Social Media

Social media - what is it? why is it so important? and how can businesses utilize it to reflect their brand?

According to Wikipedia, Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories, and understandings.


In his web article, 'How to Measure Social Media ROI for Business'. Aaron Uhrmacher discusses the importance of measuring social media ROI (return on investment). He uses the example of monitoring conversations and the crucial questions we should ask:

- Are we currently part of conversations about our product/industry?

- How are we currently talked about versus our competitors?

Then to measure success, we ask whether we were able to:

- Build better relationships with our key audiences?

- Participate in conversations where we hadn’t previously had a voice?

- Move from a running monologue to a meaningful dialogue with customers?
(source link: http://mashable.com/2008/07/31/measuring-social-media-roi-for-business/)

For any business, it is important to know and understand not only your target market, but how to accommodate to your target market's needs and wants. By engaging in conversation, via social networking community chat rooms, forums, and blogs, businesses drive thousands of users to their website, generating buzz about the company.

Barry Hurd, a social media consultant, shares Uhrmacher's stance on the importance of communication between the webowners and their users. He notes, "The companies who do stay on top of conversations and understand the way the market moves - they will have an opportunity for analysis, improved business intelligence, brand protection, customer support alternatives, market research, and new channels for product marketing." (source link: http://123socialmedia.com/2008/05/12/social-media-measurement-and-brand-control/)


The article, 'Measuring Social Media Marketing: It’s Easier than you Think!' , offers great insight of other ways to measure success of your website / company, including Content Consumption, Subscribing to a RSS feed , Social Bookmarking, Profile Engagement, Content Contribution, and Emailing Posts. For a full description, click here.

Katy Lynch
Community Manager