Danny Brown

podcaster - author - creator

social media

The Real Cost of Social Media

Social media is free. Social media is inexpensive. You don’t have to outspend your competition. Social media saves time. Social media will save your business thousands, if not millions.

These are all quotes I’ve seen from various voices recently. Each one pretty much agrees with the other – that social media is a great tool for you to implement into your business because it’s so cost-effective and will give you quicker results.

Sadly, it’s not true.

Yes, you’ll save on equivalent costings from a traditional media advertising push. Yes, you can see instant results and measurable returns on your investment. But cheap and quick? Not quite. Particularly if you’re looking at implementing a strategy and social media campaign (and yes, social media purists, you can have a social media campaign).

It Costs Money to Plan

Let’s say you have a new product or service. Let’s also say that you’ve seen competitors enjoy success using social media to launch a similar product or service. You know yours is better, so you know that social media (used properly) would further see you outshine your competitors. So, easy, right? You just set up a Facebook page, a Twitter account, maybe a video sharing channel and off you go.

Stop. Back up a little. Have you asked yourself the right questions before you start?

  • Have you thought strategy?
  • Have you carried out a social media audit?
  • Have you set measurements in place?
  • Have you determined where you’ll be and who’ll be there for you?
  • Have you set aside the right budget?
  • Will you be using internal expertise or outsourcing?
  • Do you have to build anything?

These are just some of the immediate questions you need to be asking before even starting. Getting the answers is going to take man hours. Lots of man hours. Multiply that by the payscale of the person/people doing that research and your costs are already starting.

Social Media is Cheap. Uh… No, It’s Not

It doesn’t matter whether you’re coordinating a social media campaign internally or externally, you’re going to have to allocate budget to it. This includes costs for strategy, community management, mobile app and moderation/maintenance. Let’s see how that might pan out (based on a 12-month campaign and with earnings based on survey results).

  • Social media strategist: 10 hours per week @ $100 per hour = $1,000 per week. Total for 52 weeks – $52,000.
  • Community manager: 30 hours per week @ $60 per hour = $1,800 per week. Total for 52 weeks – $93,600.
  • Micro-site build (if not using existing platforms) – $15,000.
  • Mobile application (more than 70% of social web browsing is via mobile phone) – between $20,000 and $150,000 depending on functionality.
  • Ongoing moderation and measurement using third-party specialists – between $30,000 and $80,000 depending on frequency.
  • Total = $390,600.

Now I’ve given you worst-case scenarios, since you probably won’t need a social media strategist for the whole time during the campaign. You might only need a community manager half the time mentioned above. You can also build micro-sites for less; the cost will depend on how interactive you want the site to be.

But even if you halve the total cost used in my example above, you’re still looking at $195,300. Almost $200,000 for a year-long social media campaign.

Compare that to a print ad that may cost anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 for one run, and yes, it’s clear that social media offers a comparably cost-effective solution. But to say that it’s cheap and quick? That’s setting you up for a flawed approach from the start and will only bite you in the long run.

How about you? How expensive (or inexpensive) have you found social media, both from a financial and time management angle? I’d love to hear your experiences.

Social Media and Holistic Cultures

piece by pieceI was scanning Twitter today when I saw this tweet from Frank Eliason, who’s the Senior Director for Comcast’s National Customer Service:

“Is there any other perspective than the Customer Perspective in Social Media?”

It was in response to a statement from Andrew Mueller regarding social media’s role in business. Andrew viewed social media as an overall tactic that includes the customer; Frank sees it as starting with the customer.

While there’s no denying that customers play a huge role in the success of any business, they’re still just an overall part of the success.

Yes, without customers you don’t have a business; yet without the business you don’t have the opportunity for customers. And there’s the nub.

While social media allows customers to have a far more vociferous say in what kind of user experience they have, it shouldn’t be seen as being owned by the customer or that it’s only the customer’s perspective that matters.

