It’s amazing how sometimes a number of unrelated events fall into place like a web of interconnected forces destined to be together. No, I am not venturing into creative writing, rather, I am speaking of the course of events during the past week that started with creating the infograph you see before you.
Last Tuesday, I spent a good hour creating this infograph to communicate the need for what I call “a winning mindset” to achieve success with social media. In my view, the potential for social media reaches beyond PR and marketing activities. Instead, it should be thought of as serving a singular purpose that impacts every aspect of a business: To serve our audience/clients/customers better.
Then, on Thursday I came across a fabulous article by Shel Israel on Forbes entitled: “Will marketing mock up social media?“ I was delighted to read an echo of my thoughts in that article, although, stated in a slightly different manner. In that article, Shel Israel correctly raises concern about a troubling shift in the way in which companies are using social media, basically confining its use to the marketing department, and measuring it’s value purely through ROI of dollars spent, versus dollars gained.
interestingly enough, on Friday, as I was preparing for my Open Social Media Initiative Workshop on Effective Blogging, I was pinged by a follower (or I should say, circler) who asked me whether I would define the word “effective” in terms of ROI, time/dollars spent versus dollars gained, and business outcome (you can read the thread here). In his opinion, unless I addressed click through rates, and number of sales per page-visit, the workshop would be a waste of time, since I was not approaching “effectiveness” scientifically. He wanted me to show him data about A/B testing results, and so on and so forth.
Now, as a strong advocate of the scientific method, I would agree with his assertions, except there are a couple of things that are misguided about his argument and what it really means to do science:
1- Scientific discovery is a long term ventures, and its effectiveness cannot necessarily be judged based on short-term measuring methods:
If scientists were to be purely focused on the ultimate outcome (curing a disease) when evaluating the merits of each individual experiment, science would be deemed as lacking “effectiveness”. Scientific breakthroughs often occur as a result of a life time of experimentation, and occasionally come about due to a serendipitous error which catches the attention of an inquisitive mind.
Scientific investigation may be a measurement-driven exercise, but a good scientist knows that it is nature that dictates the rules, often in quite unpredictable ways. He/she is patient, and knows that keeping an open mind is the recipe to making profound discoveries. In fact, this is the precise long-term way of thinking that is alarmingly lacking in some pharmaceutical/biotech companies, who kill their R&D departments to save money on a short term basis. This ill fated practice often leads to empty pipelines and desperate measures.
2- Social media and blogging do not always lend themselves to measuring monetary ROI, and coming up with exact numbers:
This is because, if done right, social media and blogging are driven and fueled by human behavior, which can be unpredictable and erratic at times. It would be a mistake to regard a company’s followers and blog readers purely as numbers, because they are not.
If Chief Social Media Officers are leading their teams in the right path, they would require them to get to know each and everyone of their brand advocates, and those customers who come to their digital channels to seek help. They would be taking time to converse with their audience to gain insight into their needs and pain points, and feed that information to product development and R&D teams. The profound long term financial benefits of integrating social media in every aspect of a business cannot always be measured on a quarterly basis.
The greatest struggle facing social media and blogging today is the fight between ROI marketing purists, and social media enthusiasts who see a higher purpose for this new medium of communication. The answer to this struggle is a change in mindset on the part of business owners and marketers to see their purpose as serving their customers and getting paid for it, and not the other way around. Seeing oneself in the higher pursuit of serving and being rewarded fairly for doing so, rather than manipulating to make a sale, is the answer.
Now, back to my Open Social Media workshop on Effective Blogging. Obviously, I was not deterred by the above mentioned conversation, and carried on with the presentation, which was broadcast live on Google Plus Hangout On Air. I am pretty happy with what I shared, and now I would like to hear your point of view about the concepts I discussed above and the presentation itself. Thank you for reading and responding, as I value our human connection.
You can also view the slide presentation below:
About Sherry
Thank you, Sherry, for sharing another valuable article! I appreciate the time, video and slide presentation! Great tips on how to create an effective blog!
Thank you Alexandra, I love what I do, and try to help others doing it.
Interesting article.
maggie currie recently posted..My technically challenging two weeks
Thank you!
Having just started a blog this is invaluable information for me Sherry. It’s not just fun starting out it’s also a huge learning curve. Some great tips here that I can use especially the ‘What about’ tools. Thank you!
Carolyn Hughes recently posted..Why me? Why not me?
Great that you found it useful and educational. I am glad they are fulfilling their purpose!
Very interesting Sherry, I can see that you like to explore all the ins and outs of social media; thanks for the insight
Olga Hermans recently posted..Iron Sharpens Iron
Thank you Olga, yes I enjoy it, very much!
Sherry I think that what you are doing with the open social media education is great, liking the presentation about effective blogging : )
Karla Campos recently posted..Facebook for WordPress Plugin Features
Thank you so much Karla, I am having a lot of fun doing it!
Great article and video, Sherry. I really see the value of effective blogging tools. It’s defenitely another avenue to reach and better serve your clients. Thanks!
Lisa Birnesser recently posted..Best Natural Sleep Aids
Thank you Lisa!
