It has been said that you can’t improve what you can’t measure. An article from eMarketer emphasizes that statement. Debra Williamson, eMarketer principal analyst, states,

“Marketers often think of social media measurement as listening and monitoring. But that is only one part of a fragmented process, which has contributed to a lack of focus for both marketers and vendors. It has also created a culture of data overload, in which metrics that do not have much business value have more importance than those that contribute to the bottom line.”

Alterian has just released a report that says that 70 percent of all senior management reports have no social media reporting in them. And this is at a time when marketing and public relations departments are asking for more and more dollars to finance the growing social media presence.

The reason social media is absent from these reports is because everything should work backward from the reports. What do you want to see from social media and how should it be compared to the other marketing initiatives? Social media metrics need to line up with the corporate structure so that comparisons can be made.

Social media is not some strange animal that nobody knows how to measure. However, it is strange when there is no context to the reporting and when the reporting has no home in senior management monthly reports.

Click here for the entire eMarketer article. But just had to get my two cents in first.

By the way, happy holidays to everyone. Best to you, your family, your community and the wildlife that lives around you.

Bots(robots), affiliate marketing sites, discount sites and link farms are all making the conversation very crowded for brands trying to get their message heard online. All the entities have one purpose and that is to sell product. Some of it is discounted. Some of it isn’t. Some are names of sites you have never heard of, and some are names like Amazon.

Recently, we were asked by a leading brand in the outdoor and ski markets to search for it and see what we find. Well, it wasn’t pretty. Channel Signal search engines, which have blacklisted over 10,000 authors and sites, still came up with a ton of junk surrounding this brand.

Why? Because the company had not delivered good online content and sales pitches (selling primarily discounted product) had taken  over the brand’s identity.

We searched Twitter…could barely find any content about the actual brand.
Blogs…junk everywhere.
YouTube…better content here.
Online traditional media…not much.

To be clear, all of this sales noise is not all bad. A retailer, Amazon, posted 1,900 customer review ratings in the past year on a product produced by the brand with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Now, if you figure 20 percent of the customers who bought from Amazon wrote a review, that means about 10,000 sales in one year. Not bad from the online retailer.

However, the brand is being drowned out by the sales pitches. Can’t really call it noise because it does move product.

What to do?

First a brand must sharpen its identity online. Advertise to your target market about where to go…on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, your blogs, etc. In short, drive consumers to where you want them to go for your content. Then…

Fill these places with good content. Not content that sells stuff, but content that educates consumers. How to layer? Why a hat is important. Goggles and what they can do for you. Breathable socks. And make this information directly applicable to your product lines.

And then, build online relationships with your retailer partners.

1. Support online retailers with content they can push out and reprint on their own sites.

2. Train retailers to understand how to do things like embed a YouTube video, update their blog and utilize basic search engine optimization techniques.

3. License content correctly for reprinting/republishing through retailers with photographers, writers, video producers.

By building a grassroots content strategy through retail partners, brands can deliver better content online, serve their customers and drive sales with key accounts.

So, break out of the noise by building your content and building your partnerships with retailers.

Recently, while talking with executives about social media, I got three different messages from them:

1. I get it and we are building our social media presence. 

2. I don’t get it and until somebody shows me the money, I’m not gonna get it. 

3.  I know that we need to get on top of the social media thing, but I’m not sure if it will do us any good. 

Ok. Here is what social media data can do.

1. With the proper analysis, it  provides insight and justification for your major decisions.

2. It gives you the truth. And remember, every post, whether good or bad, has a good deal of truth to it.

And your “truth” and their ”truth” may be completely different. Not the same picture at all.

3. It gives real-time feedback on the performance of your products.

4. It provides trending information, which will be a leading contributor to upcoming sales forecasts.

Here are some things that data cannot do:

1. It can not make decisions for you.

2. It should not be  manipulated. If it is, it will be at great risk to your company and your career.

3. It cannot be your friend. When data says the momentum is good, it doesn’t care. When momentum is bad, it doesn’t care.

4. It cannot be ignored. Data is direct from are your customers, your life-blood. Ignore them and you ignore the performance reviews of your products. It is the beginning of the end for your company in the 21st century.