Think of ways that social can be used to increase customer and business interaction. Think of ways that social can be used to launch a product or service. Think of ways that businesses can gain competitive advantages over other companies in the same space by enhancing their offerings with social. Think of ways that listening and being proactive can give you the lead.

There are many ways that social media can be used. The customer relationship is just one part. And as important a part it is, it’s not the only part. There’s a complete holistic strategy just waiting to be deployed that will improve everyone’s perspective, not just the customer.

And improvements all round can only lead to more success. Which is what everyone wants, no?

Creative Commons License photo credit:?Darwin Bell

Ten for 10 in 2010 – Shannon Boudjema

This is a guest post from?Shannon Boudjema, who writes over at ShannonBoudjema.com. Shannon is one of the most passionate folks I know, lives social media, and is someone I’m proud to call my friend.

My hat is off to one incredible year for the social industry. I think if I had to sum up 2009 socially, it would be the year that Social came of age.

We have seen staggering results, plausible case studies, and some very smart people with passion and vision doing things that have never been done before and what?s more, they?ve all lived to tell the tale. But as we all know, coming of age means life lessons, experimenting, getting things wrong, set backs and acquiring a bunch of experiences that ultimately define you as an adult.

I think 2010 will see even faster growth, twice as many start ups as were seen in 2009, more tech solutions that simplify how we gather and process content thanks to the biggest mash up of all revealing itself in this coming year.

Looking forward to:

Seeing how authenticity will shape brands in this space beyond the social network profile. Will authenticity be something that we see threaded throughout business this year or will it remain confined to just the parts the consumer can touch? ?Everything from hiring socially to operating within collaborative spaces to bringing the social philosophy to call centers that utilize social tools to fulfill the needs of their customers long before the dreaded complaint.

Watching how the Peer to Peer relationship evolves to reshape how we do business and its effect on the workforce model taking it from a more structured corporate model to a flex-force, entrepreneurial model – a model that in itself will bring change to how we buy, sell, engage and search. It?s true, we have seen this to some degree already with affiliate programs, modern day barter systems and individuals forming strategic alliances but 2010 is likely to see this grow and take shape in more sophisticated ways.

Figuring out how we resolve ?Free?. I thoroughly enjoyed Chris Anderson?s book. He provides a lot of great content and perspective. I also like the book because it was that book that led me to Douglas Rushkoff, who offers some smart insights on how we get past free.

Seeing the end of:

Get Social Quick Schemes. People don?t get rich quick and unfortunately they don?t get thin fast. Getting social quick is also a band-aid for something that requires a fruit salad. That?s right? the get social quick schemes that promise huge amounts of twitter followers are not the answer. A facebook fan page without fans is of no value. But the truth is, these executional fixes are more damaging to you? doing things right the first time are always in your best interest, and more often than not, will be more effective with your time and your money.

Pratt Mill 5
Quality being valued over quantity ? There is a place where Quantity rules ? the quantity of traffic to your site is directly proportional to that site?s revenues. But that?s not what I?m talking about. So what would you prefer, 1000 engaged and active users or 35,000 bots, spammers, and people making noise? In a space where authenticity rules, why are we so scared to be authentic? For those who aren?t comfortable or don?t know how to best engage this space ? learn how to do it right or hire someone brilliant.

Haters being ignored! I firmly believe that your haters are one of your biggest opportunities in this space. Hear me out! Who cares if you tapped a fan club who pledge their love to you. Great! You?re fortunate and we?re pleased for you. But what about those people who are thoroughly annoyed by you?

Those people who tell anyone who will listen how crap your product, service or brand is. Imagine if you could sit down with these fine folk, have a candid conversation, objectively listen and come away with insights that will not only improve business, but if committed action is taken, will turn the hearts of your haters into some of your biggest brand fanatics. ?Hmmmm, this just gave me an idea?.

A few resolutions!

