September issues of fashion magazines, despite the fact they are most advertising. Anyone know the number of ad pages in the 2014 issue of Vogue magazine this year? 631 ad pages! Women—and some men—WANT to know what brands have in store for style this coming year, so social posts drive engagement and sales.
B2B works also. People want to do their job better, be better informed, and know the latest data and offerings from vendors, so B2B has a “magic intersection.”
Finally, local works, as well. People love to support their favorite locally-owned restaurants and shops, so the right content can be both welcome by consumers and drive financial benefits for small brands.
What if you’re not lucky enough to be in one of the right categories? What if your product is antiperspirant, tires, canned vegetables or checking accounts? Well, all is not lost, if your brand does something very special…
We already shared that people do not want to hear from their banks, but this is not true of USAA. Why? Because they have a brand that has recognized purpose and is a part of the military community. As a result, their content is welcome and drives people closer to the brand.
TOMS shoes is another example. This is a brand many of you know about because of its "one for one concept.“ When they sell a pair of shoes, they give a pair to a child in need. This drives awareness and engagement more than other shoe manufacturers can create because people care and want to be a part of the brand mission.
Finally, Chipotle is another example. No quick service restaurant has grown more over the past decade than Chipotle, while leaders like Burger King, KFC and McDonald’s are struggling. Last quarter, same-store sales at Chipotle were up 17%, more than four times the growth at McD’s, Burger King or Wendy’s.
One reason is that Chipotle has staked out a higher purpose, striving to improve the sourcing of its food and being more transparent about its ingredients. People don’t just eat up their food; they eat up their posts, and this drives more awareness and traffic.
So, being in the right category is one way to have content that works. Building a brand with purpose is one way to break out of category without an intrinsic “magic intersection.” The last way is to simply have better products and services...
Apple is many things, but most of all, it is talkable.
In 2014, Samsung has had twice the market share of Apple when it comes to smartphone sales. Both companies had major product unveilings this month, you based on Google Trends data, Apple still had considerably more buzz in advance of the events? Why? Well, it certainly isn’t Apple’s reach and strength in social media—Samsung has 2,350% more fans, followers and subscribers than does Apple.
Apple doesn’t need social media accounts. It merely needs to keep producing talkable products, and its fans will do the rest. What happens if your company does not fit into these categories? Well, this is why so many companies are failing to achieve marketing results in social channels. They have a problem…
So those are the three ways to succeed with earned media—be in the right category; be recognized for having a purpose that resonates deeply with consuemers; or have products and services that are leaps and bounds better than everyone else in the category.
With no overlap between what consumers want and what drives marketing results, brands struggle with social media marketing. This is the rule, not the exception.
What happens when there is no overlap? Brands get desperate. Rather than using social media because they have something to say, they instead struggle to say something because they have a social media profile. Without the overlap, content looks disconnected from the brand and desperate. It may drive engagement but it does not drive marketing objectives. It also raises risks, which is why we increasingly see brands embarrassing themselves in social media. For example…
Social@Ogilvy has found that brands have suffered a 50% decline in reach on Facebook in the past six months. Meanwhile, Facebook is already warning brands to expect even more declines in their organic reach.
How bad is it? None of the top 3 brands on Facebook can even reach one of every 10,000 of their fans, and Coca-Cola, one of the strongest brands in the world, only reached 1 of every 100,000 fans.
57% of all social visits happen on Facebook according to Experian, so it is by far the most important social network, but the problems of shrinking reach is hardly exclusive to Facebook…
A recent Forrester report demonstrated that the average user interaction with brand posts is just 0.03%--effectively nothing. Meanwhile, Twitter will be introducing a Facebook-style filtered feed soon, so we can expect brand opportunities to shrink on Twitter even further.
By the way, while the Forrester report recommended brands consider Instagram for greater engagement, don’t get too excited about that Instagram interaction rate: Engagement used to be higher on the other social networks, and it will drop on Instagram, too. This is a common occurrence—the first-ever banner ad had a click rate of 44% in 1994, just a tad higher than today. Soon, brand marketers will be complaining Instagram mislead them just the same way they’re complaining about Facebook today!
http://blogs.forrester.com/nate_elliott/14-04-29-instagram_is_the_king_of_social_engagement
We used to ask the age old existential question: if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?Nowadays, those employed in social media marketing should be asking, if a post or tweet is seen by no one, is it still brand marketing?
It may seem I’ve made my case for the demise of social media marketing, but I am just getting rolling. The reasons brands are struggling is not just declining organic reach—there are other issues, as well….
