Fortunately, that’s not exactly true.

As  businesses scramble to set up Facebook, Twitter and MySpace pages, analysts are scrambling to discover how impactful their company’s SMM has been. For some, the answer is “we can’t measure this,” but others believe there are statistics that reflect their SMM’s effect.

As Aaron Uhrmacher, the guru of social media, recently said in an article on Mashable,   “Social media measurement is one of those topics about which everyone has an opinion, but nobody agrees on the solution.”  His suggestion – - as a beginning point – - is to simply decide on what to measure.

What’s Your Social Media Marketing Goal?

If your goal is to increase your reputation–get potential clients talking about you in a positive manner – -  then get out onto the social media sites and monitor what’s being said about you.

In a brief run-through searching Twitter, I found some very mean-spirited comments about a specific entrepreneur’s e-mail campaign. At another site, a customer was complaining that it took days for a company’s customer service department to contact her . . . leading her to wonder if  she was dealing with a real company or a scammer.

In both instances, a social media point of contact–shall we call it a czar?! -  could have reached out to customers via direct message or e-mail and turned a damaging situation into a win-win. After all,  social media is about “social” – - building relationships.

If your goal with your SMM is to measure traffic, then setting up a solid analytics program that tracks incoming links will tell you if your visitors are coming from Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Although Google Analyltics are excellent (and free), we also suggest Xinu, a free site that tells how your website is doing in terms of search engines, search engine optimization, social bookmarking, RSS, and other social indicators.

Measuring ROI on social media marketing isn’t a precise science; but what we know for sure is that businesses and entrepreneurs need to have a success metric in mind before jumping into the game.

Strategies for Engaging in Facebook, Twitter & Other Social Media
Liana “Li” Evans
Que; 1 Original edition (June 28, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0789742845
ISBN-13: 978-0789742841
360 pages
$16.49 (on Amazon)

Author Li Evans has been active in social media and search marketing for more than 10 years; who better to write a book that guides companies through social media solutions that actually work.

Divided into five sections (see below), Social Media Marketing is all about being social in the marketplace; from Twitter and Facebook to LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr. Evans shows readers how to make the most of social media, including

• • customizing your social media strategies
  • understanding the quirks of your social media audience
  • managing and executing your strategies (don’t let an intern be in charge of the program!)
  • building trust among strangers

What You’ll Learn About Social Media

Section I:  The Basics of Social Media
This is the section that sets up the rest of your strategies; know your goals, know your audience and understanding what social media can and cannot do.  Great section here on ROC (Return on Conversation) not ROI (Return on Investment).

Section II: It’s About Conversation
If you think social media is about selling, you’re forgetting the “social” part.  People don’t go on Facebook or Twitter to buy something, they go to have conversations.  Fortunately Evans saves social media newbies from making the big “let’s go sell something” mistake when they first get involved in the networks.

Section III: Social Media from the Inside Out
Here, Evans helps readers convey the value of social media to the company. It’s all about ethics, interns, consistency, transparency, trust, and defining social media policy for employees.

Section IV: It’s Not About You
Evans writes astutely about keeping your customer’s needs in front of you at all times.  I suspect she’s seen a lot of crash and burns from the “my ego is more important than your needs” crowd.  As she so wisely states “for it to work, you have to be social.”

Section V: How Social Media Fits into the Online Marketing Picture
Don’t fall so in love with social media that you forget it’s just one slice in the marketing pie.  Here, you’ll learn how to create a social media-friendly pressroom, align your offline efforts with your online, and why you really need to be on YouTube (seriously).

Summary Points

1.  If you work for a company that’s just getting started in social media, this is a must-have book.

2.  If you’ve done a little with social media, but more of a shotgun than a laser, this is a must-read book.

3. If your peeps think social media is all about sales, this is a must-read book for them.

4.  If for no other reason, buy the book to read the section on conversations.  If you don’t, you’ll be sorry.  (I’m just sayin’)

Fortunately, that’s not exactly true.

Where to Start Measuring?

As  authors, businesses, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs scramble to set up Facebook, Twitter and MySpace pages, analysts are scrambling to discover how impactful their company’s SMM has been. For some, the answer is "we can’t measure this," but others believe there are statistics that reflect their SMM’s effect.

