Before you can measure social media ROI you first need to define what you want to accomplish by setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound) goals. In addition to being SMART, your goals also need to be tied to an impact on sales. As I discussed in my previous blog post about social media and ROI, decision makers don't care about engagements or conversations. They care about how your allocation of resources has either added to the bottom line $$$ or provided a cost savings. Primary social media ROI goals fall into three basic categories. Here are some ...

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, our team here at Effect has been taking some time to think about all of the blessings in our life. Here is our list of the top 5 things we are thankful for: 1. Our clients Our clients rock. We have so many wonderful clients who challenge us every day to be the best we can be and to stretch our creative wings.  As a web agency we get to be a part of our clients' marketing team, partnering with them to find solutions that grow their business. There is no bigger high than watching our clients meet and surpass their goals. 2. Our talented team The ...

Measuring ROI of your social media marketing IS possible. You can focus your efforts on building a network of engaged, active customers AND you can measure how social media affects the bottom line. Also because social media is NOT free (see the diagram below) it is important to demonstrate this tactic's contribution to the bottom line in order to keep C-Level management happy and the budget allocations for social media flowing. So why then are 84% of social media programs not measuring ROI? I think it's due in part to a lack of understanding about the fundamentals of ROI. Defining ...

I am currently reading the 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss. Amongst the dozens of inspiring business techniques Ferriss enlightens readers with, the idea of automating aspects of your business is particularily interesting to me. One of the most common tools used to automate business is an effective website. Your website has the potential to become a fine-tuned, lead generating machine, that will not only help you grow your business, but also save you time and money. Here are some examples of ways you can use your website to automate certain aspects of your business: Collect ...

I am a huge fan of LinkedIn. I use it to connect with our clients as well as other thought leaders in the industry. One of my favorite aspects of the tool is the Answers section. Inquisitive by nature, over the past year I have asked and answered dozens of questions on topics related to web strategy and digital marketing. Traditionally when you ask a question you can anticipate answers from people with various levels of expertise and backgrounds which makes the information you learn more balanced. I am always pleasantly surprised at the quality and thoroughness of the answers people ...

According to a recent survey from Citibank, 42% of small businesses have made greater use of their company websites to generate business leads and sales during recent months. For many businesses that has meant rethinking their approach to the web. Many have chosen to explore how to leverage the full power of the web by building an intentional web strategy to reach specific goals. As a company who knew they could increase leads by focusing more on their web strategy, Trusted Supply Chain Partners analyzed the current state of their web efforts to identify opportunities for growth. Their ...

Yesterday Google revealed additional details about the capabilities of their new Social Search which is available in Google Labs. As I discussed in my previous article, last week both Bing and Google announced they would be including status updates from Twitter and Facebook into their new real-time search capabilities, which will have a dramatic impact on search engine optimization. According to Mashable: Social search, demoed at the Web 2.0 Summit by Google’s VP of Search Marissa Mayer, combines results from your friend’s blogs, Flickr, Twitter, FriendFeed, and a wide variety of ...

Social media and SEO have taken another step closer toward being inseparable. With last week's major announcements from both Google and Bing (Microsoft), search engine rankings will now depend more heavily on updates from Facebook and Twitter. Both Google and Bing plan to include Twitter status updates as a part of their real-time search capabilities in an effort to improve usability. "We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make ...

As a social tool a blog is a great way to build relationships with customers and prospects. It is a way for marketers to remove the mask and be transparent.  In addition to the social benefits blogging can also offer, there are also other marketing advantages. If you don't already have a company blog here are five great reasons to start one. According to Hubspot's Blog Study and Technorati's 2009 State of the Blogosphere Report blogs can offer organizations: 1. Amplified Website Traffic Websites with blogs have 55% more visitors than those who don't, fueled by 97% more inbound links, and ...

A new study from comScore and GroupM Search reveals further evidence that social media exposure and search behavoir are intrinsically connected. The study shows consumers who are using social media are far more engaged with brands than those who don't and are much more likely to proactively search for brands. Key findings from the study include: Consumers exposed to a brand’s influenced social media and paid search are 2.8x more likely to search for that brand. There was a 50% CTR increase in paid search when consumers were exposed to both influenced social media and paid ...