We need to know what to call this space. Social Media, New Media, Digital, Social Media Marketing, Social Technology?? Social is the correct part of the title. Media? Not so much. But then I don?t think it?s New Media either? if it is, then what do we call New Media when it?s no longer new? And p.s. ? it lost its newness about five years ago.

Rear view mirrors play an important role in our life. They keep us safe and they prevent us from doing things we?d only regret. It let?s us look behind ourselves to scan the environment and gather information in order to make informed decisions about our next step forward. In other words, looking back isn?t always a bad idea? and looking back in Social has been made ridiculously efficient by the lovely Peter Kim. Bookmark his wiki warehouse of Social case studies.

However the cards may fall, my prayer for you is that 2010 is your best year yet. So be balanced, be kind regardless of it being reciprocated and always be the first one to smile and say hello!

My sincere thanks to Shannon for sharing her thoughts on the year just passed and the year ahead, I think you’ll agree she says much of what we’re all thinking about (and feel free to leave your thoughts about the year ahead in the comments). I hope you’ll join me tomorrow when I offer up ten people doing amazing things.

Creative Commons License photo credit:?sunsurfr

Ten for 10 – The Run-In to 2010

SoapStarting tomorrow, I’m going to be sharing a list of things called Ten for 10, which is just a buzzy blog name for people and things that I think will be worth your time checking out next year.

They’ll be a mix of bloggers, blogs, platforms, technologies and just plain old good things. Some of it might help you plan your next 12 months from various angles – social media, marketing, blogging, personal goals and more.

Or, it may just be a load of codswallop that you’ll have no interest in – the choice is yours!

Along with these lists will be some guest posts from bloggers I admire immensely, and they’ll be sharing their views on what made 2009 for them, and what they hope to see in 2010.

I hope you’ll stop by and check out each day’s offering (and feel free to subscribe to make sure you don’t miss anything), and let me know your thoughts. Since, at the end of the day, it’s your opinions that help shape this blog anyway.

Cheers!

Creative Commons License photo credit: Thomas Hawk

The HEART of Social Media

Online rules of engagement are changing. Old school business approaches and methods are getting left behind for dynamic new mediums that offer more interaction and less broadcasting. Businesses and industries are realizing it’s no longer possible to simply say what you do – you need to say what you can do as well.
This is the dawn of social media as a true business outlet and there’s never been a better time to get in on the inside. Look online at tools and applications like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Delicious and more and you’ll see both major and minor brands with a presence. With the amount of businesses taking a more active role in social media, it’s a fairly good guess that some of them will be your competitors.
So how do you keep up and make sure you’re not the one left in the social media wastepaper bin? How about getting to the HEART of social media?
Hear what’s being said.
There’s a lot of conversations taking place that you won’t even be aware of until it’s potentially too late. Perhaps it’s the amount of conversations taking place that’s kept you away from social media in the first place – too much to take in with too little time. But is it really too much to take in if you filter out the conversations that affect you? And that small amount of time now could mean the extension of successful time for your business. Hear what’s being said and react accordingly – the benefits will be worth it.
Engage the conversation.
Once you’ve filtered the conversation to look after your brand, it’s easier to then engage the conversationalists. Listen to what’s being said and involve yourself – whether it’s in support of a positive comment or in defense of a negative one. Show empathy over exclamation – get to understand what the problem is and work with the audience to resolve. A negative experience turned into a positive one is worth more than any PR or advertising blitz.
Acclimatize to your new surroundings.
The single biggest “mistake” that most businesses make when taking their first steps into social media is rushing in headfirst and using old business methods to try and establish themselves. This might work in certain settings – old school still has a little sway left – but for the majority of social media use, it’ll just come across as too much too soon. Look at what’s happening around you and maneuver your strategy around what’s working. See who’s being successful, use their guidance and always be open to new practices.
Reach outside your core audience.
Think about your business and the reasons why it’s successful – I’m guessing one of them is because you reached out to new markets and targeted them with your products or services. After all, without growth comes stagnation. This is one of the old practices that should be encouraged when using social media. While staying within your key demographic will certainly find you fans of your product, look for other audiences to talk to.
Just because they don’t use your brand isn’t to say their friend doesn’t – wouldn’t it be great to get a new customer because their friend told them you were on Twitter, Facebook or other social media sites and networks? Keep thinking one step ahead to grow your userbase.
Transparency is key.
You know the old saying, “Honesty is the best policy”? Take that with you into the social media arena and you’ll learn more and gain more than if you try being something you’re not. Your biggest fans are probably that because of how you’ve conducted yourself business-wise so far – why should you want to change that?
Be open, be clear, and be honest. False views have a way of coming back to haunt you when you least need or expect them to – truth and transparency are the perfect foils to any and every misquote. Keep it simple and keep it honest and you’ll find the respect of your audience, targeted and otherwise.
Most happy endings come from following your heart – why should it be any different for social media?

