I came across a really good article in Fast Company providing 5 Ways to measure ROI of your media spend in 2012.  As more media goes digital clients are seeking to measure the effectiveness of the spend.

Here is a link to the entire article:

http://bit.ly/w5u0aB 

Below is a quick summary, but check out the full article it is a good read:

SUMMARY

5 Steps To Measure The ROI Of Digital Media Channels

BY FC EXPERT BLOGGER STEVE KERHOTue Jan 3, 2012

Below is a five-step process that you can employ to create a holistic, cross-channel score for your own ecosystems.

1. Define what success is.

Is it:

a. Improved customer retention

b. Causes of demand generation

c. Understanding loyalty

d. Message calibration

e. Offline sales

2. Collect all of your paid, earned, and owned metrics into a single data repository.

3. Develop a statistical modeling framework that distills multiple channel metrics into single measurement scores for paid, earned, and owned by doing something like the following:

a. Rotate and orthogonalize interrelated data streams within an ecosystem channel.

b. Utilize data reduction techniques to determine the underlying movement within the channel.

c. Further reduce the dimensions of the data to determine the cross ecosystem channel impact on consumer connections.

4. Choose or develop a technology platform that facilitates the following:

a. Frequent data extraction from channel sources

b. Interfaces easily with known earned analytics providers (Radian 6).

c. A transparent database system for storage of cross-channel data with easy access for QA, ad hoc analysis and modeling.

d. A dashboard UI customizable to enable your “definition of success.”

5. Dig into your new ecosystem’s connection scores to determine what touch points are working for consumers and where your growth opportunities lie.

Mapping these indices across time, product-use stages and/or other client-driven dimensions provides additional context and allows brand managers to monitor how connectivity to the brand varies over the consumer journey.  An example of the results would look something like the following:

+ scores represent high scores for the media within a consumer group.

++ scores represent high aggregate scores.

~ scores indicate potential problem areas.

*This example uses stacked index limit of 150

The above case is an example of modeling connection indices across the paid, earned, and owned channel spaces for a product warranting minimal pre-purchase research by the consumer. Indices are mapped across the dimensions of consumer groups. How much influence does the channel category have on trial purchasers, repeat purchasers, and loyalty program members for a given time period? The higher the index score, the higher the channel’s influence is on the specific consumer group.

To begin with, it’s apparent that all channels in unison have the most influence on trial purchasers, at 57.91, and that earned media has the highest influence overall at 58.54. Going a level deeper, we can see that trial purchasers, possibly induced by digital couponing, are influenced most by paid media, at 68.38. Repeat purchasers are most influenced by familiarity with the product and may shop via owned channels at 55.33. Loyalists, who may be playing an active role in marketing your product via blogs and Twitter, are most influenced by earned media at 69.08. Finally, areas needing additional investment or message adjustment can be identified as in the case with paid media’s relatively pale effect on repeat purchasers at 36.95.

Taking this example one step further, let’s say our definition of success is the influence of the brand’s digital ecosystem on offline sales. A powerful aspect of this model is its ability to establish casual relationships between the index and lower funnel, online and offline conversion activities.

For example, by applying the Granger Causality method to a CPG client’s transactional data, we were able to determine how index levels could forecast purchasing behavior. With this approach we identified causation between the Connection Index and product trials, repeat purchases and even product shipments. Causality would most likely be different across verticals but we strongly believe this may be an opportunity to demonstrate, with rigor, the link between discrete digital activities (i.e. social) and offline transactions that can eventually lead to ROI.

There is significant business value to be gained by stepping through a thoughtful integration process of your paid, earned, and owned digital channel categories. This is exciting territory, and it provides a range of opportunities to help advertisers realize the true value of each channel.

So let’s toast to all the great marketing accomplishments of 2011 and put our heads together to solve the challenges awaiting us in 2012.

Image Credits: [Images: Flickr users kenteegardin, lubermelho, premasager]

Article Credits: BY FC EXPERT BLOGGER STEVE KERHOTue Jan 3, 2012

Why Video is Essential to Marketing

We have all seen the major impact of video on  consumers online behavior. Today more than ever video is a must have component to your 2012 Marketing mix.  This research report provides insights the use of video in your 2012 mix.

More than 48 hours (two days worth) of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. YouTube generates 3 billion views per day. The demand for online video on sites such as Vimeo and Blip.TV will continue to grow. But what does all this mean for your business?

Download Free Whitepaper here:

http://info.awarenessnetworks.com/Why-Video-Is-Essential-To-Your-Marketing-Mix.html

Why Video Is Essential To Your Marketing Mix (And 7 Steps to Powerful Results) is your guide to harnessing the power of online video. • Discover examples how companies have successfully leveraged video into their marketing arsenal

• Discover the different types of videos that companies are seeing success

• Learn 7 tips every marketer need to ensure their videos are optimized to reach business objectives

Position yourself for success and enhance your marketing materials by downloading Why Video Is Essential To Your Marketing Mix (And 7 Steps to Powerful Results) today!

Post by Warren Raisch

2012 Social Media Predictions

As we enter 2012 let’s take a look at some of the Social Media & Marketing predictions.  Below is a free download for your review.

