Analytics of Social Media

The readings for this week focused on the analytics of social media.  Let’s take an in-depth look at the Social Media Examiner article entitled ‘3 Tools to Improve Your Social Media Performance’, and the 60 Second Marketer article called ‘In-Depth Guide to Calculating Social Media ROI’. 

One of the suggested items to contemplate was to reflect on where we started and where we ended up in regards to a social media plan.  Professor Stevens offered this wisdom from Yogi Berra, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there” (Yogi Berra, GoodReads.com). 

Professor Stevens also noted, “You need to measure the outcome of your work, determine how to calculate your return on the effort and resources you invest in social media, and optimize your results”.  (Stevens, 2015). 

In the 60 Second Marketer article, we read that there are three stages to the social media return on investment (ROI) cycle; the launch stage, the management stage, and the optimization stage.  We learned that only 10% of the businesses asked in a survey by Oracle are aware of whether or not their social media efforts equated to an increase in revenue (60 Second Marketer). 

1.        Think of a company or organization that has excelled at their social media performance. 

2.       Research the units of measurement linked to the success of that company or organization’s social media efforts (i.e. Facebook likes, Twitter followers, YouTube hits, Instagram followers, etc.). 

3.       Are there any other units of measurement that you can identify that should be considered in determining the success of their social media efforts? 

In the Social Media Examiner article, we read that there are three tools to improve your social media performance; monitor your brand anywhere on the web through the site Mention, improve your Facebook page performance through the site LikeAlyzer, identify competitors’ most shared content through the site Social Crawlytics (Cleary, 2013). 

1.        Research the social media performance of your chosen company or organization through one of the three tools listed in the Social Media Examiner article. 

2.       Is there room for improvement with your chosen company or organization in regards to their social media performance?  If so, what recommendations would you lend to your chosen company or organization for them to optimize their social media performance?

3.       Compare your chosen company or organization’s performance with that of a competitor and report your findings in your blog post. 

There are varying views on the impact that social media has on revenue and how to measure that impact.  As PracticalEcommerce notes in an article regarding the measurement of social media’s impact on revenue, “The only way to capture and quantify how often social media influenced purchases…is to ask visitors and customers” (Wilson, 2012).  The article suggests using online surveys, feedback surveys from customers after their purchase, or questions asked to customers through a call center. 

1.        Do you agree or disagree with the point of view that the only way to quantify whether social media is directly linked to revenue is by asking customers directly? 

2.      Can you think of a more effective way to obtain this information? 

In addition to the Yogi Berra quote that Professor Stevens offered, I also like the Yogi Berra quote “It’s not too far; it just seems like it is” (Yogi Berra, GoodReads.com). 

(Yogi Berra with Whitey Ford from cliff1066)

Make it a great week!

References:

Cleary, Ian. (January 9, 2013). Social Media Examiner. “3 Analytic Tools to Improve Your Social Media Performance”. Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/3-analytic-tools-to-improve-your-social-media-performance/

Stevens, Bernice. Marist College. “Lesson >> Week Seven: Unit Three – Social Media Analytics” Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from https://ilearn.marist.edu/portal/site/c29cf665-5ca7-4c1d-9962-744d54975780/page/e42451f1-28db-42ee-852b-7564539759a5

The 60 Second Marketer. “An In-Depth Guide on How to Calculate the ROI of a Social Media Campaign”.  Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from http://60secondmarketer.com/blog/2013/11/17/in-depth-guide-calculating-social-media-roi/

Wilson, Tim. (June 15, 2012). PracticalEcommerce. “Measuring Social Media’s Impact on Revenue”. Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3600-Measuring-Social-Media-s-Impact-on-Revenue#comments

Yogi Berra image. EveryStockPhoto.com. Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=7990165&searchId=255ed1f6890c69083c99148441b642ab-3&npos=16

Yogi Berra quotes. GoodReads.com. Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/79014.Yogi_Berra?page=2

The Hacking of Social Media Accounts

In late January of 2014, a series of social media accounts for CNN were hacked.  “Some of the posts claimed that the Syrian Electronic Army, a group of pro-Syrian regime hackers that has aggressively targeted major news organizations and activists, was responsible” (CNN, 2014).  In all, 9 accounts were hacked that included “CNN’s main Facebook account, CNN Politics’ Facebook account and the Twitter pages for CNN and CNN’s Security Clearance. Blogs for Political Ticker, The Lead, Security Clearance, The Situation Room and Crossfire were also hacked” (CNN, 2014).  Luckily for CNN, this breach had a minimal effect on their reputation or in any other capacity.  The minimal effect was due in large part to CNN’s ability to quickly identify and respond to the security breach.  Within 24 hours CNN recognized what had happened, quickly deleted the posts, secured the accounts, and then reported on what had happened.  In regards to crisis management, “…the response typically includes such steps as gathering facts, reporting facts quickly (even if the fact is that nothing is known), give the name of a spokesperson, acknowledge people’s deep emotions, and communicate regularly” (Scott, 2013, pg275). 

In this instance, CNN didn’t need an entire room solely dedicated for situation because they handled the situation masterfully and in a timely fashion (See what I did there? Play on words regarding CNN’s show The Situation Room… No?... Ok, moving on). 