I say these things because recently there has been too much emphasis on both the power of social media and the weakness of social media. Both are true.

Social Media Reporting becomes a competitive weapon when you:

1. measure correctly

2. analyze

3. deliver the data in a way that senior managers can understand and compare to performance in other sectors of the enterprise.

And when data is delivered this way, it is still your gut, but with more ammunition.

In recent conversations I have been painfully reminded that many me-too brands in the Outdoor Industry are not building solid funnels but building buckets with holes and no bottom.

How? Well, these companies crow that they have a Web Site, Facebook Page, are on Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.

And consumers are initially engaging…entering the bucket. But they are not directed or invited to go anywhere.  They  just sit in the bucket, quickly draining to the bottom…without direction.

And then an analyst from Channel Signal investigates. We find that they had good sign-up for the Facebook page, a decent  following on Twitter, and that YouTube and Flickr had good traffic, but that it fell off quickly.

Why did the traffic fall off?  Because these companies did not allocate the resources to engage. Employees were not assigned to respond to consumers, and direct them to the next point of interest. Consumer questions and comments went unanswered. They were not invited to go to Facebook or the Website, or YouTube, or a User Group. And because there was no natural momentum of engagement, no funnel, consumers were stranded and then took the easy way out….quickly out the bottom of the bucket. They were invited to the conversation and then nobody talked to them.

So they didn’t stick around. And  they took all of their knowledge about the brand with them.

A study by the Chief Marketing Council shows that 38 percent of the 480 executives in the industries surveyed say their companies have no programs in place to track or propagate positive word of mouth among customers. And only 29 percent rate highly their ability to handle and resolve customer problems or complaints

All that money to make products that attract consumers. All that money to sell into retail. All that money for advertising to attract consumers. All that money to set up conversation channels.  And then the pay-off…consumers responding online by engaging in one of the channels. And…

And silence. All that wonderful potential data about consumers and what they like and don’t like about your brand and products…out the bottom of the bucket. And all those potential Influencers, gone.

Never to be captured again.

Say goodbye to measuring ROI.

For some reason my mind came up with a funnel and I started talking about it. By the time I was finished it made a lot of sense, which wasn’t surprising to Brad but a shock to me.

So the communication funnel has been upside down for a long time. Why?

Until recently all messaging by brands went into strict portals like magazines, radio, television, newspapers. Went into the top of the upside-down funnel. Media would receive the messaging, charge for it, place it in their formats, and then distribute.  Advertisers and the media told the brands that they could reach more people more cost-effectively then any other method.

And they were right.

So, all of this messaging went into the top of the funnel, got processed, and then was delivered to the target markets, and hopefully to a lot of people.

With new media this has all changed.

The funnel is now right-side up. Meaning that anyone can publish and can do it at no charge. The top of the funnel is open to the public. Opinions, product reviews, customer complaints, brand messaging, sales pitches, you name it…is flowing into the distribution systems.

Now, all of this information gets seen, and if good, it gets passed around. And if really good, it gains momentum and readership as it moves down the funnel. It also gets directed meaning that many people are involved and directing this information virally to the target markets that would be most interested. People like them.

So, with new media everyone can publish, everyone can express an opinion, everyone re-channels, and in the end the good information gains momentum and hits its proper target market.

So, why do brands still believe they control the message?

First, I thought ORSM09 was a very positive show. Two things continue to happen. The stock market continues to move upward, reaching 9000 just before the Show. Second, this staycation thing is the real deal. People are staying home, taking up new sports, planning local family vacations, and the outdoor industry is benefiting.

It’s all working and our industry, although listing to port a little, is not capsizing. 

And I like the general attitude. “Yeah, things could be better, but we are still making some money, running a tighter ship, and we will make it through.” 

New media is growing in the outdoor space. Tweet-ups, constant tweeting from the Show floor, and many of the major brands looking at or engaging in the blogosphere. Outdoor Retailer is embracing new media and supplying more portals on the Show floor. All good. 

I still strongly believe that the Show should open its doors to the public on the last day. It will happen someday. It is inevitable. 

Now, to the darker side. I heard from several very reliable sources that a certain large retailer threatened several large brands if those brand did business with online powerhouse Amazon.

