Social Media Class - Excellent Case Study Examples

Here are a couple of great case studies concerning the use of Social Media for marketing from Fall 2011 MKRG245 students:

Southwest Airlines

Clif Bars

Social Media Marketing Class: Week 12-15

Case Studies, Metrics and your Semester Project

Week 12-13: Case Studies

Zappos is a very successful online shoe and clothing store. They considered by many to be one of organizations that makes the best use of social media. Here is a presentation about Zappos' use of social media. Although it may be hard to get the meaning of all the slides without the narration, the message still rings loud and clear. Despite this, Zappos' Tony Hsieh says he dislikes the term "social media" and (probably jokingly) says that anyone that uses it in front of him at Zappos has to pay him a dollar.

This might be puzzling on the surface. However, as the father of two young women, I hear them speak of the difference between "real friends" and what could be termed "facebook friends". A facebook friend might be fun to communicate with, post some funny videos, like some cool bands, but they are not the people you can count on to be there for you as "real friends" are. Reading about Zappos made me think that perhaps even with companies, there can be your "real friends" and "facebook friends" - taking the word "friend" with a grain of salt. Another way to put it is that social media is only one, and not even the most important way, that Zappos connects with their customers. They are committed to providing great customer service. Social Media is the icing on the cake, used to strengthen the bond with their customers, and not to substitute for good customer service.

Consider Zappos' use of social media as you work on your project. Social Media and web sites in general will be successful when they help both the organization and the customers achieve their goals. Read all the links above, then ask yourself: What do you think Zappos' goals are regarding Social Media? What do you think their customers' goals are for interacting with Zappos? Zappos' success implies that they are doing a good job of addressing these goals.

Assignment: Week 12 and 13

Preparation: Be sure to read all the links in the entry about Zappos. Send me any questions, or post your thoughts/questions to the discussion forum.

For week 12 (Homework 10) - Your task is to do a case study of an organization that you feel does social media well. You can not use Zappos. Consider all of the social media channels they use. Speculate on what you think their goals are, and what you think their customers' goals are, and comment on how effective these channels are in addressing these goals be specific. Include why you think the organization you selected makes good use of social media. Post to your blog. Your case study should be similar to the Zappos case study. Upload the link to the Homework 10 dropbox.

Your assignment for week 13 (Homework 11) is to do the same as for week 12, but with a different organization. Upload the link to the Homework 11 dropbox.

Week 14: Metrics

One adage about business I have heard many times is "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it." It is quite reasonable for any organization undertaking some initiative, such as a social media marketing plan, to want to know if the initiative was effective or not.

How then to measure the effectiveness of a Social Media Marketing Initiative. Is it simply a matter of how many Facebook like's, Twitter followers, YouTube Subscribers? That seems incomplete. To be sure marketing materials need to be seen to be effective. However, the goal of marketing is not just to be seen, but to lead to action.

Another possibility is to look at the overall success of the organization. If after a marketing campaign, sales increase, one may be tempted to give credit to the marketing campaign. However, Correlation does not imply Causality. There are so many factors that goes into a companies' success or failure - some of which are outside of the control of the company. A company could have declining sales, even with a good marketing effort, if, for example, there is a general economic downturn. Perhaps their marketing campaign kept the sales from dropping even more.

So, statistics like Twitter/Facebook/YouTube followers, and gross sales may provide a very simplistic view of the picture, but not the whole picture. Like the fable of the blind men describing an elephant, different measurements give part of the story, but not the whole story. Taken together, management can get a more accurate view by looking at several measurements, then is possible through just one measurement. Here are some resources to start you off in investigating measuring social media marketing:

• Measuring Social Media Marketing in 3 steps
• Measuring ROI on Social Media
• Guide to Facebook Insights

Assignment: Week 14 (Homework 12)

Be sure to read the links I posted concerning measurement. Also, revisit the Interviews I posted. Using Google News find 3 recent (since September 2011) articles about measuring Social Media Marketing. Create a blog post that links to the 3 pages, and summarize each of them. Then, write a paragraph that summarizes your understanding of measuring Social Media Marketing. Upload the link of your blog post to the Homework 12 dropbox. Ask if you have questions.

Week 15: Finish Your Semester Project

Use this week to take everything you have learned in this unit, and the entire semester to finish up your semester project and make it as good as it can be. Please ask me questions, or let me know if you want me to review anything. You may also post the the semester project discussion forum. When you have completed it, upload to the drop box. If you have any difficulties uploading, email it to me at mzellers@lorainccc.edu, then post an entry in the drop box indicating you emailed it.

Final Words

This is the first time this course has been offered at LCCC, and I really enjoyed teaching it. I hope you enjoyed it, and more than that, I hope you learned a lot. I would really appreciate any constructive feedback you have about this class, positive or negative - what worked, what didn't, what you feel the most important things you learned, what you wished was addressed that wasn't or wasn't adequately addressed, what you thought of the materials, what you thought of my use of social media in this class and even what social media do you think I should incorporate into the course delivery (i.e. would it be beneficial for me to have a twitter account for this class?). You can email me. Please feel free to be frank. If you are concerned about anonymity, you can drop off an unsigned note in the business division office, and ask to have it put on my mail box.

Social Media Marketing Class - Week 11 - Twitter and Other Social Media Sites

This week, we want to focus on three things:

• Peer Review
• Twitter and other social networking tools...
• Revising Semester Project

Peer Review

Your first task this week is to be sure you have completed your Peer Review. Email your review to your classmate and post to the Peer Review dropbox. Let me know if you have questions

Homework 9 - Twitter and other social networking tools...

• Create a Twitter account. Even if you already have a Twitter account, please create one just for this assignment. Do this as soon as possible, and post your Twitter username to the Message Board. If you are unfamiliar with how Twitter works, do some research or please ask.
• Follow at least 10 Twitter accounts, broken down as follows:
• One classmate
• Three organizations that tweet about Social Media Marketing
• Three organizations using Twitter to market their products/services.
• Any other Twitter account you want. Celebrity, friend, organization, etc...
• Tweet at least 3 current news links about Social Media... Use a link shortener, such as bit.ly
• Tweet at least 3 tweets about Social Networking sites other than the ones we have reviewed (Facebook, Blogger, YouTube, Twitter, Google +, etc.). Use a link shortener, such as bit.ly
• Re-tweet at least 3 tweets from each the accounts you are following. For at least 1, add your own comments to the retweet.
• Create a blog entry that contains:
  • A link to your Twitter page
  • Rank the three organizations using Twitter to market their products/services, that you have followed, by how effective they use Twitter. Explain your rankings
  • Define some guidelines for the effective use of Twitter
  • Answer the following question: Is Twitter better suited for some organizations than others? If so, what about an organization makes it well suited for Twitter?
  • A summary of the other Social Networking platforms you tweeted about, what benefits they offer their users, and what marketing benefits do they offer to marketers.

