Whether we call it Social Media Marketing (SMM) or Consumer Generated Content (CGC), it is clear that it is not a new trend, but one that is here to stay. So we better learn how it works and how we can use it at a business level.
Some facts on this topic:
A study published by Gartner indicates that 60% of Fortune 1000 companies will take SMM actions in 2010. In this same study, it is stated that 50% of the actions taken by these companies will be a failure.
Why this failure?
There are several reasons, but Gartner sums them up in 3 points:
- They just do it to be fashionable., do not have a clear strategic objective.
- –Campaigns do not have continuity over time (and they should). But participating in social networks, maintaining a blog and in general all SMM actions require dedication, specific knowledge both about the environment of our industry, and about very specific fields of our business… so most people soon get tired and abandon SMM actions.
- –It is difficult to measure the results: campaigns are measured in terms of ROI and with SMM they are not can be done this way, Gartner suggests that they should be measured in the form of what data and what We have obtained relevant information thanks to these campaigns
So we see that the strategic component of an SMM performance is the key to the success of the actions. Nothing new in this sense. The classic: first plan, then act and finally measure, of all Marketing actions. (Material for reflection: Why when it comes to Digital Marketing people forget it?).
Without a clear integration of SMM actions into a company's strategy, any action is useless. Therefore, the first thing we should ask ourselves is what our objectives are, at a business level, in order to want to carry out actions at a SMM level.
Some of these objectives may be:
- Provide information about our company, explained by the clients themselves (makes it more credible).
- If we are a hotel, it could be: Showing that our hotels offer unique and unrepeatable experiences that have their own personality.
- Obtain relevant data for our company about customer needs and consumer trends.
- In general, interact more with customers.
- Being trendy and having more excuses to appear in the press –> this is the main reason that leads most companies to carry out their SMM actions.
Once we have our objectives clear, we should see what resources we have: if we are going to develop a strategy and carry out the SMM actions ourselves, then the key factor is time (we are supposed to have knowledge of our industry). If we are going to hire someone to work from our company, the budget and knowledge of our industry will be the key factors. And finally, if we are going to outsource the service, the budget will be even more of a key factor, as will knowledge of the industry, although we will surely find companies specialised in our sector.
Finally, we should ask ourselves how we are going to measure the success of the actions carried out at the SMM level. Gartner's suggestion seems correct to me: we are going to measure the data and the information.relevant training that we have achieved thanks to these campaigns.
Interesting literature on this subject:
- 12 tricks for a successful SMM:
http://bizreport.tradepub.com/free/w_moti01/pf/w_moti01.pdf - Gartner Report Analysis:
•http://www.bizreport.com/2008/10/why_are_many_social_media_campaig
