We Are Q Inc.

We all know social networking is intensifying further in 2009. Mainstream or niche, consumers are generating their own, very personal advertising and entertainment driven by their own passion to connect with others. If a brands can use social media honestly, transparently and with integrity, they will reap the benefits of marketing for the people, by the people.

Where can we expect growth?

When the numbers come in at the end of this quarter, we can expect growth in niche social networks that are targeted towards specific customer segments. For example, one site I’m watching is SegaZone, a UK social network launched in early 2008 and is aimed at the over 50s demo.

ROI opportunities outside of online Advertising are also gaining results. eCommerce, reverse pyramid revenue for members and innovative affiliate models represent the biggest uptake.

How much should we spend?

In terms of budget allocation, ultimately, getting involved in social media is a trade-off between time and resources invested versus the value added. As the industry is maturing, measuring the success of social media has become more important, but a lack of industry standards often makes it hard to understand exactly what to measure. Without demonstrable results, it’s difficult to justify increasing budget for social media campaigns. However, achieving successful outcomes often requires significant investment in the first place. Before you decide what to do and how much to spend, I suggest monitoring a few campaigns.

What’s the best way to monitor socail media campaigns?

Monitoring social media campaigns can also be referred to as buzz monitoring. You need to do some creative thinking to effectively buzz monitor, but there are some tools that allow companies to measure social media in terms of both popularity and influence. Initiatives such as MeasurementCamp (a collaborative project involving leading industry experts) aim to create a set of open source resources to measure social media communications online and offline. Hitwise, comScore and Alexa provide useful metrics for measuring volume and reach, and tools such as Onalytica Influence Monitor, Magpie/BrandWatch and Nielsen Buzzmetrics work well for measuring influence.

Try Microblogging?

Strategically and tactically, microblogging is an excellent and cost effective way to do some social media impact and influence testing.  As you may know microblogging is gaining ground as sites such as Twitter, Jaiku, Pownce and now Plurk become more popular. Pick a savvy brand/customer champion, have her or him start microblogging, supported by a campaign, and monitor the following KPI’s:
• Volume of inbound links generated

• Improved search rankings and search engine visibility

• Measure short term customer loyalty through repeat users and time spent on site

• Number of customer questions answered and reduction in call centre costs

• Browser to buyer conversion and corresponding jumps in sales

• Measure referrals to landing pages & product pages

• Monistor traffic spikes

(Drop me a note to let me know how it goes! )
Finally, don’t forget success from social media can also be viewed in terms of intangible benefits, such the value gained from direct relationships with customers and potential for innovation by tapping into the “wisdom of crowds”. A good example is how Starbucks tapped into the idea of co-creating products with their customers, by launching “My Starbucks Ideas.” More on this in my next post.