Revising Semester Project

Take the feedback I and your classmate has given you, and continue researching and working on Semester Project. Please contact me with questions. Continue to discuss the project on the Message Board.

Social Media Marketing Class - Announcement

I have updated the course syllabus. You can view the updated version in the Course Information folder on Angel. Over the next few days, I will post to Angel what we will be doing Weeks 9 and 10.

Social Media Marketing Class - Week 8 - YouTube

YouTube

For this week, you have two options for your assignment.

Option 1: Create a video and post to YouTube

Create an account on YouTube. Create a video between 2 and 5 minutes that discusses what makes for an effective YouTube marketing video. Post your video to YouTube and add the relevant title, description, category and tags to it. Then, embed your video into a blog entry. Post to the drop box the url of your blog post.

A few things to keep in mind. There is free software to make videos on Windows and on Mac. For Windows, there is Windows Movie Maker and on the Mac, iMovie comes with Mac OsX. If you do not have a camera, you can create a video consisting of still images. If you do have a camera, do not worry if it does not take high quality video. If you have questions, please contact me.

Option 2: Evaluate three videos on YouTube

Find 3 good marketing videos on YouTube. Embed them in a blog post, and write a paragraph about each video explaining why you thought the video was good. Then, summarize your conclusions about what makes a good YouTube marketing video. Format your blog entry using headings and other formatting, to make your post look good, and to help organize the content for the readers. Post to the drop box the url of your blog post.

Remember to continue working on your semester project.

A student sent me this link, along with the following comments:

Mike, in your interview with David Connelly you indicated LCCC is one of the first to offer a social media marketing class . the article goes on to say that academia is taking the subject seriously. Birmingham City University in England is offering a Master's degree in Social Media and that Northeastern University in Boston will soon offer one for master's students in corporate communications.

My response: I hope I wasn't misleading with my statement. I guess what I wanted to say is that Social Media Classes are not necessarily common - maybe "among the first wave" would be a better way to say it..

Social Media Marketing Class - Week 7 - Facebook/Google+

This week, we want to focus on three things:

• Effective Use of Facebook for Marketing
• Comparing Facebook and Google + from a Business/Marketing Perspective
• Start Working on Semester Project

Assignment - Blog Entry

Part One: Effective Use of Facebook for Marketing

For this week, you will need a Facebook account. I imagine many of you already have a Facebook account. I will not ask you to share this account with me, in respect of your privacy. You will need it though, to examine and evaluate how some organizations are using Facebook for Marketing.

First, review all the materials from previous weeks in the class, including your blog entries and classmates' blog entries, concerning what makes for an efective use of Social Media for Marketing. Then review this article about good Facebook Pages.

Finally, find the Facebook pages of 3 organizations that you are interested in. You may need to "Like" the page to view its content. Rank them from most effective to least effective. Explain why you ranked them as you did. Cite any references you use to justify your rankings.

Comparing Facebook and Google + from a Business/Marketing Perspective

Research, then compare and contrast Facebook and Google+ as a tool for business - especially marketing. Specify the advantages and disadvatages of each. Be sure to focus on the use of Facebook and Google+ as business tools, and not just from an individual's personal perspective.

Final Thoughts

Remember, these entries are to be your own words. If you use material from a resource, you need to cite it. Give your post a title that makes it clear to me which assignment it is for. Format your entry using either html or the editing tools available on your blogging platform. If you need help navigating through Facebook, let me know - for that matter, if you have any questions, please ask. When you are done, upload the URL of your blog post to Angel.

Project

There is nothing for you to turn in this week regarding your Project. However, I want to make sure you start working on it as your rough draft is due soon. Make sure you have read the instructions for the assignment and understand each part. Part of creating a Marketing Plan involves research and discussions to determine what needs to be done. For this assignment, use your own knowledge of LCCC, examine what other colleges are doing, and use the discussion forum to ask me questions and discuss with other classmates.

Social Media Marketing Class - Week 6 - Blogs

Assignment

By now, we should all know what blogs are. This week the focus will be regarding the effective use of blogs. This week’s assignment will consist of creating a post to your blog that discusses some blogs that you will examine.

Do the following:

• Review your classmates’ blogs. Chose one post you consider to be very good from at least two of your classmates’ blogs. Include in your blog post, a link to each of the two posts, along with a summary of why you chose those posts.
• Find a good blog about Social Media Marketing written by someone outside of this class. Read several of the posts, find at least 2 that are noteworthy - ones that you find insightful, relevant to this class, something you did not know or head before or otherwise valuable. Include in your blog post, a link to the good blog you found about social media marketing, and links to at least two posts on that blog that you found especially good, along with a summary of why you chose that blog and those posts.
• Consider what would make a blog an effective tool for marketing - review your past blog posts, posts of other students, the interviews, or any other resource you can find. Use the Discussion Forum to discuss this with your classmates. Then find three blogs by businesses, organizations or individuals that are, at least in part, using the blog to market their goods or services. Then assign a grade (A,B,C,D or F) to each of the three blogs based on the criteria you determined for an effective marketing blog. In your blog post, describe what criteria you used to grade the marketing blogs, link to each blog, identify what grade you gave each blog and explain why.

There are three sections to your blog post: Classmate Blogs, Blogs about Social Media Marketing and Blogs used to Market. Clearly label each section with a heading. Be sure you understand the difference between the blogs for the second and the third parts. The second part should be about a blog where the topic is social media marketing. Here is an example of a blog about social media. In the third part, the blogs should be not about social media marketing, but used to market the efforts of a person or organization. Here is an example of a blog used by a business to market its products. When you are done, post the url of your blog entry to the dropbox in Angel

Social Media Marketing Class: Excellent McLuhan Posts...

