thefunnel

Capitalizing on social media, the latest gold rush, marketers and managers afraid of being left behind, are scrambling to set up their company facebook pages, tweats, YouTube channels to satisfy then demands of their executives. But, is it really working, and worth while all the efforts? Why should a company spend all this time and effort on something that can’t be easily measured and may or may not generate any return, when at the same time, traditional proven marketing tactics are starving for resources?

Here’s a few simple things to consider before you engage too deeply in social media .

First of all, every industry and it’s customers are different. What might work for some doesn’t work for others. Companies have to fish where the fish is. So, know your industry trends, your customers, their preferences, and any underlying changes. You also want to understand where on the participation continuum your customers are. Are they spectators, joiners, collectors, critics or contributors?

Secondly, think about what you’re trying to achieve with your marketing tactics. What is the outcome? The outcome will determine your actions. A good model to use is POST (people, objectives, strategy and tactics). There’s also some good research / models about what impact different social media channels have on Brand, Demand and Traffic. For example, bookmarks might generate a reasonable amount of traffic, but has a very small impact on brand or demand.

Thirdly, when you want to embark on social media keep in mind that there are hundreds and hundreds of options out there. Most people only know a few of the mainstream ones, such as facebook, but in a industrial B-2-B setting, participating in Yahoo discussion groups, Wikipedia,  Slide share, Plaxo etc. might be way more productive. One of the most under utilized tactic in B-2-B is WOM (word of mouth), which in many cases is one of the leading sources of information for customers.

And finally organize all your tactics into one  of four buckets, listening, talking, energizing or supporting. This will help to keep things straight thinking about what you’re trying to provide to your customers.

I was asked why I decided to call this blog “thefunnel”?  Briefly. I think the traditional linear marketing funnel (awareness through loyalty) is a good metaphor for us in marketing to remember that customers can be in any place in the funnel, which will have an impact on all elements of communication. It is also a reminder that there’s always the next step in the funnel and an ultimate objective to achieve an outcome such as sales and loyalty. In addition it’s a reminder that the traditional linear funnel is obsolete, and that understanding the customers decsion process is much more challenging today than it used to be, due the web, social media, choice, interaction between on-line and off-line experiences, fragmentation of media and pull marketing in general.

A bit disappointing to read the MarketingProfs 2009 success story case study collection about Social Media ROI. The paper talks about how 11 known brands that are listening, engaging and measuring social media. I think this part are OK, and there actually some interesting approaches that one could learn from. The connection ROI however is in most cases not there. A statement like “thanks in part to increase coverage (PR) sales have continued to risen….” simply doesn’t cut it, and marketeers need to make sure we don’t claim or take credit for things that we can’t prove. It will only get us in more trouble and not advance the credibility of marketing. On the other hand the story is re-assuring for companies only now starting the experiment with social media, in the sense that not many, if any, have figured out the financial return.