B-to-B Insights: Do You Feel Stupid That You Don’t Tweet?

Organizers at a recent marketing conference billed a session, "Determining ROI from Social Media." Panel members cited the number of their followers on Twitter, their companies' friends on Facebook and their views on YouTube. While these metrics may be important, they're not return on investment.
 In short, none of the panelists could track ROI for their social media efforts.

So if you're not tweeting, blogging or streaming, don't feel stupid. You probably just have bottom-line accountability and don't want to waste money. Come to think of it, you're actually sounding pretty smart.
 But, you're probably receiving pressure to jump on the social media bandwagon. It's just that you're justifiably concerned that it may not yield measureable benefits. Like all direct marketing, approaching social media efforts from a strategic perspective will improve 
your chances.

What's Social Media?
Before we go any further, let's define our topic. Social media implies that users (aka viewers and readers) can respond within the forum of that media. Customer reviews on Amazon.com are a great example. Adobe's online forums, where you can get help from both Adobe-provided content and fellow users — and then evaluate the usefulness of the information — are also effective. The following list contains an overview of currently available forms of social media that can apply to B-to-B multichannel companies:

✓ blogs (such as WordPress and Blogger);

✓ video sites (YouTube is the prime example);
✓ social networking sites (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.);
✓ user reviews (such as on Amazon.com);

✓ streaming sites (e.g., Ustream);

✓ online forums (such as Microsoft's or Adobe's); and

✓ messaging forums (i.e., Twitter).

A Social Media Strategy
If you're serious about getting into social media, strategically select a couple of these forums and focus on them. You'll also want to determine the objective for your efforts. Investing in an online help forum, for example, could reduce your customer service expenses and improve your customers' overall experience with your products. If your product warrants this type of service, it could really set you apart from your competition, helping you create a unique position in the market.

When selecting your area of focus, also think in terms of supporting it within your existing media efforts. And I'm not referring to the ubiquitous Facebook and Twitter icons that you see on every email you receive. That's not strategy. Too often that's throwing mud at the wall and hoping something sticks. Instead, work to build an objective-based, multimedia effort focused on the following:

● Online video integrates well with email, websites and catalogs. Show linked still frames in emails to encourage clicks. In your catalog, identify which products have online video support. Don't forget the most often overlooked element of online video: Make an offer!

● Blogs and user reviews support websites and can improve search engine optimization results. Sometimes called deep links, this media drives traffic deep into pages on your website. When you plan a blog or user review program, analyze your website pages where this content will appear. If a prospect lands on one of these pages, is it obvious where they are? Can they navigate clearly and easily from that page? Better yet, can they purchase the reviewed product on that page?

● Twitter works well at trade shows and with outbound phone efforts. At a trade show, promote short-term show specials to increase traffic to your booth.

● Online forums are improved with video and tech support lines. Review Adobe's online forums; your designers are probably familiar with them. Can you provide value-added training to improve customer satisfaction?

● Streaming sites could work well with email, social networking sites or blogs. Streaming sites allow you to present live online conferences and virtual trade shows. With informative content provided by experts, you can position your company as a thought leader in its industry. Promote your streaming events via email, then provide written summaries of them on your blog. This will help you maximize ROI.

For most B-to-B merchants, allocating one percent to two percent of your total marketing budget to social media is appropriate to get started. Think of it this way: If your marketing budget is $1 million, devote between $10,000 and $20,000 for a social media test. Focusing this initial investment on developing a company blog with online video support would be more effective than spreading it among the seven tools 
mentioned above.

Finally, strive to develop ways to make offers via your social media efforts. Response from offers, even if they require a multistep sales approach, will help you determine your ROI. If you blog with video support, for example, describe your product in a content-rich article on your blog. Your accompanying video can then transition the content to an infomercial with a real, trackable offer. As mentioned, determining a true ROI is elusive. With that said, think back to the early days of internet marketing. Remember when we weren't exactly sure what to do with email sign-up lists?

George Hague is principal of multichannel consulting firm HAGUEdirect (GeorgeHague@HAGUEdirect.com).