Those of you having a hard time with the McLuhan assignment, check out these posts:

• Carol
• Ralph
• Anthony

Social Media Marketing Class - Week 5 - Issues

Areas of Caution: Ethics, Pitfalls, Social Implications

Few thing in this life are without their downsides. Technology is especially tricky in this regard as technology moves faster than our societies' ability to completely understand all the consequences, legal and ethical issues. Social Media has been around long enough that some of the issues have been identified, but not all.

It is prudent then, for us studying the use of Social Media for Marketing reasons to consider these issues, and discuss how they can be addressed.

Issues facing Businesses

Ethics

Why should a business care about ethics? While the ethical positions of individuals and organizations may vary, I would expect most would agree that organizations have a responsibility to act ethically. In my opinion, that is the most compelling reason for a business to act ethically. Many professional organizations have codified rules of ethics for their members, including how they market their services.

If one is not swayed by the "responsibility" reason for acting ethically, another argument can be made - namely, that acting ethically is good for business (or perhaps acting unethically is bad for business.) One could say this is a sort of a form of karma - an organization's actions influence how it is treated.

The perception of many is that often, marketing efforts sit on the edge of ethical behavior. The public is skeptical about marketing claims, with good reason. Young people today have been subjected to ads since they have been children. The promise of social media marketing is that it can reach those that are cynical about traditional marketing methods. With that, however, comes some ethical challenges. One of the statements made most often about social media marketing is to be effective, it requires a personal connection between the organization and the customer. The basis of any personal relationship is trust. As such, I believe social media marketing raises the bar with regards to ethics. For it to be successful, social media cannot be business as usual with regards to marketing.

Here are some ethical issues surrounding the use of social media:

• Is it ethical for a CEO of a company to post a blog post someone else actually wrote?
• Is it ethical to delete a negative comment someone wrote? What about an abusive comment?
• Is it ethical to pay someone outside your organization to blog or tweet about your company?
• Is it ethical to give influential bloggers free goods to review? If I posted on my blog a review of the iPad 2, would it matter if I purchased it, or if it was given to me by Apple?
• If an organization claims it is "transparent and authentic" (see discussion of these topics under Addressing the Issues, what does that mean? To what degree do they need to live up to this?

Other Pitfalls

When organizations employees social media as part of their marketing efforts, it is a double edge sword. It gives a way for their fans to help spread the word, in effect, to provide free assistance spreading the word - viral marketing

Of course, when an organization employs social media, it opens the door not just for its fans, but also for its detractors. For some, this loss of control is difficult. Trying to hard to keep control can alienate even an organization's supporters. In fact, even if an organization does not employ social media, it can be vulnerable to such attacks.

Here are some examples of issues organizations/individuals have faced or could face related to Social Media. This is a mixed list - in some cases, social media was used against organizations, in other cases, the organization's social media strategy is being attacked.

• Nivea "Recivilize" Ad
• DB Breweries
• News of the World (Huge scandal in the UK)
• Walmart
• Ghostwriting
• Guy Kawasaki - Ghostwriting

Addressing the Issues

There are several concepts relating to social media that address such issues. Two of them are: transparency and authenticity. If social media marketing is not business as usual and, as many have stated, requires a personal touch, and interactivity to be successful, then trust is critical. being transparent and authentic is a key to this. Of course, there are those that would argue that transparency in social media is an illusion. Can one be "somewhat" transparent? Can a line be drawn and a balance struck?

Many organizations create a Social Media Policy. These are designed to address potential ethical and other business issues relating to social media. Here are Intel's Social Media Guidelines, which, in the spirit of transparency, are published and available on the web.

Issues facing Society as a whole

Speculating on the long term impact of the use of internet use, social media and social media marketing is McLuhan-esque territory. There is speculation concerning how computer/internet use could reshape our brains. The impact of advertising on children and adolescents has been studied. Many now are constantly connected - always on. The best description I've heard about how many of us live our lives is Continuous Partial Attention. Key in understanding facebook is recognizing that "We are its product, not its customers". What will be the impact when children and adolescents when the advertising becomes ubiquitous, following them around via their mobile phones and butting in during interactions with friends? What will be the impact of children and adolescents spending so much time on a site, where they are viewed as a "product"? It can be chilling to consider.

I don't want to end on a pessimistic note. This week is the "issues" week, where we begin to examine some of the negatives of Social Media. To quote McLuhan "We shape our tools, and thereafter our tools shape us." While no one has a crystal ball to predict the precise impact of technological changes, we must consider potential issues and develop/use tools with awareness.

Assignment

This week, instead of a blog post, you will post to two discussion forums on Angel(LCCC's CMS - the discussion forums will be in the week 5 folder). One forum will be "Describe what should be contained in LCCC Business Division's Policy on Social Media Marketing for its employees." and "Discuss your views of some of the problem issues discussed in this post". Each forum is worth 5 points. Every post or reply will be awared some points. After you have earned your five points, you are welcome to continue discussing, but will likely not be awarded more points (on the other hand, I may award extra credit points for outstanding contributions). In both forums, support what you say with examples. I will make every effort to stay up to date on grading and award points within 24-48 hours of the post.

Social Media Marketing Class - Week 4 - Planning

Planning

Numerous proverbs proclaim the value of planning. Here are some I recall:

• Measure twice, cut once
• It's not ready, fire, aim.
• Look before you leap.
• If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Poor Planning

Note: Before you think I am laughing at someone's misfortunes, According to The Mythbusters while the story is plausible, it likely originated with an old joke, not an actual event.

While most people acknowledge the importance of planning, many organizations neglect, or do not give it the attention it deserves:

Planning in Marketing

Read this description of Marketing Plans. Pay close attention to the first section. Here is a description of Marketing's 4 P's mentioned in the article.

Social Media Marketing Plan/Strategy

Here are a couple of presentations about Social Media Marketing Plan/Strategy

• Here is an ironically named presentation: You Don't Need a Social Media Strategy
• Creating a Social Media Marketing Plan
  
  

Note: These presentations are foound on Slideshare is a great resource. From their site:

SlideShare is the world's largest community for sharing presentations. With 50 million monthly visitors and 90 million pageviews, it is amongst the most visited 250 websites in the world. Besides presentations, SlideShare also supports documents, PDFs, videos and webinars.

Assignment

A real pleasure associated with teaching a new class in a new field is that experimentation is not just welcome, it is required! And in a class that relates to social media, it only makes sense to use the tools/concepts associated with Social Media. It is another way for the students to become familiar with the material, and it allows me to realize and demonstrate the benefits of the topics we are studying. This week's assignment will be an experiment in Crowdsourcing.

