Welcome to the third issue of the Social Wonders Newsletter from Page One PR. The focus of this newsletter is on social media techniques and sharing the lessons we’ve learned from running more than 50 successful social media campaigns in the past year.
In our previous two issues, we provided how-to guides on measuring and reporting the results of Twitter campaigns and executing integrated social media and traditional PR product launches.
You can read more about our experiences with social media techniques on our Page Wonders Blog. We started the blog a year ago, along with the Page One PR Social Media Team. While we blog about best practices in traditional PR, our most popular topics have been around social media.
Popular topics from the blog:
Social media is a beast, but there are applications out there that can help tame it. Read up on 5 tools you should consider when performing a Twitter search. In addition, David Robbins reviews social media monitoring services and follows up with a closer look at one of those services, Radian6.
We’ve had the opportunity to run social media campaigns with some great clients – from Cisco and Google to Novell – and we’ll continue to share the lessons we learn along the way. Keep reading our blog and newsletter to get the latest tips and resources.
If you have a tip or resource you’d like to share, please email us. You can also follow us on Twitter or Facebook.
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Spending on Social Media vs. Other Marketing Programs – How to Compare ROI
Page One PR talks to dozens of Silicon Valley technology companies about their social media and marketing programs every month. We hear the same things. Marketing budgets are being squeezed. Marketers have to manage more programs and deliver more results. At the same time, they’re being asked by management to “figure out” social media. We keep being asked the same question by these marketers, “How do I measure the ROI of social media and compare it to the results of my other marketing programs?”
There is no easy answer. Comparing the results of advertising, PR, and social media is like comparing apples to oranges and avocados. This is a frustrating response for many marketers. They need to make decisions now on where to spend their time and money and effectively report results back to their executive teams.
We did some research based on our social media work with our clients and compared the results to the ROI of their other marketing efforts. At first we developed a set of metrics based on the Cost Per Click (CPC) method used in advertising. Although we did not intend for the social media CPC data to be used for comparisons of different marketing programs such as Twitter and Google Adwords, we discovered that our clients were using our social media ROI research data for their own ROI comparisons across many different marketing programs, from direct email lead generation to online advertising.
Below we share summary data from some of the social media CPC programs we’ve managed over the last year. We also share the top four lessons that we've learned from companies in Silicon Valley.
- Set web traffic as a universal basis of comparison – In order to simplify measurement and be able to compare programs, you need to pick one key, universal metric. We found web traffic to be the best metric. Every client already tracks website traffic data and usually it affects marketers on a personal compensation level. Web site traffic is the most common metric used in management evaluations and executive marketing presentations to the board of directors. Marketers focus on improving this high-profile metric.
- Standardize web analytic and URL tools – Focus on traffic referral numbers from free tools such as Google Analytics and unique URLs that are tracked with tools like bit.ly. Accept that any measurement will likely be relative and imperfect. Marketers often deal with the very real, but difficult to track, impact on brand and perception. By standardizing on a few basic tools across all programs, you’ll take the squishiness and stress out of your next marketing presentation to the execs.
- Calculate CPC using the total project cost – To use Cost Per Click (CPC) in comparisons, you’ll need to modify the traditional definition of CPC used in advertising and instead use the total cost of the project, including production, management, and placement costs.
- Summarize value beyond CPC – Write a short summary of the value each program provides beyond web traffic. Not all programs have the main goal of increasing website traffic. If the program is focused on building brand awareness or changing public sentiment, you should make a note of this.
We’ve calculated that the typical costs for Silicon Valley B2B technology companies wanting to get potential customers to click on marketing links, in three commonly used channels, are:- Google Adwords - $1.91
- Twitter - $0.56
- YouTube -$0.32
This cost data analysis was collected from our clients over the course of a year. Click here to see more detailed information on the actual costs of Twitter, YouTube, and Google Adwords for Silicon Valley technology companies selling B2B products. If this information is useful for your marketing planning or you have questions, please send us an email. |
Social Wonders Newsletter