Before working with a anyone who claims to be a social media consultant, you may want to ask yourself a few questions.
Please Ask yourself The Following before choosing to work with a social media person:
1. Do I have the time to learn all this social media stuff and stay up to date on my own? 2. Do I want to be a thought leader online in my industry? 3. Do I have a willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed? 4. Do I see the value in having an on-going and ACTIVE social media presence for my business and brand? 5. How are my competitors activities on social media comparing to my business? 6. Do I have the time to dedicate to marketing my company on-line or do I want a social business TEAM of consultants to do it for me? 7. How much is NOT having a strong on-line presence costing my business? 8. Am I still trying traditional marketing approaches or expensive pay per click that are producing diminishing returns? 9. Am I currently having success in my business from doing social networking & social media? 10. Will someone at my company or will I be the one working with the social media consultant on an ongoing basis?
In this FREE Report, I reveal the Top 21 KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) your business or agency must be measuring for Social Media ROI
First– ask yourself a question:
Which of the 3 website goals am I trying to achieve?
Websites typically focus on these 3 objectives:
Increase website traffic
Increase leads
Increase sales (Or what we help do- increase conversion)
Second– ask yourself what is my cost per lead? Cost per customer? Remember: LTV of a customer (Or life time value)
Third: Understand Quantitative VS. Qualitative measurements
Now for the 21 KPI’s your business or social media agency should be measuring:
1. # of unique website visitors per month
2. # of Twitter followers & # of Twitter lists
3. # of mentions of your brand, product or service on twitter (see the tool www.tweetreach.com )
4. # of Facebook friends/ Fans
5. # of clicks on bit.ly links (find patterns in the time of day) this is FREE PPC! HUGE cost savings I’ve personally saved companies over 20,000$ easy that they would of spent on PPC (who says social media is free??)
6. # of you tube subscribers
7. # of you tube channel views/ videos views
8. # of newsletter subscribers (or blog subscribers)
9. Know which traffic sources are sending you the most traffic (Google Analytics)
10. # of quality inbound links (SEO)
11. # of blog comments
12. # of opt ins to your list
13. # of linked in group members
14. Avg. time spent on site (social media increases this) More time is better
15. Bounce rate (you want this % as low as possible) Lower is better
16. # of leads, sales, and conversions (Percentage) This is the MOST IMPORTANT
17. # of customers you retain from social media (staying engaged and on top of mind)
18. % of revenue increase from social media marketing
These are just some additional supplemental benefits of social media:
They reached 90X the audience at 1/6th the cost with social channels.
20. Social Media produces much higher QUALITY of leads than paid advertising
21. Social media produces better conversion rates than email, PPC, CPA, CPM, etc.
Last Point: Social Media is just simple communications Duh!
If you need an actual ROI Calculator, check out Dragon Search which we use quite often to show cost savings to clients. You can find here http://bit.ly/jFWilb
After being connected 3+ years to one of my favorite thought leaders in the social media space, Brian Solis and I finally had the opportunity to meet in Orange County at the Linked-OC event. We shared some laughs, he answered my questions, and I even got my copy of “End Of Business As Usual” signed that I had picked up at a local Barnes and Noble the first week it was out! Yes- I am a true Brian Solis fan but who wouldn’t be. Brian has been a huge inspiration to me and many others throughout their social media consulting journey and I did not miss this amazing opportunity to finally meet him in person. I wanted to thank him personally for all the valuable knowledge and insight he continues to share with the business community. His insights are always ahead of the curve.
Here are the Top 5 takeaways from Brian Solis at the Linked OC Social Media Event:
1. Meet in real life- Even though you may have connected with someone on-line, always take an opportunity to meet off-line as this will help strengthen the context of the relationship and create a deeper impact and emotional connection which can help reap huge benefits in your professional career. It’s sociology 101 people.
2. We are forever students- As Brian so rightfully mentioned in his presentation; these current times are trans-formative. Things are changing so quickly. I feel change is occurring in people not only personally but professionally. Embrace change. You must be constantly learning to stay relevant and current in today’s digital age OR risk being left behind. Life is a marathon so enjoy the music and March to the beat of your own drum.
3. Social Media is disruptive- just like Entrepreneurs. To get ahead in life, you MUST take an un-conventional approach. Conventional wisdom does NOT work anymore. You must think out-side the box, especially with your marketing. Just going to school, graduating, getting a job, and getting retirement after being with a company for 30 years is a RARE occurrence. This is now an exception to the rule, NOT the rule. The rule is to work your butt off doing something you love and make sure building a sustainable lifestyle you can be happy with at the end of the day saying you gave it your all each day before you go to bed.