Do the following:

• Review the materials above about Marketing Plans and Social Media marketing Plans
• Go to Slideshare and find one presentation, different than the ones I used, about Social Media Marketing Plans
• If there is something you don't understand, either in my sources, or the one you found, post a question to the discussion board.
• Review the Marketing Plan format - for your Semester Project assignment.
• Create a blog post that contains the following:
  
  • Post to your blog a link to the presentation you found, and your reaction, positive or negative. Does it agree with the sources I posted, or differ?
  • Based on what you learned - from my sources, the one you blogged, ones that other students blogged, and any other resources - discuss what you would change about the Semester Project Marketing Plan Format. Make at least 2 or 3 specific suggestions and support your suggestions with material from the resources you have reviewed.
  • Post what you think of this assignment. Is it a good idea for an instructor to solicit changes to an assignment from his students?
  • Be honest. It is ok to offer constructive criticism. One of the risks of "going social" is that it opens one up, whether a teacher, or an organization, to negative remarks. For social media to be an effective tool, constructive, respectful criticism ought to be welcomed. I genuinely want to make this class, and the materials the best they can be and your feedback can help.
• To be authentic and transparent here, my goals for this assignment are:
  
  • to reinforce the importance of planning
  • for you to learn about Marketing Plans and Social Media Marketing Plans
  • to make sure you have reviewed the project and start thinking about it (hint, hint)
  • to improve the materials and assignments for this course. I may incorporate your feedback into the course/project.

Social Media Marketing - Podcast/Interview....

Here is a recorded interview David Connelly, a web developer from Scotland, did with me

Social Media Marketing Class - Week 3 - Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan

Marshall McLuhan is a visionary that studied how the media effects individuals and society. His concepts are important to consider when studying any medium. We will use some of his concepts as we consider the impact of Social Media and its application to marketing.

My Overview

Items cited in my video

• Book: The Medium is the Massage
• Book: Marshall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of My Work!
• Article: Technology may be altering how brains work

Cultural Icon - scene from "Annie Hall"

On "The Medium is the Message" (one of his most famous quotes)

Each medium, independent of the content it mediates, has its own intrinsic effects which are its unique message.

The message of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs. The railway did not introduce movement or transportation or wheel or road into human society, but it accelerated and enlarged the scale of previous human functions, creating totally new kinds of cities and new kinds of work and leisure. This happened whether the railway functioned in a tropical or northern environment, and is quite independent of the freight or content of the railway medium. (Understanding Media, NY, 1964, p. 8)

What McLuhan writes about the railroad applies with equal validity to the media of print, television, computers and now the internet. "The medium is the message" because it is the "medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action." (Understanding Media, NY, 1964, p. 9)

from http://marshallmcluhan.com/common-questions/

Additional Materials about McLuhan

• Marshall McLuhan Speaks - A site in honor of the 100th anniversary of his birth including many clips in his own words.
• A lecture by McLuhan
• McLuhan's Tetrad
• Article: What is the Meaning of The Medium is the Message?

Assignment

Review the materials on this page about Marshall McLuhan and his key concepts. Find other resources about McLuhan. See if anyone else has applied McLuhan's Tetrad to topics relevant to this class: the Internet, Web 2.0, Social Media, Social Media Marketing. Gather your thoughts, and attempt to apply McLuhan's Tetrad to Social Media and Social Media Marketing. Discuss with your classmates your thoughts on our classes' message board within Angel (our course management system). Finally, create a blog entry that discusses McLuhan's Tetrad and Social Media/Social Media Marketing, supporting your thoughts with links to resources. When you are done, post the url of your entry to the drop box
in Angel.

Social Media Marketing Class - Project (Video)

Social Media Marketing Class - Week 2

Readings/Preparation

The goal of this week is to begin thinking about what makes for effective social media marketing. First of all, read through the series of interviews I did with a group of people about how they use social media for marketing. The people on this list are involved in a wide range of activities. As you read the words of this diverse group, try to look beyond the differences for common themes regarding how social media can be used effectively for marketing.

Next, read through the first week's posts on your classmates blogs. Links to the blogs will be posted as the week 1 assignment is turned in (hence, the importance of turning in on time).Look at what your classmates say, what resources they found and linked to, the examples they posted, and their comments about the examples. Do your classmates posts seem in agreement with the interviews or in disagreement?

Then do some online research to see what the "experts" say about effective social media marketing. I say "experts" because there are many folks out their claiming to be "experts" trying to sell their seminars or consulting services. That being said, you can find a lot of good information online about how to be effective with social media marketing. For any site you use, you should evaluate its reliability. Again, consider whether what you read confirms or conflicts with the other things you have read.

Lastly, look at examples of organizations using social media for marketing: look at one or two examples in 3 or so different social media sites... i.e. all your examples should not be from facebook. Do the examples seem effective or not? Why?

Assignment

After you have done all the readings/preparatory activities, create a blog entry that lists 5 or so general guidelines for what makes for effective social media marketing. You can either specify things to do, or things to avoid doing. Support each item on your list with a few links to resources you found in the readings/preparatory activities. Upload the url of the blog entry you created to Angel

Social Media Marketing Class - Class Blogs

Spring 2012

• Andrew
• Ben
• Brent
• Chris
• Debra
• Dennis
• Jason
• Joey
• Joseph
• Jordan
• Kathryn
• Matthew H
• Matthew R
• Ronnie
• Ryan
• Tommy
• Zach

Fall 2011

• Amanda M.
• Amanda R.
• Anthony
• Ashley
• Carol
• Erica
• Heather R.
• Heather S.
• Holly
  
• Justin
• Nancy
• Nicholas
• Ralph

*updated 1/30/2012

CSU Seminar

Interesting Marketing Seminar Coming to Cleveland...

Social Media Marketing Interviews - Carrie Scully - Public Relations

Carrie Scully is a social media manager at a PR firm in Cleveland and runs social media for a number of corporate accounts.

MZ: Describe what projects/organizations/activities you have marketed using social networking?
Carrie Scully: My clients include: a leading global truck manufacturer, a number of local Cleveland restaurants and bars and a national consumer products corporation.

