1. November 2010
Gleansight
.
Social Media Marketing
With more than 500 million people on Facebook, and with media outlets
Content reporting every day on the brief, sometimes bizarre messages that celebri-
Part 1: Topic Overview ties, politicians and corporations send out on Twitter, it’s clear that social
Part 2: Reasons to Implement
Part 3: Value Drivers media has entered the mainstream. Consumer product companies are
Part 4: Challenges paying their agencies big money to incorporate social media into their
Part 5: Performance Metrics marketing campaigns. Retailers have moved beyond customer reviews,
Part 6: Success Story
Part 7: Vendor Landscape and are giving consumers a much larger role in social selling. And you
can scarcely watch a commercial without seeing the iconic Facebook,
Sidebars:
Survey Stats
Benchmark KPIs
Core Technologies
Gleanster Numbers
Twitter and YouTube icons as part of the message. But the ROI on this
effort is still squishy at best. Brands are still trying to determine the value
of a Facebook fan, and there continues to be no consistent barometer of
success. Given the dearth of reliable data, it’s no wonder that companies
Rate & Review
are struggling to determine just how much social media marketing is right
Related Research for them. And practitioners are left to talk as much about the cost of not
Tell a Friend participating in social media marketing as of the value of doing so. This
Note: This document is intended for individual
Gleansight explores what top performing companies are doing – and
use. Electronic distribution via email or by post- measuring – as they make their initial forays into social media marketing
ing on a personal website is in violation of the
terms of use. and how they’re working to achieve their desired business objectives.
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2. Gleansight: Social Media Marketing 2
Survey Stats Part 1: Topic Overview
With the phenomenal growth of Facebook and the staggering amount of
The research findings featured
in this Gleansight benchmark attention paid to Twitter and YouTube, it’s clear that social media marketing
report are derived from the is on a rapid growth trajectory. Every day, established brands gain
Q3 2010 Gleanster “Voice footholds on Facebook, lured by the giant audience and the opportunity to
of the Customer” survey.
communicate with its users. A few particularly aggressive companies have
• Total survey responses: 396
begun creating large-scale viral campaigns—asking for customer photos
• Qualified survey responses: 284
of their products, for example, or launching cause-based initiatives that
• Company size: Very Small (18%); purport to have a larger sense of purpose.
Small (31%); Medium (18%);
Large (20%); Very Large (13%) Others have begun transacting commerce These days, brands are looking to social media
• Geography: North America through Facebook applications and “tabs” marketing to increase customer acquisi-
(67%); Europe (15%); Asia/ on their fan pages. Merchants and hospital- tion, advocacy and engagement, as well as
Pacific (17%); Other (3%) ity companies have begun jumping on the increase return on marketing investment (i.e.,
location-based mobile marketing platforms. get consumers to buy more). Think of it as
• Industries: Consumer and And some brands have found that they can word-of-mouth marketing writ large because
Retail (19%); Technology and drive sales the conversations play
Media (25%); Financial services by coddling out in the electronic
(15%); Pharmaceuticals and
Healthcare (12%); Telecom-
bloggers or
by directing “Despite the flurry town square. Marketers
have long known that
munication (4%); Other (25%)
• Job levels: C-level (4%); SVP/VP
special codes
or promotions of activity, social consumers trust the
opinion of people
(13%) Director (20%); Manager
(34%); Staff (19%); Other (10%)
to customers
who follow them media marketing they know – and even
consumers they don’t
Sample survey respondents:
on Twitter. Yet,
despite the flurry remains experi- know –far more than
they trust the opinion of
• Director, Fujifilm Medical Systems
of activity, social
media marketing mental in nature.” the marketer hawking
their goods or services.
• General Manager, Genuine Health remains experi-
Suddenly, marketers
mental in nature, and marketers are making
• CEO, HobbyTown USA can participate in the conversation and
up the rules as they go. To date there is still
affect the way consumers interact with one
• Marketing Director, Siemens no consistent toolkit or industry standard to
another and with their brands. Today’s social
• Manager, Fidelity help marketers figure out how to brand, staff,
media tools allow marketers to engage
deploy and measure their social media efforts.