4. Ask yourself and your clients- what defines success? How are you staying relevant to your connections on-line? How are you continually adding value? If you can’t answer these questions in your own life, you might have a hard time helping your clients see the social media success factors in their business. Think of yourself as a doctor. Ask questions. Really find out what impacts their business and help them to improve. Social Media Consultants have a rough job- convincing upper management, showing short term success even though it could take months to deliver ROI. If you are a social media manger or a social media specialist, you had better love what you do otherwise do something else and leave it to the professionals who are in the social media trenches every day. They eat, sleep, and breathe this stuff.
5. Big data is only valuable to you if you can translate it into decision making processes. Word of mouth online generally is positive or negative. This sentiment can be measured. But data overload still exists in today’s business climate. The REAL question is how are you using this data to help make better decisions on product development, risk mitigation, client retention, etc. This word of mouth online trend is becoming more and more appealing to big brands and we will continue to see this space develop more and more over the coming years.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Please share it with your social networks by using the buttons below. Sharing is caring 😉
Have an amazing week-
1. Fails to Reach the Proper Target Audience
2. Generate Targeted Traffic
3. Have A Proper SEO Foundation
4. Have A Blog
5. Have An Integrated Social Media Marketing Plan
Yes, it’s there, it’s pretty, but is anyone looking at it? Is it bringing you new business? Is it generating leads? What is your conversion rate? Whats is your ROI on your monthly online marketing budget? Are you paying for online marketing software every month and seeing a return on this investment? Is it exposing you to a new market? Building your brand? Are you monitoring your personal or company reputation?
“Your website is only a billboard. You can have the most beautiful website in the world, and without traffic, it might as well be a billboard in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa.”
Contact us today and see how a social media marketing campaign can drive targeted traffic to your website while increasing click through, conversion, and decreases online adversing expenditure.
With internet marketing, you make your marketing dollars work more effectively online by establishing a CONSTANT presence on many sites. Over time, your customers will either do business with you or purchase from you when they are ready. We help your website pop up on search engines; you should have blogs on your website with updated content meant specifically for your prospect. Suddenly you’re a trusted source for information on your products/ services. You have a Twitter feed that keeps the consumer updated throughout the day on news and events pertaining to THEM and their specific interest- reminding them that YOU are their dependable source.
Ultimately everything comes down to the bottom line – drive revenue, lower traditional marketing costs by using Internet Marketing to generate traffic to your website, measure your ROI, and have a sustainable online marketing system that becomes more powerful over time.
So it’s time. Time to make that website work for you, time to embrace the future of social marketing with a company like Social Media San Diego that has the integrity, credibility, and track record of results to help build your online brand and improve your companies performance in all areas. Time to get online. Time to get it done right!
Social Networking San Diego will get you there- We offer the Fast Track
social media marketing seems to still dominate conversations these days. Companies testing, companies measuring, companies even bringing in outside help like social media consultants. One thing is certain though, through all the hype, noise, and water cooler talk- there are some companies who take action and some sitting on the sidelines still waiting to get into the game.
Let’s take the top three benefits of social media that we have seen on why companies are embracing this new marketing channel:
1. Your business is looking to cut costs on traditional advertising and use internet marketing and social media marketing as a cost effective substitute. This not only cuts down on costs, but allows you to be more targeted with your messaging. You can effectively extract your audience according to the proper demographic and geographic market you are going after.
2. Your company is looking for sustained growth or long-term growth with social media as compared to advertising. If your business is considering social media and you’re looking for long-term growth & sustainability then social media should be part of your strategy. Social Media allows scalability, growth over time, and by consistently engaging with your target audience you build trust. You constantly educate your prospects and customers giving them valuable information. When you do this overtime, you develop greater trust with your audience and build your brand equity much stronger. This also helps shorten the sales cycle and touches your audience through various points across the value chain.
3. You can develop an influential relationship with a key influencer who has a large trust relationship built with their audience. Once you have their trust, you can possibly ask them to help you get out a message to your target audience. If you care about social media and go about it the right way, you will be able to leverage those relationships. But one word of advice- if that person does you a favor, don’t forget to do a favor for them when asked. It’s always 50-50.