MZ: What social media sites have you used for marketing?
Carrie Scully: I have used LinkedIn, Facebook, Foursquare, Quora, YouTube, Google+, Twitter, Ustream, flickr, Yelp, Ning, MeetUp, and blogs

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been most effective?
Carrie Scully: Most effective for items are what I would describe as information that organically comes from us: contests, landing pages, photo albums, polls and feedback.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been least effective?
Carrie Scully: For the major truck manufacturer, because it has three globally recognized brands that are highly technical in nature, customer service has been a bit of a challenge, but we are working on polishing that process off.

MZ: What is the most important thing social media marketing provides that traditional marketing doesn’t?
Carrie Scully: It provides a direct two way(or group) conversation with the ability to share information. Traditional marketing is a one way channel.

MZ: Have you experienced any drawbacks using social media for marketing?
Carrie Scully: Social Media is an open forum that allows for open conversation, in which negative comments and such can go viral. While I have never experienced this snowball effect, I do keep an eye out for it. Also, monitoring external mentions of big brands is a huge undertaking.

MZ: How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts?
Carrie Scully: By reviewing both inbound analytics and feedback directly related to the outbound messages and outside mentions of the brands untied to the profiles or messages themselves.

MZ: What is the one most important quality necessary for a successful social media marketing plan?
Carrie Scully: Content is king - but it has to be brief. It must be interactive and timely. Multimedia can be valuable. Content calendar that is at least 2-3 months out.


MZ: What is the one most critical thing to avoid when using social media marketing?
Carrie Scully: Social Media Marketing must be interactive and timely to be effective. One cannot allow an organization's Social Media to be not interactive or not timely.

MZ: Do you have any other advice for an individual or organization attempting to use social media marketing?:
Carrie Scully: Use management platforms such as HootSuite. Use landing page applications such as Pagemodo and Wildfire. Use SocialMentions.com for external monitoring purposes (free service) or Radian6(pay for service). Be transparent, timely, proactive and helpful. Final note: Engage. Engage. Engage.

Social Media Marketing Class - Project

Introduction

Any project that is not trivial requires planning. It is my experience that this is where many projects fail. Skilled people can work very hard and still create something ineffective if it was not understood from the start what needed to be done. Therefore, in this and all of my courses, I stress planning. Planning does not require that every detail be worked out in advance, and, to be sure, plans need reworked and changed as a project evolves. However, those working on a project must have a clear idea of the goals of the project, or their efforts will likely be wasted.

Your Project

For your project, you will create a Marketing Plan for Lorain County Community College's Business Division. The project will be done in two phases - the Rough Draft and the Completed Version. See syllabus for due dates. Here is some information about LCCC's Business Division. For this assignment, I will be considered as the representative for the Business Division, so ask me any questions - through any of the communication methods listed for this class. For this assignment, the deadlines will be more strictly enforced.

Marketing Plan - Format

Use the following template for your Marketing Plan.  You will need to write a paper (.doc, .docx, .rtf, Google Docs, or .pdf format) and create a slideware presentation (.ppt, .pptx, or Google Docs).

For your presentation, assume the presentation will be accompanying a speaker - although in an online class, you won't actually present it. Review standards for good presentation design.

Your paper should include the following sections. Your presentation should summarize the highlights and need not contain every section.

• Objectives - List at least 3 specific objectives that LCCC's Business Division would want to achieve via their Social Media Marketing
• Target Audience Groups - List at least 3 different groups of people the Social Media Marketing would be geared towards
• Review of Social Media of Similar Organizations - Review and document what similar organizations are doing regarding Social Media Marketing
• Relevant Goals of Target Audiences - What do you feel the target audiences hope to achieve through interacting with LCCC's Business Division's Social Media... include 2 goals for each group
• Proposed Content - identify which Social Media channels should be used. For each channel describe:
• who would create posts
• how often posts would be created
• general description of content included
• how the content aligns with LCCC Business Division's objectives
• how content aligns with Target Audience Goals
• anticipated issues
• Proposed policies concerning Transparency, etc - suggest policies concerning what should be posted/what should not be posted, how to handle negative comments and other issues relating to transparency
• Metrics - how should LCCC's Business Division measure whether their Social Media Market efforts are effective - be specific

Marketing Plan - Rough Draft

For the rough draft, you will turn in a draft of your marketing plan. For the rough draft, you do not need to turn in the slide presentation, just the paper. You will then be assigned another student's paper to peer review and offer feedback. You will post your rough draft to the drop box. I will email you someone else's draft. You will email the other student your feedback and upload your feedback to the peer review drop box. See the syllabus for due dates.

Criteria

Component	Poor	Fair	Good
Rough Draft	0-3 points: 0-2 sections of the plan addressed in adequate detail	4-6 points: 3-4 sections of the plan addressed in adequate detail	7-10 points: 5-7 sections of the plan addressed in adequate detail.
Peer Review	0-1 points: Review not done, or inadequate in most respects	2-3 points: Review is vague, incomplete or lacking in insight	4-5 points: Review is insightful, detailed, specific and complete

Note: For the rough draft, you will get credit if you address the parts of the section described in the template, as long as a sincere effort is made. You will be given feedback by me and from a fellow student. The aim is to have good material in the final version.

Marketing Plan - Completed

Here is the rubric:

Criteria

Component	Poor	Fair	Good
Objectives	0 points: missing or vague	1 points: incomplete or vague	2 points: complete and specific
Target Audiences	0 points: missing or vague	1 points: incomplete or vague	2 points: complete and specific
Review of Social Media of Similar Organizations	0 points: missing or vague	1-2 points: incomplete or vague	3 points: complete and specific
Relevant Goals of Target Audiences	0 points: missing or vague	1-2 points: incomplete or vague	3 points: complete and specific
Proposed Content	0-1 points: missing or vague	2-3 points: incomplete or vague	4-5 points: complete and specific
Proposed policies concerning Transparency, etc	0 points: missing or vague	1-2 points: incomplete or vague	3 points: complete and specific
Metrics	0 points: missing or vague	1 points: incomplete or vague	2 points: complete and specific
Presentation	0-1 points: missing - lacking in content and poorly designed	2-3 points:good content or good design	4-5 points: good content, good design

It is possible ideas from your Marketing Plan will be used!

I will create a video describing the project in more detail in the upcoming weeks.

The books: Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day and Social Media is a Cocktail Party, were useful in developing this assignment

Social Media Marketing Class - Week 1

Welcome

Welcome to the class. Here is a short video describing some aspects of the class. The volume is low - my apologies.