• Manager, Chevron with customers who are active online and
In truth, social media is hardly a new phenom- on mobile devices, in the hope not only of
• Marketing Manager, Kohler enon. Companies like MySpace, Friendster securing their business, but also, impor-
• CEO, Intercontinental Systems and SecondLife were born, raised cash and tantly, of spurring them to recommend the
faded from glory long before Twitter became a brand to others in their network. This form of
• Director, Unilever
media darling. While indie bands, in particular, social selling is truly revolutionary in that it’s
• Vice President, Retail, may have recognized the power of MySpace, enabling marketers to reach consumers they
StonehamBank building digital fan bases by giving away never would have been able to reach through
their work, launching albums, and sharing traditional push marketing, including email.
the experience with online listeners, most
Five years ago, a tech-savvy, digitally focused
marketers stayed away from early social media
company could find satisfied and particu-
efforts, which were used after all by young
larly unsatisfied customers venting on any
consumers who looked askance at brands
number of electronic forums, including online
Rate & Review that appeared to be trying to encroach on
bulletin boards, chat rooms and blogs, but
their space. Even Facebook, the 800-pound
Related Research the conversations were more isolated and
gorilla in social networking, began with modest
therefore harder to find. It’s the interconnected
Tell a Friend ambitions. It wasn’t until 2006, when it opened
nature of today’s social networks and the way
the door to everyone – and then, more recently,
they broadcast messages, creating permanent
Note: This document is intended for individual made it easier for companies to market
use. Electronic distribution via email or by post- search-friendly records, that make them so
ing on a personal website is in violation of the there – that brands started paying attention.
powerful—and, also, potentially dangerous.
terms of use.
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3. Gleansight: Social Media Marketing 3
Benchmark KPIs Part 2: Reasons to Implement
Brands have plenty of obvious and some not-so-obvious reasons to add
Gleanster uses 2-3 key performance
indicators (KPIs) to distinguish “Top social media marketing to their overall communications and marketing
Performers” from all other companies strategy. The prevalence of Facebook and Twitter in their competitors’
(“Everyone Else”) within a given data
set, thereby establishing a basis campaigns, the success of some high-profile efforts, and the idea that you
for benchmarking best practices.
By definition, Top Performers are
should fish where the fish are, clearly are having an impact on marketing
comprised of the top quartile of budgets. But, according to Gleanster research findings, the largest differ-
qualified survey respondents (QSRs).
entiator between Top Performers and Everyone Else lies in the area
of increasing customer engagement: Top Performers place a higher
The KPIs used for distinguish-
ing Top Performers focus on emphasis on increasing customer engagement, a nod perhaps to the
performance metrics that speak
to year-over-year improvement in
lingering inability to put classic ROI metrics on the marketing spend.
relevant, measurable areas. Not
all KPIs are weighted equally.
87% 90% 93%
The KPIs used for this Gleansight are: Most
• Improved customer-
support effectiveness
Compelling
• Improved market research Reasons to
effectiveness
Implement*
• Increased customer advocacy Increase customer Increase customer
Increase return on
advocacy marketing investment acquisition
To learn more about Gleanster’s
* According to Top Performers, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
research methodology, please click
here or email research@gleanster.com. Increase customer acquisition. The are far removed from business transactions.
basic business premise behind social No doubt, brands will improve measurement
media marketing is that organizations can in terms of dollars-and-cents outcomes.
extend their customer base by leveraging
Increase customer advocacy. Brands are
the networks of people who have already
well aware of the inherent value of word of
“friended” (or “fanned” or “liked” or “followed”)
mouth marketing and the importance of having
them. Most social media platforms are set
satisfied customers share their brand experi-
up to automatically push their participants’
ences with others who are or might become
ideas, thoughts and comments out to the
customers. And since social media platforms
people that are connected to them – and
are built around the idea of sharing, it stands
sometimes to the people who are another
to reason that marketers would utilize these
step removed. Marketers have long known
tools as a vehicle for spreading positive
that consumers trust the recommenda-
word of mouth. The fact that social media
tions of people they know (and even other
content is indexed by search engines makes
customers they don’t know) more than brand
it of particular value over the long-term.
messages. Authentic recommendations
or referrals from friends/fans can heavily Increase customer engagement. Enticing
influence the purchase decisions of others. consumers to interact with the brand through
new contact methods provided by social media
Increase return on marketing investment.