4.Bonus: Because Lebron James is on twitter now and that’s proof enough of why you’re business/ personal brand should be on there too! Don’t believe me- watch this inspiring video on his brand and being “Real”
Lebron’s story is truly motivating and inspiring. I think of Lebron as a humble leader on and off the court and he has much less of an ego than Kobe- but I digress…
Sent from my iPad 🙂
Justin “Results” French
p.s. Sharing is caring and re-tweeting is always appreciated
Are you looking for a social media manager? Is your small business actively using social media? Are you getting return on your time invested in this sometimes complicated marketing channel? I have been asked lately by many clients, students, colleagues, partners, small businesses, etc. exactly what makes a good social media manager Justin? So I wanted to share with you the Top 10 Qualities Of A Result Driven Social Media Manager that I have come to find while being active in the social media for business community over the past 2+ years. This is a job title that has been trending in the most recent months, BUT many people are still trying to wrap their heads around what specific characteristics do social media managers need to have? These are the same EXACT qualities & etiquette I teach people when participating, engaging, and conducting business development in the virtual world of social media:
1. You listen to the conversations first- then provide additional value add to it 2. You care about people 3. You are trustworthy, helpful, friendly, courteous, and kind to others 4. You have decent understanding of business, strategy, technology, and most importantly web 2.0 technologies 5. You understand marketing and know how to measure results 6. You practice what you preach 7. You add your insight when appropriate 8. You develop relationships first and sell second 9. You actively stay on the cutting edge of “whats new on the web” and have a burning obsession to stay on the pulse of social media 10. You have somewhat of an influence in the social media for business community
Any you would like to add?
Enjoy your week, hope these help shed some light- Justin
p.s. Looking for a result driven social media manager for your business ?
Call 760-576-4653 and mention this top 10 list for a FREE phone assessment!
Are you a social media consultant?Are you involved in a social media mastermind group?Well if you are not, I wanted to share with you a question I get asked a lot lately.I wanted to explain why I feel social media for business is BOTH an art AND a science.
1. Social media is an art because you have to be both strategic, creative, and somewhat tech savvy.I’m not saying you have to be a programmer, BUT you have to know how to be human in a digital world and utilize the online tools.This can be very difficult for some, and require some teaching, which is why I passionately teach at Mira Costa College a Social Media and Internet marketing course that has been rising in popularity.It’s called Introduction to Marketing Your Business Online and you can find out more info by clicking here: social media workshop
2. Social media is a science because it ties very closely in with sociology (which was one of my favorite subjects in my lower division) and studies the human behavior in groups.Hence the rise of social networking, social media, and other human behavioral technologies that continues to advance.Social media requires people to be REAL and if you are not, others will know.The 5 realest people I know in social media are GaryVee, Chris Brogan, Scott Stratten, Brian Solis, and Tony Hsieh of Zappos.
So what do you think?Is social media an art OR a science?I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.Enjoy the world Cup!
In this short post, I take you behind the scenes in the classroom of what it’s like to teach social networking, internet marketing, and social media to fellow business professionals in San Diego County. Teaching is another passion of mine (I know I spread myself thin sometimes) but I think educating the small business community is something I have always done and will continue to do especially during these times. Enjoy the behind the scenes look at me teaching social media for business at Mira Costa College San Elijo campus. Cheers,
Justin
p.s. If you are in San Diego County and would like to be part of my VIP Social Media Mastermind group then take this quick 20 second poll on social media for business, give your feedback, and join the group. I look forward to meeting you-
Everyone especially business professionals (rightfully so) keep talking about how to monetize social media and social networking. As of now, you should know how out-of the box my thinking is when it comes to business. I assure you that during these times, I am not the only business professional trying to think outside the box for innovative strategies. For better or worse, I am really going out on a limb on this one. Let me know if i am going over-board on this.
I will predict what the future holds (and how we can all make some money from not only social media consulting services for firms that “get it”) but possibly off things we are “Passionate” about. Besides, who wouldn’t want to make some extra money right now right?
Now hypothetically, lets say you drive a Prius. And you love it, you tell your friends how much you love it on facebook, twitter, linked-in, etc. So in a sense, you are now a brand ambassador for the Toyota prius. Now because you are so much in love with your prius and you happen to be marketing it for them “online” whether you know it or not, why couldn’t you reach out to Toyota, state your case, and charge them a small fee to write something about your experience (like or dis-like) about your Toyota prius fully disclosed of course? Believe it or not, that is what Ted Murphy @Izea has done and it is not a bad idea. I give him credit for coming up with this concept and starting to put bloggers in touch with corporations to write fully disclosed reviews. Brilliant!!
I would even take it a step further and really start reaching out to companies and demonstrating the power of these “word of mouth” brand ambassadors by providing case studies. This is already going on. Maybe even get a sales team doing B2B. This is writing on the wall for more business models that will monetize social media because at the end of the day, we don’t want all this hype to implode like the 2001 dot com bust right? If businesses don’t get educated on social media soon, they may not be around next year when things start to pick up again.
As for facebook, here is what i would tell Mark to do. Start charging a small fee for businesses to use facebook (just like twitter should do) because this demonstrates to business people the value of social media and social networking tools for corporate use. Those business leaders who STILL DO NOT see the value, will continue to be lost in translation. Or maybe schedule some twitter training from one of our internet marketing strategists by going here for our twitter for marketing training: Just one mans opinion. What are your thoughts on this post?