Thanks for another Amazing article. I found it to be very interesting. I love the video and slides
Susan Preston recently posted..Got Negative People In Your Life?
Thanks Susan, glad you enjoyed it!
My goodness — this is such an informative post, as is your workshop. Stunning statistic on the number of blogs!! Thank you so much for sharing all of this.
Lisa Frederiksen – BreakingTheCycles.com recently posted..Hang On…
Thank you, glad you found it useful. Offering information and education is the goal of these workshops, I am glad they are fulfilling that purpose.
I’m seeing this more and more. I work with one company that has Twitter and Facebook blocked. Of course they also have a Salesforce subscription that they aren’t using correctly either. Sometimes I wonder if I can even help these companies.
Maria Stefanopoulos recently posted..How much should I tip when traveling?
That’s unfortunate Maria! You know what they say, you can’t help someone if they are no willing to help themselves.
Sherry, you provide great information on making a blog more effective, readable and easier to find. I like the two formats of video and the slide show presentation. I agree with you about the importance of the mindset of serving others…it is all about relationships…right on!
Sherie recently posted..7 Warning Signs That You Are Being Taken For Granted In Your Relationship
Thanks Sherie, glad you enjoyed it. No surprise you agree with me, great minds think alike, especially when they share the same name. We Trekkies are all awesome!
As an avid blogger, social media junkie, AND someone who likes to see good ROI from my efforts, I always think it’s interesting that companies sweep all social media under the marketing door. Social media is simply another tool to drive potential customers into the sales funnel. It’s pretty simple. Wonder why so many have a difficult time understanding it?
Martha Giffen recently posted..Article Marketing Is Still Alive And Well
I think it is short term thinking that is the culprit!
The other day I was on twitter, and I had a complaint about a major company. I took it to twitter. The company came to me within minutes and we talked over DM. By the end of the conversation my whole mindset was completely turned around, and this was after I had already talked on the phone with someone in customer service. I was shown the importance of social media in this example.
This article has good information, but for a person who doesn’t always know the ins and outs and the business side of things I did get a little lost at times =)
Jamie recently posted..It’s my SITS Day, It’s my SITS Day!!
That’s great feedback Jamie, thank you! Glad the company took care of you, it’s their job to do so.
Thanks Sherry, this is a great article; I totally agree with your perspective. ROI shouldn’t be the sole measuring tool used by marketers. I believe it should be about creating relationships with your customers, getting to know their needs, wants and desires, then trying to fulfill those needs. Businesses focused entirely on ROI, PPC, click through rates and conversions as a sole measure of ‘worthiness’ are focused on only one thing … money, not their customers.
Mary Pougnet recently posted..Benefits Of Omega-Q ~ Fish Oil Meets CoQ10
Love it, you have a great and winning attitude towards your customers, people can sense that and translate into a purchase.
Sherry — Thanks for sharing this info…it makes sense to me.
Great, glad it makes sense!
Very very interesting article, thank you and love the graphic…it says it all!
Carele Belanger recently posted..How to post in 2 languages on Facebook
Thanks Carele, glad you liked it!
When I was consulting in social media and especially with offline clients, this was the first question I was asked about! Always
Great post that I have shared 
Anita recently posted..Inspirational Sayings to Get You Through the Day
Thank you Anita!
Companies should have social media managers that are people, so that other people can relate to them. LOL
You said it Sally!
I had a client in fact one of my first want me to prove this.;) I know what building a relationship with people on social media will get you.. a relationship of trust and a great platform to launch a business from that gave me over night success. How? because I had a strong relationship with people that were search for my product in place. Fact build a relationship and they will come to you!
elizabeth recently posted..One Cool Trick To Get Facebook Likes That We Love
True, not many people understand this, that is why we need the Open Social Media Initiative!
When it comes to measuring ROI on social media, I think large agencies and companies are still looking for a reliable measuring stick. The vehicle is more evasive than traditional marketing, where tools and gauges have been in pace for years. But the popularity of social media is such that they’ll continue to seek out persuasive sales arguments.
Sharon O’Day recently posted..Finding Financial Independence in the New World
You always write so beautifully and right on the point Sharon!
Thank you for what you are doing! I really enjoy the slideshares you have at the end of your posts!
Thank you Mandy, gold you like them.
Sherry, your post stuck in my mind for a couple of days so I added it to my “best posts of the week” list: http://secure.list.ly/2wu
Here is my comment on the list.ly:
While I’m waiting to hear if I’m going to make the next round in an awards competition to become “Best Online Marketer” in BC, this post resonates with me.
One of the panelists in Sherry’s Hangout yesterday said: “While you are looking at your numbers you can’t engage”
Wise words to live by
Frithjof recently posted..Introducing: Social Media Coach.me
Thank you Frithjof, honored to have made your list!
Good topic you have here. But I don’t think marketing will taint the nature of social media – not much longer anyway. Social media is here to stay. Because there’s no way people are willing to go back to social isolation and purely physical communities without a fight. Because social media is only going to continue to grow and change, I think marketing will have to grow and change with it. Not saying techniques will differ, but delivery definitely will.
Nikki recently posted..3 Design Principles to Help You Choose the Best PowerPoint Presentation Themes