platforms is seen as an important reason
Companies and brands have some fairly well-
for engaging in a social media marketing
established formulas for determining the impact
Rate & Review campaign. Increasing customer engagement
or effectiveness of traditional marketing efforts.
goes hand in hand with increasing customer
Related Research They have long histories of measuring the
advocacy in that it stresses the importance of
open rate, click-through rate and the financial
Tell a Friend getting customers to interact with the business
success of an email campaign. But the tools
in a new and visible way. Customers who make
for measuring ROI in social media marketing
Note: This document is intended for individual a brand a larger part of their life are likely to
use. Electronic distribution via email or by post- largely remain a work in progress. While it’s
ing on a personal website is in violation of the spend more, become stronger advocates
fairly easy to track the redemption rate of an
terms of use. and have longer connections to the brand.
online coupon, most social media actions
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4. Gleansight: Social Media Marketing 4
74% 77% 79% 66%
**
Compelling
Reasons to
Implement*
Increase market Increase store Increase customer
“Social media
exposure/brand awareness and/or website traffic engagement
* According to Top Performers, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
humanizes the
** According to Everyone Else, shown only when a notable disparity occurs relative to Top Performers
Increase store and/or website traffic. practitioners (or the brands they work for) hip.
The connection between a Facebook post It’s true that social media events can have
brand and makes and store traffic is pretty slim, except that it
strengthens the relationship with the customer
a negative impact on a brand’s reputation.
But the way a company deals with a crisis
it more real and and might make them more inclined to shop
with a company in the future. That said,
can exacerbate or defuse the situation.
Increase membership in branded online
some marketers are finding success with
tangible.” delivering traffic-boosting messages inside
their social media channels, using sales or
customer communities. Branded online
communities have had a head start in the
customer engagement game. Successful
other promotions – particularly messages
communities often drive themselves. Members
Scott Wilder, ex-General Manager, that are identified as “exclusives” – within
recruit others and the search-friendly nature of
Online Communities, Intuit those messages. Group coupon or shopping
the user- generated content tends to be visible.
networks have proven to be good customer
But customer communities take a lot of work,
acquisition tools, and location-based apps
and seeing this as a reason to implement social
can be used to target shoppers in the
media marketing campaigns is an indicator of
proximity of a physical store location.
how brands struggle with community growth.
Increase market exposure/brand
Increase customer loyalty. It’s surpris-
awareness. It used to be said that any publicity
ing that, among Top Performers, customer
is good publicity. Now it might be said that any
loyalty netted out to be the lowest primary
social media mentions are good mentions. It’s
factor in a brand’s decision to move into
not entirely true, of course. There is a lot that
social media marketing. Brands used to talk
can go wrong in social media. But brands have
about improvement in customer loyalty as a
learned that good social media participation
big motivator. There are likely many reasons
by employees, customers and other advocates
for this shift, not the least of which is an
can, in fact, build stronger brand awareness.
improved understanding of what’s possible.
The visible and indexed nature of social media
It’s also true that the customers who are
means that any customer interaction with a
most drawn to a company’s social media
brand is a public interaction, and the visibility
presence – those that tend to become the
of that interaction, through the networks and
biggest advocates – are loyal to begin with.
through search, can have a lasting impact.
Change brand perception. Social media is
hot now, but that doesn’t make social media
62% 66% 68%
Less
Rate & Review
Compelling
Related Research
Reasons to
Tell a Friend
Note: This document is intended for individual
Implement*
use. Electronic distribution via email or by post- Increase customer Increase membership in branded Change brand
ing on a personal website is in violation of the loyalty online customer communities perception
terms of use.
* According to Top Performers, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
Entire content © 2010 Gleanster, LLC. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.

5. Gleansight: Social Media Marketing 5
Core Technologies Part 3: Value Drivers
A successful social media In the rush to Facebook, marketers are discovering that different kinds
marketing effort requires multiple of content drive different kinds of results – and different social networks
disciplines and applications to
fully realize the power of social respond in different ways. It was not that long ago that the experts warned
connections. Following are some that brands could not “sell” in social media, that the audience would
of the key technology enablers.