It is very likely that all of us are at least somewhat familiar with some aspects of Social Media. This first week, our focus will be on examining Social Media in more detail. It is important for us though, to have a solid understanding of the technical and social factors at work that have given rise to Social Media.

Person of the Year

Since 1927, Time Magazine has selected the Person of the Year (formerly titled Man of the Year.)

"TIME's Person of the Year is bestowed by the editors on the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year. Source

The winners are a prestigious group that includes: Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mohandas Gandhi. Source

Two of recent winners are quite curious:

• Time Person of the Year - 2006
• Time Person of the Year - 2010

These awards are emblematic of the power and potential of Social Media in many aspects of life. Read through the articles about the awards to get a greater sense of just what the power of Social Media is. While different Social Media platforms were created for different reasons, as the use of Social Media has grown, organizations have sought to use it as a marketing tool to promote their efforts. In this course, we will explore the use of Social Media in Marketing.

Background

The following provide some background information on the technologies and social factors at work in Social Media.

A great starting point is to read this article about Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is sort of an umbrella term that describes how the web has evolved. It deals with both the evolving technology and the changing mindset.

Here are some videos, which discuss Social Media, and its influence, in an entertaining manner. One focuses on blogs which is relevant to the first Homework Assignment.

 

Assignment

Create a blog using any of the sites available including blogger, wordpress, tumblr or any other blogging platform. You will be using this blog in your Homework Assignments this week and in future weeks. Creating a blog is fairly straightforward; please ask if you have any questions. Be aware, your blog will be available to the general public on the internet, be careful with your privacy. My suggestion is that you use your first name and last initial on the blog.
After you create your blog, I want you to research on the web and find resources about Social Media Marketing. Then, create a post to your blog similar to this post, except focused on Social Media Marketing. I do not expect you to create a video as I have done - though you are welcome to if you wish. I do expect you to have identified a few reliable resources on the subject, and create an entry that combines a summary of what you have found, your own thoughts and links to these links. When you have completed the entry, post the url of your blog to the drop box in Angel (our CMS).

Your blog entry should include:

• Links to sources about Social Media Marketing
• A summary in your own words about what you found
• Some examples of how organizations use social media for marketing - your thoughts on the examples - Do you the organizations are effective in their use of Social Media? not effective? why?

Social Media Marketing Interviews - David Gutowski - writer

David Gutowski is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY.

MZ: Describe what projects/organizations/activities you have marketed using social networking?
David Gutowski: I promote my blog, Largehearted Boy, my monthly Brooklyn reading series Largehearted Lit, and my freelance writing through social media.

MZ: What social media sites have you used for marketing?
David Gutowski: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, MySpace

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been most effective?
David Gutowski: Utilizing Twitter and Facebook has made the most difference. For years I avoided both, but as they became pervasive I realized that they were invaluable in keeping up my website's onion presence.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been least effective?
David Gutowski: I have given up on MySpace. I generate almost no traffic from the site, and even at the height of its popularity the user interface didn't engender traffic or interaction.

MZ: What is the most important thing social media marketing provides that traditional marketing doesn’t?
David Gutowski: Immediate contact. Whenever I want, I can reach out to a significant portion of my website's readers (and vice versa).

MZ: Have you experienced any drawbacks using social media for marketing?
David Gutowski: Social media can be a time sink, especially Twitter and Facebook. Focus is important, or you can get lost in the details.

MZ: How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts?
David Gutowski: Quantifying social media's effects on my website's traffic is difficult, but I use Google Analytics and other tools to attempt to gauge effectiveness.

MZ: What is the one most important quality necessary for a successful social media marketing plan?
David Gutowski: There has to be a human touch. Automating press release dispersal to social media is easy, but without the human interaction, these are easily ignored..

MZ: What is the one most critical thing to avoid when using social media marketing?
David Gutowski: Self-promotion for self-promotion's sake. A brand is the relationship between the product and the individual, you have to nurture that instead of making it a one-way conversation.

MZ: Do you have any other advice for an individual or organization attempting to use social media marketing?
David Gutowski: Social media is a two-way interaction. The most effective people and brands on Twitter (@amandapalmer, @jonathancoulton, and others) interact genuinely with their followers.

Social Media Marketing Interviews - Bob Peck - artist

Bob Peck is an Ohio artist.

MZ: Describe what projects/organizations/activities you have marketed using social networking?
Bob Peck: Myself/my artwork

MZ: What social media sites have you used for marketing?
Bob Peck: Myspace, Facebook, Dripbook, 12ozprophet

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been most effective?
Bob Peck: Showing recent paintings and keeping fans informed about my shows as well as the goofy day-to-day events.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been least effective?
Bob Peck: Online contests.

MZ: What is the most important thing social media marketing provides that traditional marketing doesn’t?
Bob Peck: Instant and up to the minute information.

MZ: Have you experienced any drawbacks using social media for marketing?
Bob Peck: Sometimes I fee like I give my audience "too much" and don't keep them coming back for more as much as I should be.

MZ: How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts?
Bob Peck: By feedback given on my work through the sites used.

MZ: What is the one most important quality necessary for a successful social media marketing plan?
Bob Peck: Be real. Be yourself. The consumer/fan base has had enough sugar-coated crap.

MZ: What is the one most critical thing to avoid when using social media marketing?
Bob Peck: Watch what you say in/to one group. It can quickly spread to others!

MZ: Do you have any other advice for an individual or organization attempting to use social media marketing?
Bob Peck: Have fun with it. Be interesting and show your individuality. Be sure to check out my work at www.wakemewhenimprofound.com

Social Media Marketing Interviews - Lou Tisler

Lou Tisler is the executive director of the Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland

MZ: Describe what projects/organizations/activities you have marketed using social networking?
Lou Tisler: NHSGC uses social networking for job postings via LinkedIn. We use FB for press events, classes, local-regional-statewide-national issues that we think are important for achieving, preserving and sustaining homeownership.

MZ: What social media sites have you used for marketing?
Lou Tisler: LI for job openings, FB for all other, Twitter - we have accounts, but only so others don't squat on them; we don't have a Twitter strategy yet. We also use Leaders for Communities due to our national affiliation.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been most effective?
Lou Tisler: Issue-oriented notifications. NHSGC tries not to use FB as a brag book.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been least effective?
Lou Tisler: We continue to have difficulty in engaging those that we reach out to. Many of our posts asks for input, but though people are reading and understanding, they are not taking the time to engage further.