Worries about security breaches have been on the minds of many for years.  According to an article from 2011 that discussed a new survey at that time, “About 42 percent of the respondents are ‘moderately concerned’ to ‘extremely concerned’ about the security threats associated with employees using social media in the workplace. Social media was defined in the survey as social networking sites, blogs, online video services, micro-sharing and widgets” (eWeek, 2011). 

The article went on to say that a major point of concern was the accidental downloading of viruses and the need for updated policies to be put in place.  “Approximately 36 percent of network administrators said employees have unlimited access to social media. In contrast, 48 percent said employees have limited access, and 16 percent claimed no access to social media. Around 60 percent of administrators said their organizations have a formal policy about employee access to social media at work” (eWeek, 2011). 

So a few years prior to the hacking at CNN, various network administrators were discussing the need for better policies to be in place regarding the use of social media at work.  Clearly, in the case of CNN, as a news organization they need to have a social media presence.  There was not much that CNN could have done differently to prevent the hacking of their accounts as they covered all of their bases prior to this attack.  Maybe more training or an updated installation of malware would be helpful to prevent such a situation from happening again.  Can you think of any other ways in which they could prevent hacking in the future?

References

Rashid, Fahmida Y. (May 4, 2011). eWeek. Network Breaches, Social Media, Smartphones Worry Administrators: Survey. Retrieved on February 25, 2015 from http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Network-Breaches-Social-Media-Smartphones-Worry-Administrators-Survey-430279

Scott, David M. (2013). The New Rules of Marketing & PR. (4^th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Shoichet, Catherine E. (January 24, 2014). CNN. Some CNN social media accounts hacked. Retrieved on February 25, 2015 from http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/23/tech/cnn-accounts-hacked/index.html

Forums, Blogs, and Discussions: Building a Community

One company that has gone above and beyond with encouraging customers to interact with them via online communities is Starbucks.  Starbucks currently has over 38 million likes on Facebook (Starbucks Facebook Page, 2015) and on their own webpage Starbucks states “Aside from fine coffee, it’s the wonderful people you meet that make Starbucks so special.  People like you.  People with ideas, passion and curiosity.  You’re the reason we try so hard to make our coffeehouses warm, welcoming places to gather.  And you’re the one we want to give voice to in our online communities” (Starbucks, 2015).  They invite everyone to connect with them online via Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google+, to share their ideas, and to join the conversation.  According to mystarbucksidea.force.com, there have been over 44k submitted ideas via this forum regarding coffee and espresso drinks alone (Starbucks Coffeehouse Online Community, 2015).  The site goes on to list several product ideas, as well as ideas under other topics like ‘Experience Ideas’, or ‘Involvement Ideas’.  One can also view the most recent ideas that have been submitted on this website.  With the example that Scott uses, The Tattoo Artistry Facebook group was able to earn around 3,000 members in a small timeframe because they offered passionate people a venue to express how they felt (Scott, 2013, pg57).  The same can be said about Starbucks and their online community efforts.  Starbucks offers passionate coffee-lovers a venue to express their ideas and the opportunity to feel like they have a sense of belonging with the company. 

References:

Scott, David M. (2013). The New Rules of Marketing & PR. (4^th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Starbucks. (2015). Starbucks Coffeehouse Online Community. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/community

Starbucks. (2015). Starbucks - My Starbucks Idea. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/

Starbucks. (2015). Starbucks Facebook Page. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from https://www.facebook.com/Starbucks?ref=stream&fref=nf

Differentiating Yourself From Competitors Via Social Media

One example of a business that has been successful at engaging their customers with social media by encouraging dialogue between consumers through the sharing of their experiences is the company JetBlue.  JetBlue currently encourages customers to share their experiences via SoFly, an online forum where travelers can view and share pictures and travel tips (JetBlue SoFly, 2015). 

JetBlue has effectively gained the attention of their customers, creating responses and developing conversations.  JetBlue currently has over 1 million likes on Facebook, over 1.8 million followers on Twitter with hash tags such as #JetBlueGetaways, over 40k followers on Instagram, over 5.8 million visits on YouTube and they offer an opportunity for customers to engage via a blog (JetBlue BlueTales, 2015).  JetBlue operates with the comfort of knowing that they are in fact providing some of the best experiences in the industry.

Top notch service typically would be enough for a company to generate buzz on social media, however JetBlue takes it up a level by offering the royal treatment to those that choose to travel through their home terminal of T5 at JFK airport.  Travelers through T5 will experience various non-traditional airport conveniences such as 38 food and beverage outlets, 35 retail shops, comfortable lounges, free Wi-Fi, and free concerts. 

On December 18, 2014 Rixton performed from T5 with special performances from New York’s VH1 Save The Music Foundation (JetBlue T5, 2015):

And four years ago, Taylor Swift performed at T5 (JetBlue YouTube, 2015):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQD04Q4o4b0&feature=player_embedded

References:

JetBlue BlueTales Blog. 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015, from http://blog.jetblue.com/

JetBlue SoFly. 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015, from http://www.jetblue.com/Sofly/

JetBlue T5. 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015, from http://www.jetblue.com/travel/jfk/

JetBlue YouTube page. 2015. February 7, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/user/jetblue