Social media monitoring tools.
rebel, and the social media efforts would fail. We have learned, however,
A successful social media marketing that, when done correctly, it absolutely is possible to promote goods and
campaign should be backed by a
consistent, objective and ongoing set services to online fans and friends. As shown in to the FLASH charts in
of monitoring metrics. Most monitor- this section, Top Performers are focused most heavily on taking advantage
ing vendors classify posts based
on whether their tone is positive or of the “social” aspect of social media marketing, indicating a begrudging
negative, giving some insight into
the general response or perception
acceptance of the current state of ROI measurement.
of the company. They also measure
the volume of relevant conversation
and sometimes the level of consumer 85% 86% 94%
engagement or brand advocacy. These
factors can help brands adjust their Most
social strategy and start to determine
whether their social media efforts are Important
affecting the overall brand promise.
Specialized social media apps.
Value
Many brands get started with simple
interaction-based campaigns that Drivers*
are built around content or links. But, Leverage the reach and Identify and engage Give consumers a good reason to
increasingly, brands are investing in multiplier effect of social networks top influencers want to share brand-related content
larger apps or self-contained social
marketing vehicles or websites that * According to Top Performers, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
can stand on their own or can be
embedded into sites, blogs or social
networks. Generally more expensive, Give consumers a good reason to want on a small scale. Influencers are a funny breed.
these apps give the brand more to share brand-related content. Good Brands should foster a positive relationship
creative control over the social media community managers have learned over time with them, but should be careful not to “buy”
experience and can form the basis
for longer-term or repeat engage- that one of the keys to a successful engage- their influence. Just showing them respect and
ments. Choose a vendor with a track ment campaign is to provide quality content attention, and giving them early information,
record, who can demonstrate that that is relevant to the brand but which does should be enough to keep them involved.
they can work in the social environ- not necessarily promote consumption of
ments you are interested in, and who Leverage the reach and multiplier effect
the brand. Marketers who run social media
will use metrics to quantify success. of social networks. Social media platforms
efforts for companies large and small need
work by allowing people to connect and
to remember that customers want to take
communicate with circles of friends, each with
the lead in advocating for the brand. Brands
their own circle of friends. These overlapping
might point them in the right direction, but
and interconnected circles allow users to
consumers will be most inclined to interact
broadcast their stories to their networks, and
with the content if it provides value, solves
also allow the information to creep into the
a problem, or is just plain interesting.
larger networks. Marketers who create interest-
Identify and engage top influencers. The ing offers, content or apps for these networks
influencers and brand advocates that gravitate can find that the social capital pays off by
to a company’s online communities and social sparking a “me too” connection to the brand.
media sites are the Holy Grail for marketers.
Adjust promotional tactics as needed,
Rate & Review These are the people who will tell the brand
based on campaign performance. Top
story, rally others to the brand’s side, and
Performers are outdistancing others by
Related Research speak up when the need occurs. With the
paying closer attention to the effectiveness of
right social media monitoring tools, brands
Tell a Friend their social media marketing, and changing
can identify these people without engaging in
course when necessary. Done right, social
Note: This document is intended for individual social media marketing themselves, but they’ll
media campaigns can be pretty flexible in
use. Electronic distribution via email or by post- generally be at a loss to do anything about it
ing on a personal website is in violation of the scope and design, allowing marketers to
terms of use. without joining the social media universe, even
shift gears to reflect facts on the ground. In
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6. Gleansight: Social Media Marketing 6
74% 79% 68%
**
Core Technologies
(Continued)
Important
Online community platforms.
A component of the overall social
Value
Drivers
*
media marketing effort, branded online
communities can provide continued
access and personalized connec-
tions that may be harder to maintain Generate new content Adjust promotional tactics
on external networks. Vendors in this and conversation on as needed based on
campaign landing pages campaign performance
space should be able to integrate with
a brand’s existing registration system, * According to Top Performers, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
provide tools or moderation services to ** According to Everyone Else, shown only when a notable disparity occurs relative to Top Performers
help build the community and maintain
order, and allow users to syndicate fact, because of the two-way nature of most no slam dunk. They require a lot of TLC, and
their content/participation into and social media, brands can get laurels for are something of a slow build. The challenge,
out of other social media channels.
adjusting their efforts in the face of criticism frequently, is in keeping the focus on building
Content/promotion management or a lack of response. Either way, the ability the community long enough to actually build
tools. Social media tools are, by and to modify a campaign to make it more the community. Done correctly, branded
large, built to respond to our need
to post and share our thoughts now. effective or to draw a larger response has communities can pay off in spades.
