ClickZ has some great background on a campaign Rubbermaid did through SocNet site BigTent (link to article).

The campaign focused on remodeling a Mommy Blogger’s kitchen using Rubbermaid products.  The big take away for me is the goal set for this campaign — the expectations were 250 coupon downloads and 500 links into the Mommy Blogger’s posts on Rubbermaid.  Those goals where exceeded by almost 1000 coupon downloads and 2500 backlinks.

I’ve dabbled in measuring SocNet campaigns by the number of coupons downloaded and still haven’t cracked it.  The numbers always seem too low to justify the campaign — but the numbers I’ve seen are in line with Rubbermaid’s campaign.  Which tells me my expectations are too high AND coupon downloads are not a great measure of the campaign’s success.

There has been a lot of discussion about measuring SocNet campaigns and just as we have seen with display ads I assume the debate will never be conclusively concluded.  Call me old school but I want definitive measures that show a connection to sales and justify the spend to management.  I doubt that 1000 coupon’s justified this campaign spend — so our quest for a meaningful measurement continues.

Thoughts on meaningful measures:

• Can we measure the amount of “brand buzz” over time.  So we benchmark the amount of SocNet chatter before, during, and after the campaign and set an index level of chatter we want to maintain.
• Can we drive consumers into the store from a SocNet campaign?  First, it’s a mistake to think of campaigns in terms of their tactics.  We don’t have “SocNet campaigns”.  We have Consumer Activation campaigns that use SocNet as one tactic.  To drive consumers we need to have surround sound campaigns that are amplified through SocNet.

Check out this great video chock full of SocNet facts.  The big idea I took away from this video was the concept that your Brand has to be invited to the party.  To me that is the big shift we marketers need to embrace.  Note that it’s not the Brand’s party!  Your brand has to be invited to the party by the consumer.  The party is happening on Facebook, on Twitter, on the iPhone, on MySpace, and soon on your TV.

Yes, traditional and online display advertising is not dead.  But it now must be considered as a part of a holistic whole that adds up to a highly engaged consumer.  The era of the big budgets going to TV and Print while non-traditional, PR, and Promotions followed behind nibbling on the left overs is over.  The era of a combined communications plan that leverages all of the available tools to surround the consumer is here.  And those tools need to be used to get your brand invited to the party.

Thought’s on how to get your brand invited:

• Add real value:  The folks that keep getting invited party after party add value to the overall experience.  The funny guy, the guy that can mix drinks, and guy that brings the ladies, all get invited time and time again.  Same thing with brands — add real value and you’ll be invited.
• Be a brand that your target consumer would want to be associated with:  Just like a real party, to get invited you’re going to need to  fit in.  For a brand that means you have to define a strong DNA that your target consumer can identify with.  If your brand has a wishy-washy nondescript DNA then don’t expect to be invited — the brands that scream their DNA loud and clear will get in the door.
• Listen and Add to the Conversation:  To get into the party and stay involved you need a communication strategy that keeps the conversation going.  Stop thinking “Campaigns” and start thinking “Ongoing Dialog”.  A “Campaign” to me suggests a hit and run approach that can leave your audience wondering “what was that and what comes next”. An ongoing dialog makes your Brand the life of the party — that old friend that keeps everyone engaged.  For a great example of this follow Dunkin Donuts.

Emarketer

Check out these latest stats from eMarketer (link).  As marketers it sometimes feels like we are chasing the latest fad only to be dazzled by the latest-latest fad.  And I think for many of us “Social Networking” is just the latest shiny thing.  For those that do feel that way it’s time to wake up.  Social Networking is not a fade to gloss over.  The numbers tell the tale.  If you’re not geared up to leverage this communication channel than move aside.

Thoughts:

• Social Networking on the internet is NOT NEW!  Social Networking has always been the fuel that grew this beast.  Email, Newsgroups, Message Boards, Chat, Forums, Homepages, Web rings, File sharing, the list goes on and on were all forms of SocNet that has now become main stream.
• Now is the time to build your permission based marketing channel.  Email is dead.  You need to be channeling your consumers through a process that builds up your Facebook and Twitter lists.  It’s not “sexy” but it is a list of consumers that want to hear from you!
• How do you measure SocNet?  There is only one measurement — cash.  Your SocNet campaigns need to drive incremental sales by driving traffic to retail and earning additional merchandising space.  SocNet can do that through creative campaigns that leverage your retail partners exclusive assets.
• Access to information provided by your peers will continue to permeate  into every medium.  How will your product stand up against instant user feedback available to anyone during the purchase decision.

Where Who Is

Here’s another great data point from eMarketer (link):

Gen Z = 13 to 14

Gen Y = 15 to 29

Gen X = 30 to 44

So this is saying of the Gen Y’s that use Soc Net sites 65% of them use Facebook.

Internet Marketing Growth

Forrester’s predicts growth in all areas of internet marketing with the most pronounced increases coming from Social and Mobile.  (Here’s the link)

Thoughts:

• More funds will be directed to online but keep in mind that over 80% will still be put towards “traditional”.  What these top line numbers don’t show is how “Traditional” will merge with “Interactive” over the next few years.
• Social Media is predicted to grow the most over the next few years.  It will be interesting to see how this evolves as Facebook and the others look to develop revenue models.
• Search is king.  Why?  Because Interactive marketing works best for direct response efforts and search marketing is the king of direct response.  As marketers we need to understand when to use which tool and don’t try to shoehorn objectives into unsuited tactics.

Cleveland Rocks!  This last week I was in Cleveland for a project that took me all around this great city on the lake.  From Westlake to Bedford I got to observe Clevelanders shopping in their natural habitat — otherwise know as Walmarts and Targets.

What struck me most was how unimportant our marketing message is to our consumer.  As marketers we are completely absorbed at how creative and compelling our marketing communication is.  We spend hundreds of hours crafting strategies and tactics to engage and activate the consumer.  It’s natural for us to come to believe that our messaging is as important to the consumer as it is to us.  But while I observed these Clevelanders going through the routines of shopping I was reminded that:

The most celebrated brands occupy a tiny fraction of the consumers mindshare for a tiny fraction of the consumers time.

It’s obvious.  We all know this but it gets lost as we focus on developing our compelling and expensive campaigns.  So it got me to thinking how the consumer is exposed to and digests the messaging we are trying to get to them and then how that messaging gets translated into sales.  As the consumer gets moved down the sales funnels they are in one of the following “modes”:

Passive Messaging Mode: Passive messaging mode is the classic broadcast mediums attempt to disrupt the consumer and create awareness in a product. This is a TV spot, outdoor billboard, instore displays, radio ad, ect.

Active Messaging Mode: Active messaging is when the consumer is in search of information that may lead them to your product or service.  The classic example is a Google search ad.  But we also see this in restaurant guides handed out in Cleveland hotel rooms (which got me to Saigon on 4th Street for a great dinner!).

As marketers we must create strategies around each of these modes.  How we communicate to the consumer depends on where they are in the sales funnel and their current messaging mode.  In practice this means:

• Passive Mode communication like broadcast advertising builds awareness.  It gets the consumer into the sales funnel.
• Active Mode communication like Google Adwords pulls the consumer through the funnel and into the sale.
• Social Networks like Facebook and Twitter are only good for consumers in the Active Mode.  If the consumer is on Facebook in Passive Mode they will ignore your message.  If they are in Active Mode they will be extremely responsive to your message.

The practical take away from this post is to set up a frame work to understand what state of mind will your consumer will be in when they see your message.  Then tailor your message accordingly.