It’s no secret that folks are aflutter over Twitter — some 300,000 new accounts are created and more than 55 million messages are tweeted each day. And if Facebook’s 400 million users were a country, it would rank third in the world’s population, just behind China and India.
Interesting information, to be sure, but of what real value to the average business owner?
Plenty, if properly measured, said Katie Delahay Paine to a meeting of the Memphis chapter of the Public Relations Society of America Wednesday.
Paine is author of “Measuring Public Relationships: The Data-driven Communicator’s Guide to Measuring Success” and founder of New Hampshire-based KDPaine & Partners, a custom research firm that measures social media effectiveness and branding.
Although she believes that any company not exploring social media as a marketing tool has lost its competitive edge, she counsels clients to have something valuable to say before they join online conversations and definitely keep track of how people respond.
“It’s got to be more about engagement than eyeballs,” Paine said. “It doesn’t matter how many people visit your site unless it yields positive results that you can track.”
For Kim Cherry, executive vice president of corporate communications at First Horizon National Corp., those results are measured by customer feedback.
“We use social media as a way to interact and engage our customers and to improve our customer service,” Cherry said. “We use it to develop a relationship and then cultivate it. For us, it’s an ongoing conversation.”
Knowing what’s expected beforehand is the smart way to use social media, Paine said. Businesses and organizations must set clear goals for engagement and diligently measure effectiveness.
Whether promoting a message, managing or changing an image or selling something, social media involvement is useless unless appropriately measured.
A good example would be IBM, Paine said, which recently generated more sales from a $500 podcast than from a $40,000 traditional ad campaign. Another is the Red Cross, which raised $35 million in a week in a texting campaign to aid Haiti.
“Everything is shifting because of social media, which means you can’t measure the same way that it’s been done for the last 50 years,” Paine said. “You have to understand what conversations are taking place before you can know if your message is getting across.”
That means constantly tracking online metrics, even if the results aren’t positive, Paine said. After all, if a specific social media platform isn’t proving effective, why continue with it?
Company blogs aren’t de rigueur and a lot of businesses won’t see higher profits just by creating YouTube channels.
“Reach and influence are not returns on investments,” Paine said. “Be realistic about your goals and actively go after the people online who can help you reach them.”
Lynn Maples, communications projects coordinator at QSource and president-elect of PRSA Memphis, agreed.
“In this economy, when so many companies have cut back, there’s no room for excess or intangibles,” said Maples. “Trackable results are vital, and fortunately a lot of social media sites make measuring those results simple. You just have to choose the right medium for your message.”
– James Dowd: 529-2737
Public Relations Society of America upcoming event
What: Chapter luncheon, featuring author and blogger Steve Lundin
When: 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m., June 9
Where: Holiday Inn at the University of Memphis, 3700 Central
Cost: Free for PRSA members, $25 for guests and $15 for students
Details: Call 754-9035 or go to prsamemphis.org
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