They are not typically content manage- clear benefits that are not as readily available
Integrate social media with other media buys
ment systems, meaning they lack the in more traditional marketing campaigns.
and campaigns. Social media marketing is
ability to pre-post or re-use content in
a database format. An effective social Generate new content and conversation seductive because there’s the perception that
media strategy will have to have a on campaign landing pages. Content costs you can do it on the fly – that you don’t need
system to calendarize the campaign, money, and marketing content can sometimes the kind of planning and back-end support
to repurpose content across multiple come across as, well, marketing content. as you do for email marketing campaigns or
platforms, and to gauge the effective-
User-generated content, on the other hand, traditional marketing efforts. More and more
ness of any particular message.
is generally authentic and is perceived by the marketers are adding Facebook and Twitter
CRM integration. audience as trustworthy. This user content mentions to their ads and marketing collateral.
Mapping social media activity to CRM
systems will let brands understand the can also make static pages seem alive, The callouts frequently are mere invitations
extent to which that activity is resulting offering a constant stream of changes. Brands to join or follow the brand on those sites. But
in incremental sales lift and affecting need to be willing to take their lumps, though, aggressive marketers are finding ways to bring
the customer purchase behavior. because these unvarnished and sometimes value to the fan for taking the action. They are
Simple sharing of content or branding impolitic comments can be off-putting. offering exclusive content, special deals or early
exposure is unlikely in the near term
to provide CRM integration. But information. The comingling of social media
Host one or more branded online customer
coupon codes that lead to sales will marketing with other campaigns can have the
communities. Branded customer communi-
allow brands to do some mapping of effect of making the entire brand seem more in
ties can be an effective way to gain customer
social handles to their CRM system. line with the sensibilities of today’s consumer.
insights, marshal enthusiasm and develop
advocates. Communities generally have
strong value in natural search. But they are
70% 71%
Less
Important
Value
Rate & Review Drivers*
Related Research Integrate social media with other Host one or more branded
media buys and campaigns online customer communities
Tell a Friend
* According to Top Performers, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
** According to Everyone Else, shown only when a notable disparity occurs relative to Top Performers
Note: This document is intended for individual
use. Electronic distribution via email or by post-
ing on a personal website is in violation of the
terms of use.
Entire content © 2010 Gleanster, LLC. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.

7. Gleansight: Social Media Marketing 7
Part 4: Challenges
Creating a positive and productive social media marketing experience
takes ingenuity, work and a bit of luck. Many companies are taking a leap
of faith that, by subjecting their brands to the uncontrolled flow of social
conversations, they will earn the respect and admiration of their customers.
“Social media But they are learning that even well-intentioned social media campaigns
are fraught with danger, that it’s possible to fail, and to fail publicly. They
marketing is have also learned that while some of the biggest campaigns look easy,
they are anything but. As the FLASH charts in this section indicate, most
going to blow the brands are still struggling with campaign creation as well as with promotion
and tracking.
shingles off the
roof once people 92% 94%
Most
really figure out Challenging
how to use it.” Aspects*
Megan O’Connor, Director, Social
Effectively promoting social Creating “viral worthy”
Media Marketing, Levi Straus & Co. media marketing campaigns content
* According to All Companies, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
Creating “viral worthy” content. Ever since media campaigns can sell themselves.
the first Mentos-meets-Coke video popped
Tracking and measuring success. The
up on YouTube, social media marketers have
explosive growth of social media opportunities
been focused on developing the perfect viral
has not brought along an equally explosive
video or YouTube moment. Problem is, it’s
ability to measure the effectiveness of those
virtually impossible to predict what content
campaigns. And because brands are using
will take off in the social sphere. The online
a variety of platforms and tools to broadcast
audience is not easily taken in by brand
their messages, they are finding that they do
messages, so marketers are well advised to
not have one clear and consistent dashboard
create authentic, shareable content (video
to monitor success. There is progress being
or otherwise), and open themselves up for
made, however, and some prominent vendors
customer review and commentary. With
are introducing increasingly sophisticated
luck, they’ll find something that works. But
monitoring engines that will help to further
more often than not, customer or third-party
quantify and qualify social media success.
content stands a better chance of going viral.