Many business and marketing people keep talking about social media and social marketing and how businesses can get into this new online marketplace, but I have some actual non-theory lessons from ACTUAL consulting on about 12 client projects we have worked on over the last seven months.
Social Networking for business is hard stuff. You have to be both technical, psychological, sociological, business savvy, marketing savvy, sales savvy, a good communicator, good writer,…… The list goes on. 1 full time employee or college intern handling social media marketing will not cut it I guarantee it.
My TEAM (together everyone achieves more) of Business consultants and I have been doing workshops, tweet ups in Carlsbad, tele-seminars, conference calls, coaching, training, blogging, strategy building, assessments, webinars, and consulting on social media and social networking for business for the last 7 months. (I have been doing various business and technical consulting for about 10 years)
I remember my first blog post on how i predicted that social media and social networking will save small business and STILL stand by that prediction and remember it like it was yesterday. I also remember each and every client experience, where WE went wrong, and what changes we made in our “process” to improve. I must say right off the bat that I could NOT be in this “Social CEO” position with out my twitter network. I learned more on twitter in 2 months from just listening, paying it forward, and helping others achieve what information, resources, or knowledge they cared about which in return they taught me what I needed to know to help formulate Social Networking San Diego. Consider it a PHD in internet marketing from twitter for FREE just 20 days a month on-line till 4am investing my time (video proof here).
I laugh at the colleges now trying to charge thousands of dollars for certificate programs for social media marketing and internet marketing (even Masters Degrees) when all people would have to do is just apply themselves a little bit, spend some time doing internet research, and start LISTENING! Also, we are in a HUGE recession, and colleges are in fact a BUSINESS too trying to stay on the trends and make MORE money off students. But I digress…..
Here are some tips about what to be careful of in the trenches of social media and social networking consulting for businesses:
1.ROI– If they ask you “what will be my ROI”, ask them, “what is your CURRENT ROI on marketing/ advertising?” Tell them to give you a fraction of that (at least 10%) show them some results in the first quarter or six months, and then ask them for a larger budget (if you can perform)
2.Don’t under charge– Your time is valuable, and just because they might not see the REAL value in social media and social networking for business development purposes and lead generation, you still want to attract the clients who have a “perceived value” in social media. This can be hard, but where are you looking??? Our first couple accounts we did FULL SERVICE for less than 1000$/ month AND worked on these accounts probably 80 hours per month. Talk about hustling! And you know what, they left because they didn’t want to “spend the time” in social media because they were too impatient and wanted overnight success. And they felt the training was something an intern could do. Do you really want an intern handling your corporate message and controlling your brand perception online???? Let me stress to you that being in the trenches now for 7 months, this will require your client to commit to 9 months to 1 year to make it worth your time. That is if you provide a comprehensive and holistic approach to social media and social networking for business. This is VERY time consuming and a lot of work I assure you but the BEST practices approach for building a lasting community around your client’s products and services.
3.DON’T DO PAY BY PERFORMANCE– Do you like working for free? I sure as hell don’t, and we tried that and learned NOT to do it again! On a few clients, we agreed to pay by performance model and you know what happen, we worked our A$$ off, did the research, the set-up, got them leads, and they still weren’t happy. (we don’t work for the company, we get you leads, its up to you to close your deals, we are not your sales team) I would advise AGAINST bartering as well, tried that too 🙂
4.Social Media and Social Networking is not for EVERY client– Every business is different so be sure you analyze the prospect in depth BEFORE taking them on as a client. If they have a 4 year old website, why would we want to drive traffic to it? So we recommended a new website FIRST, then we will drive the traffic. (they thought they could get a good site done for 500$ so I said be my guest, then they came back for a full word press site from us)
5.Make your deliverables clear– Make sure you specify where the hours will be allocated for the project so the client is clear about what THEY will bring to the table, and what YOU will bring. We ask our clients to commit to X amount of training per month, X amount of content submissions, articles, etc.
I hope this helps clarify what life has been like for the non-theory preaching social media enthusiasts (I used to be one too, and still am a little, but businesses need help so we are rolling up our sleeves and helping what businesses we can, and who have the budget of course)
Any thoughts on your experiences? I know we have many readers who are in this industry, so feel free to leave some insight or feedback on your experiences in the trenches of social media consulting,
Thanks JustinRFrench
CEO Social Networking San Diego
Have any questions- hit me up on the G-Voice 760 – 576 – GOLF oh yeah!!
P.S. Get a copy of “Social Media Survival Guide for Business” The FAST TRACK
$9.95Click Here to order: (if you have time to read it) But this will be a helpful guide for you and your business as you journey into Social Media and Social Networking for Business. Enjoy
Call 760-576-4653 to schedule a FREE Discovery Session!