MZ: What is the most important thing social media marketing provides that traditional marketing doesn’t?
Lou Tisler: Cost effective outreach across a broad spectrum of demographics, geography and sectors.

MZ: Have you experienced any drawbacks using social media for marketing?
Lou Tisler: at times, it is interpreted differently than posted. Case in point, when we did a posting it listed Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland Convicted of Mortgage Fraud. The headline link was "Convicted of Mortgage Fraud" and we had a banker ask why we were convicted, where we were really pointing to the story.

MZ: How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts?
Lou Tisler: We have 1,700 friends, which we would prefer to have more local, statewide and national, but having colleagues in meetings tell me that they saw or knew of something we were doing shows that our message is being received.

MZ: What is the one most important quality necessary for a successful social media marketing plan?
Lou Tisler: Commit to it and don't do it half a....

MZ: What is the one most critical thing to avoid when using social media marketing?
Lou Tisler: For us, it is don't inundate, don't pat yourself on the back all the time, raise all ships with praise of accomplishment (of others)

MZ: Do you have any other advice for an individual or organization attempting to use social media marketing?
Lou Tisler: Be succinct, show you care, look at your lists and see who you are really writing to.

Socia Media Marketing Interviews: Gina DeSantis

Gina DeSantis is a Cleveland area ceramic artist.

MZ: Describe what projects/organizations/activities you have marketed
using social networking?
Gina DeSantis: As an artist I market my classes, exhibits, festivals and web shop. This includes marketing events/classes that I teach at local non-profits.

MZ: What social media sites have you used for marketing?
Gina DeSantis: I use Twitter, Facebook. I am looking into Mail Chimp for email blasts.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been most effective?
Gina DeSantis: I have been able to reach a wider audience of out of state shoppers. I also have been able to run classes at my studio with little to no paid advertisements which is helpful with my overhead costs. Facebook event pages have proved to be a fantastic free advertisement space for our open studio events. When 40 artists each invite 300 plus friends the benefits of this service can be as effective as paying hundreds of dollars for ad space.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been least effective?
Gina DeSantis: I find social media can be a lot of "radio noise." Its a sounding board for opinions and thoughts rather than a way to engage and interact. By definition social media should be making us more social and not the other way around.

MZ: What is the most important thing social media marketing provides that
traditional marketing doesn’t?
Gina DeSantis: Its free and it reaches a modern audience that doesn't necessarily rely on print media anymore. It also puts you in control of your brand. It also connects me directly to my customers and galleries.

MZ: Have you experienced any drawbacks using social media for marketing?
Gina DeSantis: I find people treat it in a more personal matter then a professional one. For example, do not use Twitter as a sounding board for your dislike of a certain organization, media outlet or person. It will get back to them. It will be in print. Social media marketing should be focused on connecting and not severing.

MZ: How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts?
Gina DeSantis: I am still trying to figure out the benefits of Twitter. At this point Facebook has been more successful in my marketing of artwork and classes coupled with studio events. However Twitter connects me better with galleries. I'm trying to find a balance between the two along with getting out behind the computer and connecting in person at shows and events.

MZ: What is the one most important quality necessary for a successful
social media marketing plan?
Gina DeSantis: I think you need to discover your niche market. Once you figure what types of businesses and individuals to connect with you need to decide how to brand yourself or business. Again it should be professional and not personal if you are trying to market something.

MZ: What is the one most critical thing to avoid when using social media marketing?
Gina DeSantis: Again, professional and not personal. Don't put anything in print you might later regret!

MZ: Do you have any other advice for an individual or organization
attempting to use social media marketing?
Gina DeSantis: Realize that once you put yourself out there on the internet you will become extremely accessible to a large market. Try to find your voice as an individual or an organization and engage your followers in dialogue to move forward.

Social Media Marketing Interviews - Sally Whitwell

Sally Whitwell is a musician that lives in Australia.

MZ: Describe what projects/organizations/activities you have marketed using social networking?
Sally Whitwell: I have been promoting my new album "Mad Rush - Solo Piano Music of Philip Glass", and events associated with it.

MZ: What social media sites have you used for marketing?
Sally Whitwell: Facebook and Tumblr

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been most effective?
Sally Whitwell: Sharing of audio and video has been very effective, also personal interactions with Tumblr followers and Facebook fans.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been least effective?
Sally Whitwell: Text blogging. I find that my followers engage the least with even short articles that I write of my experiences. Maybe it's the demographic? It could also be subjective to the nature of the Tumblr blogs generally, which are very skewed towards pictures, video and audio. At any rate, I like to keep the blog a bit 'mixed' in terms of the type of posts - and I've had quite a few comments from people who like that aspect of it (that said, those comments come from the people who read the text posts!)

MZ: What is the most important thing social media marketing provides that traditional marketing doesn’t?
Sally Whitwell: Direct connection with my listeners.

MZ: Have you experienced any drawbacks using social media for marketing?
Sally Whitwell: It does take a constant time commitment to make it effective. I check for blog/facebook interactions at regular intervals.

MZ: How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts?
Sally Whitwell: Album sales, which are measure here in Australia by ARIA (Australian Record Industry Association) charts and the iTunes Australia charts.

MZ: What is the one most important quality necessary for a successful social media marketing plan?
Sally Whitwell: A regular chunk of time to commit to it and a willingness to engage directly with fans and followers.

MZ: What is the one most critical thing to avoid when using social media marketing?
Sally Whitwell: Distance from your fans and followers.

MZ: Do you have any other advice for an individual or organization attempting to use social media marketing?
Sally Whitwell: Don't be too distant or appear to be surrounded by an entourage of 'people'. Direct connection is super important.

Social Media Marketing Interviews - Sweets by Maggie

Sweets by Maggie! sells "Made from Scratch Gourmet Cupcakes and Custom Cakes" from their Amherst shop.

MZ: Describe what projects/organizations/activities you have marketed using social networking?
Maggie: We used Facebook as our main marketing tool since we opened in Nov. We use it daily to list our flavors, have contest periodically and let people know what is happening with our business!