Forrester’s latest Technographics demonstrate that posts by companies are 40% trusted than the information brands put on their site—and, of course, far less than half as trusted as consumer-written reviews, professionally-written reviews or recommendations from family and friends.
https://www.forrester.com/Brief+Establish+Product+Credibility+On+Your+Website/quickscan/-/E-RES116623
Aobe found the same thing—just 2% of consumers felt company social media pages were best for credibility. Nine times more people find company websites more credible and 30 times more people find their family and friends more credible.
So, consumers don’t trust brands in social media, what about acquisition?
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pdfs/Click_Here_Regional_Comparisons.pdf
The Adobe study found that the people who like your brand are three times more likely to be people who already buy from you rather than people who aspire to buy.
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pdfs/Click_Here_Regional_Comparisons.pdf
And a study from found that Facebook and Twitter are barely a blip in retail acquisition compared to search, email and affiliate programs. Moreover, the lifetime value of the customers obtained via social are significantly lower than other acquisition channels.
So, social isn’t very good for acquisition, but how about for actual sales and conversions?
http://blog.custora.com/custora-content/uploads/downloads/2013/07/Custora_EcommSnapshotQ213.pdf
IBM studied data collected from 800 webites last Black Friday and the week preceding it and found that just 1% of the sales were generated by social media.
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/214632/just-1-of-black-friday-online-sales-came-from-soc.html
Monetate’s recent EQ report from last quarter demonstrated that social, when compared to other acquisition channels, had a higher bounce rate, a much lower “add to cart” rate, and miniscule conversion rates and revenue per session.
http://content.monetate.com/h/i/25962265-ecommerce-quarterly-eq2-2014
It is time to challenge the assumptions that are driving investment in social media marketing before it costs our companies more money and us our jobs.
It is time for the Marketing Department to ask itself an important question…
Does social align to marketing goals?
Fewer than half say they measure customer retention, reputation or awareness.
http://www.ascend2.com/pdf/Marketing_Strategy_Outlook_Report-Ascend2.pdf
And from this list, what is social good for? Well, pretty much everything else.
Social is great—at the things the Marketing Department is least interested in measuring.
So, is Social a bust for business?
Of course, you know me better than to say Social isn’t vital for your enterprise—it just aligns to the needs and objectives of departments other than Marketing.
We could quibble a little over which aligns with which, but by and large…
Corp Comm: Reputation, Advocacy and Relationships, particularly among influencers
Product Development: Collaboration
Research: Listening
Human Resources: Advocacy, Loyalty and Relationships with employees & candidates
Customer Care: Advocacy, Loyalty and Relationships with existing customers
For now, many CMOs support social media, but I question if that will be a case a year or two from now. CEOs are increasingly demanding accountability from CMOs as to the pursuit of new trends, and CMOs in shocking high numbers admit they have way to back up their social media investment. It is appalling that in 2014, 85% of CMOs say they have no quantitative social media measures.
Concepts of earned media, social media marketing and content marketing are on a collision course with the C suite. If you are in social media marketing, you boss may today be satisfied with you counting fans, retweets and likes, but the time is coming where the CMO will demand marketing accountability using marketing metrics.
http://chiefexecutive.net/are-cmos-unfit-for-the-job-how-the-ceo-can-make-a-difference
http://cmosurvey.org/files/2014/09/The_CMO_Survey-Highlights_and_Insights-Aug-2014.pdf
Magic Intersection:
Evaluate Marketing: Here’s how to tell: How does the CMO lead off his or her presentations to leaders and peers? Does he or she lead with Net Promoter Score, Loyalty, Repurchase or Share of Wallet measures? Or are the primary metrics related to sales, acquisition and traffic? If the former then social can be a good fit for your company’s marketing expectations, but if the latter…
Can you control the paid budget? If so, then you can increase your reach and target the audience of prospects rather than merely posting content to your fans, most of whom are already customers.
But if none of these are the case, then you have a career issue to consider. What can you do about it? I see three courses of action….
Redirect: If social does not align to top marketing metrics, then see if you can change those metrics. Don’t ignore that social is misaligned, steer into it, and do not wait for the CMO to lose faith—be the one who raises the issues and offers solutions. Gain consensus on the measurements that Marketing leadership will accept, and if they will not or cannot, then at least you’ve been the one leading on the issue rather than waiting until it blows up.
Or, take a detour. Social is growing throughout the enterprise, and there may be opportunities to lead social for purposes other than acquisition, sales and traffic.
Or, consider shifting out of social media. Social Media experience can be used to shift into many other related fields including mobile marketing, Customer Experience and research.
The question I’m raising are getting louder and more common. If you’re responsible for social media marketing and are ignoring the challenges, now is the time to:Stop ignoring the danger signs and prepare your company and your career for the changes ahead. Thank you.