Securing executive level buy-in. Senior
Effectively promoting social media
executives tend to focus on core business
marketing campaigns. As with any new
objectives and programs that can bring
tool, marketers are finding that they have to
measureable results. And many tradi-
Rate & Review learn how to build and market their campaigns
tional companies are very protective of
effectively. The language of social media –
brand image, making them leery of the
Related Research from the words we use to the way we describe
free-wheeling nature of the social Internet.
ourselves and our customers – are different
Tell a Friend All of this puts social media marketing at a
than in traditional media, which makes it
disadvantage. The tools are changing fast,
Note: This document is intended for individual hard to fit into the cookie-cutter approaches
the analytics are in their infancy, and there’s
use. Electronic distribution via email or by post- often used for old-school marketing. The
ing on a personal website is in violation of the no controlling what someone might say.
terms of use. good news is that, when done right, social
Wise marketers will seek executive buy-in
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8. Gleansight: Social Media Marketing 8
76% 78% 83%
Challenging
Aspects*
Making the business Securing executive Tracking and
case in terms of ROI level buy-in measuring results
* According to All Companies, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
using metrics that are available. And they value of integrating their campaigns, they are
will focus on other tangibles, like customer finding it hard to incorporate the somewhat
interaction, in their attempt to secure uncontrolled nature of social interactions
executive buy-in. They might also stress into their structured marketing plans. It is
the risk of inaction, of not being a part of the no surprise that companies are struggling
conversation should something go wrong. with how to adapt to social media marketing
Making the business case in terms of ROI. because they have spent generations plotting,
As discussed above, the metrics available for refining and pushing their own narrative.
assessing social media marketing are not as Securing the right organizational
robust as marketers have been accustomed to resources. Figuring out the right organizational
for email or other marketing activities. There is structure for a social media marketing effort is
significant debate over the value of a Facebook no easy task, in part because it’s impossible to
fan or the ROI benefit of a customer engage- compartmentalize social media as a pure disci-
ment community that is not big or tied directly pline. It’s part marketing, part PR, part product
to sales. Add to that the fact that most social development and part customer service
media activity is not mapped into a company’s (among others). In 2010, companies are trying
CRM system, and it becomes virtually impos- to consolidate their social media marketing
sible to measure effectively. This is starting to efforts into small SWAT teams or centers of
change, but it will likely be some time before excellence. But within a few years, they will be
we have access to the kinds of metrics that can expected to make social media a part of every-
provide a reliable assessment of social efforts. one’s job. In any event, the people running the
Integrating social media into the overall social media efforts need to be empowered
marketing mix. Gleanster survey respondents to be vocal, persistent and proud. They need
point to marketing integration as both a value to have access to those with information, and
driver and a challenge to their social media they need the company to be in their corner.
marketing efforts, in pretty even numbers.
This suggests that while marketers see the
63% 71%
Less
Challenging
Rate & Review
Aspects*
Related Research
Securing the right Integrating social media into
Tell a Friend organizational resources the overall marketing mix
Note: This document is intended for individual * According to All Companies, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
use. Electronic distribution via email or by post-
ing on a personal website is in violation of the
terms of use.
Entire content © 2010 Gleanster, LLC. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.

9. Gleansight: Social Media Marketing 9
Gleanster Numbers Part 5: Performance Metrics
The science of measuring social media marketing is still a work in
7,000,000 progress. As noted earlier, the social media landscape changes every day,
Number of “fan votes” that were
cast for an M&M’s social media and the shifting ground makes it that much harder to determine whether
marketing campaign in 2009 the social media efforts are meeting the company’s overall business goals.
Social media monitoring tools can measure the ratio of positive-to-negative
94 sentiment and the volume of relevant conversation. But, as the FLASH
Percentage of companies that
regard “creating ‘viral-worthy’ charts in this section show, the top metrics employed by companies do not
content” as the biggest challenge necessarily correlate to the top reasons they launched their campaigns in
with social media marketing
the first place. In fact, Top Performers indicate that their primary reasons
81 for implementing a social media marketing campaign are customer acqui-
Percentage of Top Performers
sition, return on marketing investment and customer advocacy – none of
(compared to 70% of Everyone which surface as one of the most commonly used metrics. This will change
Else) who use “consumer engage-
ment rate” to track social media as companies demand better metrics from solution providers and as social
marketing campaigns media activity becomes more closely mapped to their CRM systems.