Download Here:

http://info.awarenessnetworks.com/2012-Social-Marketing-New-Media-Predictions.html

Summary:

In his book Engage!, BriaN SoliS posits that “New media is a matter of digital Darwinism affecting any and all forms of marketing and service. In the world
of democratized influence, businesses must endure a perpetual survival of the fittest. Engage or die!”

Given the importance of new and social media on every aspect of business, the leadership team at Awareness Inc. connected with the influencers who are shaping the new marketing agenda. We contacted business and marketing experts, marketing leaders and agency visionaries to create a list of top 2012 predictions and trends. This white paper contains their collective intelligence and insights for what is to come next year. We hope you find these expert predictions informative, educational and actionable so you, the business and marketing leaders of today, can successfully engage in the evolving ecosystem that supports the socialization of information, and are in a position to help businesses adapt to the new era of lasting relationships.

Awareness contacted over 34 leading marketing strategists, such as David Meerman Scott, Brian Solis, Erik Qualman, Paul Gillin and Steve Rubel; strategists at leading companies such as Intel and Constant Contact; and visionaries at marketing agencies like Mindjumpers, Holland-Mark, Voce Communications and Raidious to collect their insights along six key areas:

Part 1 Predictions for the biggest (social) marketing developments Part 2 The role of “big data” in (social) marketing
Part 3 Key technology to impact (social) marketing
Part 4 The role of mobile in (social)

Part 5 The top challenges for (social) marketers Part 6 The top trusted news resources appendix Biography

This 2012 Social Marketing and New Media Predictions white paper follows the six parts outlined above, with each part containing insights from three separate groups:

1) Leading marketing strategists,

2) Brand marketers at leading companies, and

3) Leading thinkers from marketing consulting firms and social marketing agencies.

Enjoy the research and let us know your thoughts on the 2012 Trends in Social Media.

Post By| Warren Raisch January 6, 2012

State of Social Media Marketing Report

I came across a great resource for those of us practicing Social Marketing for our companies or clients. Check out “The State of Social Media Marketing” report. Below are the details and a link to download the report.

The definitive social marketing industry report.

In December 2011 Awareness surveyed over 320 marketers from a wide variety of industries and levels of social marketing experience to produceThe State of Social Media Marketing: Top Areas For Social Marketing Investment and Biggest Social Marketing Challenges in 2012. This report brings to you those insights and benchmarks to solidify your social marketing strategy, grow your social footprint and engage with your audiences for maximum return. You will learn how leaders allocate resources, discover the top social platforms and social media management tools they use, social marketing investment priorities, and the practices companies will adopt to ensure 2012 is the year of the social business.

You will notice some underlying themes in this report:

• Executives and senior managers are looking for traction in three key areas – ROI, integration of social with lead generation and sales, and expansion of social presence and reach.
• While social marketers feel they do not have the necessary resources to execute initiatives successfully, they must meet the expectations of senior management who demand to see tangible business value.
• Companies experienced in social marketing are moving beyond growing social presence and reach. Their focus will shift to active social media management for increased lead generation and sales.
• You will see less-experienced marketers following their visionary peers, adopting established practices as they move along the maturity continuum.

We could not be more excited about the potential 2012 holds for all of us. We look forward to continuing the dialog with you next year. Expect to hear more from top marketers, strategists and Awareness’ partners who are making a real difference in social marketing.

Download The State of Social Media Marketing: Top Areas For Social Marketing Investment and Biggest Social Marketing Challenges in 2012today!

Post By| Warren Raisch January 4 2012

Enjoy the presentation and please let us know your favorite trends and any that you think should have been included in the 2012 list.

As a parent, I struggle with how much access to provide to my children on the Internet in general and with  Social Networks.  Being in the industry I recognize the power of the Internet and all of the wonderful access there is to knowledge, entertainment and connectivity to family and friends.  But as a parent I also recognize the danger of too much access and lean towards controlled and supervised access for my children. My general practice has been to provide one computer to the kids with child protection software located centrally in our  home in our Kitchen/Family room area where my wife and I can supervise all Internet access.  We monitor the sites they visit and the content they interact with.  We are just entering the Social Networking participation with our oldest daughter and we have allowed her to set up a Facebook account with my wife and I included as friends and with us monitoring the activity. To be honest, I was very uncomfortable with the decision but since we know all of her friends and the family members on her Facebook account it is going fine so far.  But I encourage parents to stay involved and don’t be afraid to monitor your kids. It is our responsibility to monitor them and guide them.  If we don’t someone else will.

Below is a link to the full report and some key summary findings from the report.:

Download the full  report at:

http://bit.ly/t4TC5s 

“Online lives and offline lives are now merging more and more, and that’s something parents have to be aware of,” says Jim Steyer, founder of Common Sense Media, a non-profit that educates kids and families about media use. “There is still so much we don’t know about how (social media) affects teens’ social and emotional development.”

About 93% of teens surveyed say they have an account on Facebook, and 62% say the profile they use most often is set to be private so only their friends can see what they post.

86% of teens say they have received advice from parents about how to be safe online.

55% of teens say they don’t post content that might reflect poorly on them in the future.

22% have had an experience on social media that ended a friendship with someone.

Check out the full report at: http://bit.ly/t4TC5s 

Posted By Warren Raisch