Dahlia ArtOnline rules of engagement are changing. Old school business approaches and methods are getting left behind for dynamic new mediums that offer more interaction and less broadcasting. Businesses and industries are realizing it’s no longer possible to simply say what you do – you need to say what you can do as well.

This is the dawn of social media as a true business outlet and there’s never been a better time to get in on the inside.

Look online at tools and applications like Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Flickr and more and you’ll see both major and minor brands with a presence. With the amount of businesses taking a more active role in social media, it’s a fairly good guess that some of them will be your competitors.

So how do you keep up and make sure you’re not the one left in the social media wastepaper bin? How about getting to the HEART of social media?

Hear what’s being said

There’s a lot of conversations taking place that you won’t even be aware of until it’s potentially too late. Perhaps it’s the amount of conversations taking place that’s kept you away from social media in the first place – too much to take in with too little time. But is it really too much to take in if you filter out the conversations that affect you? And that small amount of time now could mean the extension of successful time for your business. Hear what’s being said and react accordingly – the benefits will be worth it.

Engage the conversation

Once you’ve filtered the conversation to look after your brand, it’s easier to then engage the conversationalists. Listen to what’s being said and involve yourself – whether it’s in support of a positive comment or in defense of a negative one. Show empathy over exclamation – get to understand what the problem is and work with the audience to resolve. A negative experience turned into a positive one is worth more than any PR or advertising blitz.

Acclimatize to your new surroundings

The single biggest “mistake” that most businesses make when taking their first steps into social media is rushing in headfirst and using old business methods to try and establish themselves. This might work in certain settings – old school still has a little sway left – but for the majority of social media use, it’ll just come across as too much too soon. Look at what’s happening around you and maneuver your strategy around what’s working. See who’s being successful, use their guidance and always be open to new practices.

Reach outside your core audience

Think about your business and the reasons why it’s successful – I’m guessing one of them is because you reached out to new markets outside your niche and targeted them with your products or services. After all, without growth comes stagnation. Social media makes it even easier to find other audiences to talk to.

Just because they don’t use your brand isn’t to say their friend doesn’t – wouldn’t it be great to get a new customer because their friend told them you were on Twitter, Facebook or other social media sites and networks? Keep thinking one step ahead to grow your userbase.

Transparency is key

You know the old saying, “Honesty is the best policy”? Take that with you into the social media arena and you’ll learn more and gain more than if you try being something you’re not. Your biggest fans are probably that because of how you’ve conducted yourself business-wise so far – why should you want to change that?

Be open, be clear, and be honest. False views have a way of coming back to haunt you when you least need or expect them to – truth and transparency are the perfect foils to any and every misquote. Keep it simple and keep it honest and you’ll find the respect of your audience, targeted and otherwise.

Most happy endings come from following your heart – why should it be any different for social media?

Creative Commons License photo credit: HocusFocusClick