Let’s start with this. After too many years in the marketing business I must emphasize again that retailers and brands can not fight the market forces. For example, I remember about ten years ago, medium sized specialty retailers were running around the Show telling the brands that they would drop any brand who sold online. Several brands sought my advice. I asked this question,” where is your growth?” And they replied, “Online.” And I asked why? And they said, “Because we think that is where a growing percentage of the consumers will be.” 

Right direction. Right thinking. 

YOU MUST FOLLOW THE CONSUMERS. YOU WILL NOT LEAD THEM. YOU CAN NOT BULLY THEM. THEY ARE TOO BIG. THEY ARE IN CONTROL. THEY HAVE ALWAYS BEEN IN CONTROL. AMAZON IS GROWING FOR A REASON. 

So, to this large retailer, I say, you must stop this nonsense. Brands will follow the money. They will sell to retailers who bring them customers and offer growth. They have no choice. Their shareholders have put a bulls-eye out there and told management to hit it. Unless, you, large retailer, want to guarantee the returns necessary to keep these shareholders happy, then you must do it the old fashion way.

You must compete. You must continue to create a unique position in the marketplace, buy creatively, attract more consumers to your doors and online, offer great customer service and sponsor customer loyalty programs. You will sell more, and order more merchandise. And the brands will support you more. 

And speaking of support…how can you, large retailer, threaten brands when almost 50% of your floor space is now your own branded products? You, at times, drive consumers into your stores using other brands as the bait, and then you offer your branded products at a lower price while your salesforce whispers that your product has the same quality only it costs less.  

So you are partners with the brands, you compete with them in your own stores, and now you threaten them because they want to grow their businesses. No wonder brands are confused and, at times, angry.

You are a retailer. A damn good one. Probably, the best.  You have been solidly on the side of “good”. You have helped grow the outdoor business. Now, others with a different business model, want to do business and help grow the industry. Invite them in.  And sure compete with them, hard. But also talk with them. Educate them about expectations. Talk to them about the environment, sustainability and participation. Show them how to be a force for good in the business. Both of you will profit. Why? Because you are both capable of bringing millions more consumers into our business. And everyone will profit. 

So, be the leader that you are, and stop baring your teeth.

Peace. 

Out.

So, if content has been devalued why is everyone in new media addressing the importance of content?Because there is a difference between packaged content to attract a mass audience and the major advertising dollars that go with it, and content that serves a much much narrower market. 

Traditional magazines and newspapers are broadcasting in a traditional media format. They write about Obama, recession, weather tradegies, wars, and the latest movies. Stuff that millions may be interested in. But it is general, and the information is pushed to the reader without the option of the reader responding. It is not dynamic, and the reader must pay for it in this traditional format. Ironically, the reader can go online and get much of this content for free. So, of course, they exercise this option. 

New media is narrowcasting…writing to a very specific audience, an audience that highly values the content. Let’s take weather, and more specifically tornadoes. Those interested in that topic, search, find the blogger experts, and opt in to read their stuff by email, rss feed, yahoo, etc.  And they can’t get enough of it. Because this writer is writing directly to them, and their tribe. And they respond with posts, and the author responds back, and a community begins to form about tornadoes: how they build, what precautions to take, tons of pictures, and most importantly, personal experiences. It is dynamic. 

Now, next time a tornado happens in the midwest, these passionate followers will be living it. Reading the tweets, getting hourly updates, seeing the latest photos…all well before traditional media can deliver it. 

That’s the new world. People find their hobbies online, find others with the same passion, and connect. Communities are built, and those in it…live it. 

People do want an overview, so broadcasting will stay with us, but it will migrate to being even more online. It will also shrink because consumers want the latest news and then they move on. Consequently large advertisers will only spend so much money with traditional media. Now the big money is searching for viable ways to connect with new media. 

And how about the outdoor recreational brands? What can be learned here? Consumers are in control. They know what they want, how to get to the information, and how to discover who writes it. The brands that learn to listen, post good content, engage with consumers, and build communities will reap the benefits. These brands will get massive help with product development, customer service and sales. 

How? It starts with finding the unique humanity in your brand. And once you’ve found that, you build a strategy, and begin to produce authentic content.