As Aaron Uhrmacher, the guru of SMM, recently said in an article on Mashable,   "Social media measurement is one of those topics about which everyone has an opinion, but nobody agrees on the solution."  His suggestion – - as a beginning point – - is to simply decide on what to measure.

What’s Your Social Media Marketing Goal?

If your goal is to increase your reputation-get potential readers or clients talking about you in a positive manner – -  then get out onto the social media sites and monitor what’s being said about you. In a brief run-through searching Twitter, I found some very mean-spirited comments about a specific author’s e-mail campaign.

What to do? The author could have reached out  via direct message or e-mail and turned a damaging situation into a win-win. After all,  social media is about "social" – - building relationships.

If your goal with your SMM is to measure traffic, then setting up a solid analytics program that tracks incoming links will tell you if your visitors are coming from Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Although Google Analytics are excellent (and free), we also suggest Xinu, a free site that tells how your website is doing in terms of search engines, search engine optimization, social bookmarking, RSS, and other social indicators. Measuring ROI on social media marketing isn’t a precise science; but what I know for sure is that authors and entrepreneurs need to have a success metric in mind before jumping into the game.

Authors – do you need help with your book project? Contact me for information about my coaching programs. Get started today and get that book out into the marketplace.

Want to know what the Royals are up to? (think garden parties, charity events, church services) Pop over to their British Monarchy page on Twitter. Already pulling in more than 2,7000 followers, the Royals follow no one (what a surprise) – - but do keep the rest of the world up-to-date on day-to-day life with the Prince, the Duke, the Queen, et al.

Don’t expect any re-tweets or trending topics from Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Charles. A palace spokeswoman says the account won’t be used to air personal opinions.

Darn.

• Marketing 2.0 is a combination of social media and traditional marketing channels
• The “secret sauce” is the right mix of of marketing venues, all dependent on your goals
• In a poor economy, you can move customers through the buying cycle faster
• It’s critical to monitor and respond to buzz about you or your business
• Look for opportunities to provide a human face to your brand
• Look for opportunities to interact with your audience
• Companies need to focus on loyalty to customers
• You statisticians this is huge for you: track what’s valuable, not what’s measurable

All valuable – - but what really hit home for me was the same thing I’ve been telling you for months – - it’s all about relationship building.  Ms. Carter said we’re moving away from the concept of B2B and B2C.  What’s really happening is P2P . . . . . PERSON TO PERSON.  (was nice to get validation from a Big Blue VP!)

Note: Presentation was via MarketingProfs

This just in from Marketing Sherpa (and reprinted with their permission)

“The most significant barrier to social media adoption named by 46% of respondents to a MarketingSherpa survey is “lack of knowledgeable staff” – whether an organization has used social media marketing and PR or not.

A danger to the effective adoption of social media as a marketing strategy is the large percentage of those who consider themselves knowledgeable – but have no social media experience.

Two-thirds of marketers at organizations that have not used social media marketing or PR said they are “very” or “somewhat” knowledgeable about the subject. Without social media experience, however, this level of knowledge is unlikely. It may be the reason “lack of knowledgeable staff” is seen as the most significant barrier.

There is good news, though. Lessons come fast once an organization engages with social media. Until those lessons are learned, though, initial missteps could lead to marketers abandoning the program.

A stagnant Facebook group doesn’t mean that ‘social media just isn’t for us’ – it simply suggests that there’s more to learn. Over the next several weeks, we’ll explore social media with charts from MarketingSherpa’s upcoming report.”

Nancy’s Take
The majority of my clients – particularly those in higher education – suffer from both lack of knowledge and inability to track ROI. In fact, I’ve spent three months trying to pry analytics out of one college client; their delay isn’t because they don’t want to share, but because no one knows where to find them!

Of all industries, higher education should (IMHO) be the ones on the front line of the social media revolution . . . after all, it’s where their target market lives. I’m sharing this chart with my client and hoping it will prompt a little action on their part.  As the report shows, just because the initial Facebook page isn’t getting any love doesn’t mean to ditch it – but rather to pay attention to it!