Examining The Gap Between Attitudes Towards Social Media And Investment In Social Media.

Article:

SIIA Survey: Marketing Executives Believe Social Media is an Effective Tool; Not Yet Investing Significant Resources

Related Class Topic - Please refer to the notes from week 3&4 regarding E-marketing strategy with focus on engagement/conversion metrics slides. The article is relevant to that class in that it seems possible that this ‘gap’ might be related to companies not clearly defining their social media plan objectives before picking the measurement metrics they implement.  These metrics ultimately influence how much investment dollars are budgeted to social media.

Overview of Article - Reviews results of a Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) survey of 106 marketing executives (88% B2B marketers) related to their companies use of social media.  Focused on their companies' use of email, mobile marketing and social media to build their brands, gain leads, and improve customer support.  SIIA is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries.

Survey of 106 marketing executives regarding their company's use of social media:

90% use social media

75% of those people think it has positive impact

54.5% spend less than 10 hours per week investing in social media

35% spend less than 5 hours

65% said they want to invest more in social media

70% said they will increase their use of Twitter and LinkedIn

59% of businesses are using social media use web traffic as an indicator of social media ROI

53% are using qualified leads as a key ROI metric

75% don’t outsource any social media efforts

60% of respondents said less than 5% of their deals began through social networking interactions

Privacy is top ethical concern

Most marketers predict that the biggest trend in 2012 will be greater communication and quantification of value to customers

Article Key Point - Gap exists between attitudes towards social media and investment in social media.

“It is remarkable to see that, despite their strong belief in the power of social media, over one-third of marketers are engaged in it for only five hours or fewer every week”

Discussion Question 1 - What does this 'gap' in investment say or indicate to you? Why is this happening?

Article Key Point - Marketers do recognize the need to dedicate more resources to their social media efforts going forward.

“And with more marketers now applying traditional ROI metrics--such as qualified leads--to their social media efforts, they are more likely to get a clear sense of what level of investment makes sense.”

Discussion Question 2 - Should your social media success metrics be broad industry favorites or tailored to your specific business?  Step 1 in the measurement process is ‘review your objectives.’

Discussion Question 3 - Qualified leads are a measure of ‘conversion effectiveness’.  Could a company become too focused on 'conversion effectiveness' metrics as a determining factor of measuring their social media success?  What type of company or under what circumstances should a company weigh the ‘engagement effectiveness’ of their social media strategy? 

Source: State of Social Media Marketing: Top Areas for Social Marketing Investment and Biggest Social Marketing Challenges for 2012 (www.awarenessnetworks.com)

Additional Questions:

Discussion Question 4 - Do the statistics reveal anything else important to you that marketers should take note of?

Discussion Question 5 - Should a new company be more focused on ‘engagement’ or ‘conversion’ when they first enter an industry?

Discussion Question 6 - Do you think most companies have a social media ‘strategy’ or just go through the motions?

Discussion Question 7 - Is there anything implicitly different between a B2B marketer’s social media objectives and a B2C marketer?

Video - Maybe the marketers surveyed should watch this video before building their 2012 social media budget. Does ROI as the defining metric in social media seem ambiguous to you?

 

Chapter 9 - Differentiation and Positioning Strategies

Differentiation - The process of adding a set of meaningful and valued differences to distinguish the company’s offering from competetors’ offerings.

Types of differentiation – Product differentiation, service differentiation, personnel differentiation, channel differentiation, image differentiation.

Differentiation strategies – 1. Being the first to enter the market. 2. Owning a product attribute or quality in the consumer’s mind. 3. Demonstrating product leadership. 4. Utilizing an impressive company history or heritage. 5. Supporting and emonstrating the differentiating idea. 6. Communicating the difference.

Internet specific differentiation - Site Environment/atmospherics. Build trust. Efficient and timely order processing. Pricing. Customer relationship management. Invite user generated content.

Positioning – the process of creating a desired image for a company.

Position - is the resulting view of the firm or brand from the customer perspective.

Bases and strategies for positioning – Product or service attribute (Size, color, ingredients, etc.). Technology positioning (demonstrating that firm is on cutting edge). Benefit Positioning (Customers perspective of what the feature will do for them). User category (relies on customer segments; segment has a unique quality that ties product benefits to the market segment). Competitor positioning. Integrator positioning. Repositioning strategies.

Segmentation Thoughts

Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell discusses the roots of market segmentation, and also argues that it makes consumers happier and the market more vibrant.

But really, is segmentation really the key to happiness? I mean.... 

Do these make people happier?

Is a product successful simply because it sells? 

At least in terms of food, it seems that there are a few established brands, and then everything else just turns over because people like something new. Grocery stores are the great example of the ridiculousness of American consumerism.

So what is he really talking about?

He gets into his main point at the 10:00 mark in the video, the 3 ideas that changed marketing:

1. Don't ask what people want, they don't really know...or at least can't articulate it.

2. HORIZONTAL SEGMENTATION - Markets are now divided into segments of 10-20% each, or less. Big companies might be able to be successful across many segments. Small companies have to find their best segments and maximize their value.

3. The end of the 'Platonic Ideal'. It's not about being 'the best' it's about people liking you the best. And it's difficult to discern what people will like.

Ch 8 - Segmentation & Targeting

Market Segmentation - Sorting customers into groups based on usage, consumption or desired benefits of a product or service.
Targeting - Selecting the groups that will respond best to your message/product/service.

B2B - Biz to biz - Market is huge, well connected to internet and often invisible to the end consumer.
B2G - Biz to government - Big market, highly regulated, all contracts up for public bid.
B2C - Biz to consumer - Marketing to the end consumer. What we see, all day every day.
C2C - Consumer to consumer - Ebay, Craigslist

Market Segmentation Bases and Variables
Demographics - Age, gender, income, ethnicity
Geographics - Where they are - can be as specific as street or postal code, as general as country
Geodemographics - demographics + geographics
Psychographics - Opinions, activities, interests
Behavior - Benefit sought, usage, brand loyalty

Ethnic Groups -
Influentials - Opinion leaders, 'the cool kids'
Interest Communities - Social networks, forums. Able to get very specific on the internet.

Attitude - Speak to people how they like to be spoken to. What is the best way to engage the consumer? "Technographics"

Usage Segments
How do they use media? Differences between say, teenagers and babyboomers. 
Simplifiers - Use technology to make life more convenient. Search for quick, quality services.
Surfers - Spend time looking for the next cool thing. Cutting edge.
Connectors - "Relative novices" who use the internet mostly for email/social networking. Usually attracted to brands with a strong off-line presence.
Bargainers - Looking for deals.
Routiners - Rely on the internet for news, information. Looking for a one-up.
Sportsters - Enjoy sports and entertainment content, likely to pay for content.

Targeting On-Line Customers
Mass marketing - One strategy for your whole market. Banner ads on big sites.
Multisegment Marketing - Creating strategies to reach 2+ segments. The most common targeting method.
Niche Marketing - Developing multiple strategies to reach the same market. Used by Amazon.com. Good for the internet, where rivals can quickly move in on a market.
Micromarketing - Targeting a very small, specific demographic.