MZ: What social media sites have you used for marketing?
Maggie: Currently using facebook and just starting to get our feet wet with twitter

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been most effective?
Maggie: Since we run different flavors daily, people flock to the site just what we have that day. Our contest, mostly trivia, have had an amazing response! We get a weekly report from FB detailing traffic to our site. You see a major increase when you allow people to interact! We've also taken pictures of cupcakes and had fans name them! It has produced one of our most popular cupcakes and people always seem to remember it because they participated in the naming of it!

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been least effective?
Maggie: Free marketing on any level is good! Even if it doesn't take off, someone has seen it, and hopefully it made an impression

MZ: What is the most important thing social media marketing provides that traditional marketing doesn’t?
Maggie: Instant access to many people!

MZ: Have you experienced any drawbacks using social media for marketing?
Maggie: Unhappy customers are able to voice their opinions to the masses...

MZ: How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts?
Maggie: My "page insight" which is sent weekly to the administrators of the page! Stop in and I'll show you!

MZ: What is the one most important quality necessary for a successful social media marketing plan?
Maggie: I can only speak from our point of view and that would be to have fun with it, keep it entertaining, and try to get people to interact!

MZ: What is the one most critical thing to avoid when using social media marketing?
Maggie: Trying to over sell. If all you post is your menu and such it tends to get stale and people don't visit as frequently... As I said before keep it fun!

MZ: Do you have any other advice for an individual or organization attempting to use social media marketing?
Maggie: Get to it! in my opinion this is the single greatest marketing tool we will see in our lifetime

Social Media Marketing Interviews - CHIKARA, Inc.

CHIKARA is an independent pro wrestling organization based out of Pennsylvania.

MZ: Describe what projects/organizations/activities you have marketed using social networking?
CHIKARA: All things CHIKARA, a touring live-action pro-wrestling company.

MZ: What social media sites have you used for marketing?
CHIKARA: Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been most effective?
CHIKARA: YouTube, most of all.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been least effective?
CHIKARA: Probably Twitter. There's no real way to know how many people your message reaches. Like whispering into a canyon.

MZ: What is the most important thing social media marketing provides that traditional marketing doesn’t?
CHIKARA: Free coverage, free exposure. All the other benefits are far out-weighed by the fact that it is free.

MZ: Have you experienced any drawbacks using social media for marketing?
CHIKARA: Not yet. But the day is young.

MZ: How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts?
CHIKARA: For us, the cause and effect relationship is easy to monitor. We post on Facebook that we have a new item for sale in our store - how many of them move in the next 6 hours? How much traffic can we drive to one part of our site if we Tweet it out? Does a YouTube video hyping a single event move any tickets within 24 hours of its release?

MZ: What is the one most important quality necessary for a successful social media marketing plan?
CHIKARA: Does it stand out, or does it get lost in the massive amount of information out there.

MZ: What is the one most critical thing to avoid when using social media marketing?
CHIKARA: Saying irrelevant things. No one wants to read your corporate spam.

MZ: Do you have any other advice for an individual or organization attempting to use social media marketing?
CHIKARA: Engage on all fronts. No one avenue or method is enough.

Social Media Marketing Interviews - Eva Lucien

Eva Lucien is the MySpace Manager for the Women's Flat Track Derby Association

MZ: Describe what projects/organizations/activities you have marketed using social networking?
Eva Lucien: I am MySpace manager and social media team member for the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA). Our team markets WFTDA's news and events to nearly 200 WFTDA  leagues around the world, in addition to fans and non-WFTDA skaters.

MZ: What social media sites have you used for marketing?
Eva Lucien: We use MySpace, Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook, with most interaction taking place through the latter 2 platforms. We haven't yet begun talking about Google Plus, but it looks like a good candidate for future consideration.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been most effective?
Eva Lucien: Highlighting skaters & leagues of the month has usually attracted the most interest from our fans--it's personal info that they seem to like the most. We also use social media to funnel people into our website, which has really boosted traffic.

MZ: What aspect(s) of your social media marketing has/have been least effective?
Eva Lucien: Our social media campaign got off to slow start because, in the beginning, there was little communication between the managers of the different social media platforms and WFTDA management. So there wasn't oversight about what was posted and when; there wasn't any coordinated effort to market a specific product or announcement; we lacked up-to-date info about what to post, so news was often leaked by non-WFTDA sites; and we didn't have the central goal of driving visits to our website.

Since we've integrated our social media team into the management structure, there's been a lot more coordination among the different platforms & WFTDA.

MZ: What is the most important thing social media marketing provides that traditional marketing doesn’t?
Eva Lucien: Personal connection in real time. That's what people seem to be looking for with social media--not just a way to get information, but a way to discuss info and interact with other people who share their interests. It adds a personal face to a brand that is more difficult for websites and other types of marketing to achieve.

MZ: Have you experienced any drawbacks using social media for marketing?
Eva Lucien: It's been a little difficult predicting what social media sites are going to be popular, knowing when to invest in them, and knowing when to remove ourselves from others that are becoming defunct. As an organization that has recently gone international, too, it's difficult to know what's popular in other countries.

MZ: How do you measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts?
Eva Lucien: We track web traffic coming from specific social media sites and resulting ticket/merch sales/click-throughs.

MZ: What is the one most important quality necessary for a successful social media marketing plan?
Eva Lucien: I'd say there's 2 equally essential components: 1. Knowing what you're trying to achieve using social media and being focused on those goals. 2. Investing the time to keep it current & interactive.

MZ: What is the one most critical thing to avoid when using social media marketing?
Eva Lucien: Aside from not being focused and interactive... It's easy to veer to the opposite side of the spectrum and post too many updates. Unless a user is a huge fan of a company, they aren't going to want to see 10 posts a day from that company. 3-5 posts per week has been a good average for WFTDA, though what is too much versus not enough varies among the different platforms.

MZ: Do you have any other advice for an individual or organization attempting to use social media marketing?
Eva Lucien: Help your organization write a plan or policy that guides members' use of social media. In addition to identifying the goals of your social media campaign, this plan should also cover how employees/members of your org interact with your organization's social media sites. What material are they authorized to post about your org? Can they answer questions from customers, or should they refer those questions to management? And so on.

Social Media Marketing Interviews - Introduction

In July 2011, I interviewed via email a variety of people and organizations about how they used social media as part of their marketing efforts. It was a fairly diverse group. I was pleased about the quantity and quality of the responses I received. The responses were thoughtful and provide valuable insight about using social media in marketing.