Social Media: Defining Relevant Goals
We get a lot of people coming to us and saying, “We want to do a viral video featuring dancing ketchup bottles/irreverent animated pop stars/whatever the current online meme is.”
Well, putting aside the whole “viral” thing, we have to remind them: Don’t start with creative. Start with a goal. If you don’t have a goal for a social media campaign, don’t start one—because you’ll probably be unhappy with the results.
Of course, the next question is, “What is a relevant goal?” Well, here’s a rough guide:
- Replacement for all conventional advertising? No. Social media, despite the large audience, is not yet ready to replace conventional advertising entirely. There is great value to an integrated offline/conventional online/social program.
- Profitable direct sales like SEM? No. Remember, a social network profile is someone’s home, and social network interaction is like meeting in a bar. People don’t like door-to-door salesmen, and people don’t go to bars to find the best price on a Dell laptop. Selling directly on social networks will probably be a disappointment.
- Broad change in company perception? Maybe. It depends somewhat on your audience, but social networks and social media are used by a large enough audience to effect a broad change in company perception. Just don’t bet on a single “viral” video doing it.
- CPM like an online campaign? Maybe. There have been plenty of programs which have delivered a “cost per thousand impressions” similar to that of an online campaign. There are two ways to help ensure this. The first is to design a long-term program, like the National Geographic widget program. They can run that as long as they want, and the number of widgets installed will continue to increase. The second is to engineer in viral spread for a short-term campaign, offering points towards a prize for distribution of a widget.
- Community creation and brand evangelism? Yes. If you want to bring your community together and energize them towards becoming brand evangelists, this is the perfect venue to do it in. Be honest when you come in, though—are you offering them something they find truly useful, fun, or entertaining? If you aren’t, you may be disappointed in the results.
- Enhance communication with key audiences? Yes. If you already have core user groups or other special interests, social media and social networks are the ideal place to bring them together. Creating a specific social application for them says, “You are valued,” and “We trust you.”
Happy goal-setting!
