Is Social Media Tipping In Atlanta?
01/29/2007
Is Atlanta becoming the social media mecca of the Southeast or is it just a coincidence that within the next few weeks there are four events that focus on blogs, podcasts and consumer generated media? If you know of any others please let me know. Oh, and Peter Flaschner, the creative divo behind the design of the Diva Marketing Blog skin, recently told me that he's receving more than a few inquires for blog creative projects from Hot' lanta .. which I must tell you is not living up to it's "hot" name today - brr!
Sidebar: Checkout the excellent free ebook from The Blog Studio - A Guide To Business Blogging. Bloggy disclaimer - Diva Marketing is listed as a resource.
AiMA (Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association)
Date/Time: Jan 31, 2007 6:30p-9:p
Online Registration Deadline: Today! Jan 29th
Digital Disruption
Executives
from Tivo and Cox Media discuss how they are allowing the "2.0
Consumer" to be in control of some of their advertising experience and
the early indications of success.
Social Media Club
Date/Time: Jan 29, 2007 6:00p-8:30p
First Atlanta Meeting
Social Media Club is being organized for the purpose of sharing best practices, establishing ethics and standards, and promoting media literacy around the emerging area of Social Media.
The roundtable will dig into what Social Media really is, review some of the activities at the other Clubs, discuss goals for 2007, in addition to covering other topics suggested by the Atlanta participants.
SoCon07
Date/Time: Feb 9 (dinner); Feb 10 (event) 8:30a-3:30p
A free unconference that will explore affordable, easy-to-use online tools of Web 2.0 and the opportunities that they are creating.
Note: Over 250 registered .. registration is closed. Awesome!
Podcamp Atlanta
Date/Time: March 16 (7p-9p) March 17 (9a ->?) March 18 (Morning -?)
A free 2-day unconference experience dedicated to the sharing of information around new / social media (audio and video podcasting, blogging, more).
I'm excited to see Atlanta on the social media track but please do keep in mind that as spiffy and cool as the new marketing technology may be .. without a strategy that supports your master marketing plan, a business/marketing blog, podcast, vlog is just a "me too play toy." You might appear cool at your next cocktail or Superbowl party but what is it doing to help move your brand or develop those important relationships?
Diva Charlene Li and her Forrester Research team have developed a few ideas on how to incorporate ROI. Smart ideas that will serve to reinforce the positioning that, we have been working hard to promote, .. social media is a credible marketing strategy. I particularly like how Forrester has tied metrics to value.
Sidebar: If you enjoy the Forrester concept you may be interested in the following ROI ideas, from a post I wrote for Darren Rowse when I was guest blogging at probogger last summer - Blogs Must Earn Their Keep. As with any marketing strategy, for metrics or accountability to be meaningful, as a component of your social media strategy, they must tie back to the goals and objects of your initiative.
Social Media Accountability Metric Suggestions
Website/Blog
- Search rankings
- Visitor hits*
- Page views
- Trackbacks *
- In bound links - general*
- In bound links - “high ranked” blogs/sites*
- Comments* such as customer feedback/new ideas
Conversions
- Newsletters subscriptions
- Sales
- Leads
- White paper/other down loads
Buzz
- Speaking engagements
- Podcasts, vlogs and other interviews
- Media mentions/quotes
- Mentions and links on other blogs/websites
Intangibles
- Customers’ emotional involvement with the brand
- Increase in brand loyalty
- Providing customers with the opportunity to talk with people within a company and ensuring that customers are heard, responded to and respected by those people who are assuming the role of the public “voice” of their company
*May be measured by unique or total posts
Sidebar: Shameless plug. A successful social media/blog strategy is more than a well-written post .. and it should never be a me too play toy. If you need help crafting a social media strategy or a sherpa to navigate the blogoshere a Diva Marketing approach might be the way to go!