79
Percentage of Top Performers 81% 70% **
86%
(compared to 66% of Everyone Else)
who view “increase customer engage- Most
ment” as a reason to implement a
social media marketing campaign Commonly
79
Used
Percentage of Top Performers Metrics*
(compared to 68% of Everyone Else) Consumer engagement Audience growth rate - e.g.,
who view “adjust promotional tactics rate - e.g., # of click-thrus, # of Facebook fans, Twitter
as needed based on campaign registrations, etc., per week followers, etc., per week
performance” as an important value * According to Top Performers, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
driver for social media marketing ** According to Everyone Else, shown only when a notable disparity occurs relative to Top Performers
Audience growth rate. The most visible inspired to participate and can be compared
metric in almost any social campaign, audience to earlier time periods. But it does not yet
growth is easily charted over time and can compare that number with the overall reach of
be seen in the number of people who follow the campaign, meaning that there’s no knowing
a brand, “like” a brand, take a poll, submit how many people chose not to participate.
a picture or share content. A handful of
Volume of relevant comments/posts. Top
brands have built enormous fan pages on
Performers are more likely to measure the
Facebook, sometimes through contests,
volume of relevant content than Everyone
coupons or classic marketing efforts.
Else, a sign perhaps of the work involved
Customer engagement rate. Another in determining relevance of user content.
metric that carries over from email marketing, In most cases, it’s much easier to see how
customer engagement rates can be fairly much content is produced overall than it is
simple to see. How many people are clicking to narrow down into positive or negative or
Rate & Review through a link, completing a registration relevant or not. Measuring customer sentiment
process, rating a video or responding to some of social media posts can be a tricky task and
Related Research
other call-to-action? Top Performers are is an art that is being perfected every day.
Tell a Friend monitoring this to a much greater extent than
Customer acquisition rate. Customer
Everyone Else, indicating that they are going
acquisition was the number one reason to
Note: This document is intended for individual to the numbers they have in the absence of
use. Electronic distribution via email or by post- implement a social media marketing campaign,
ing on a personal website is in violation of the the numbers they want. Customer engage-
yet it fell in the middle of the pack of the top
terms of use. ment speaks to how many people have been
Entire content © 2010 Gleanster, LLC. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.

10. Gleansight: Social Media Marketing 10
69% 73% 77%61%
**
Commonly
Used
“Integration with Metrics*
the brand strat- Customer advocacy Customer acquisition
egy and offline
Volume of relevant
score - e.g., NPS rate comments/posts
* According to Top Performers, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
media is key. If ** According to Everyone Else, shown only when a notable disparity occurs relative to Top Performers
social media is metrics used. This goes in large part to the
disparate tools and platforms that are used
will change over time as companies become
more adept at creating social programs that
to conduct social media marketing efforts, are more closely tied to business goals and
siloed, it will be making it difficult to determine which partici-
pants are customers, become customers,
as they improve their data integration.
Customer acquisition cost. Increasing
a one-hit won- or change their purchase behavior.
Customer advocacy score. The Net Promoter
customer acquisition was cited as the top
reason that Top Performers implement social
der. A TV spot Score, popularized in the last decade, delivers
a single number used to measure how likely
media marketing campaigns, yet customer
acquisition costs are measured by only 59%
should point to a
a consumer is to recommend a product or of these companies. The oft-stated discon-
service. While it can be tracked over time, it nect between social efforts and company
can be difficult to make a correlation between CRM systems is a likely barrier to successful
Facebook page changes to the score and a specific social
media marketing activity, as a consumer’s
measurement of customer acquisition cost.
Brand awareness/exposure measure.
and vice versa. propensity to recommend a brand can be
influenced by any number of factors.
Social media campaigns work for the most
part by facilitating the viral or organic spread
Every touchpoint Return on marketing investment. The
number two reason brands begin a social
of a company’s message through the social
graphs of the customers who buy into the
media marketing campaign is that return message. It’s a generally accepted principle
should link and on marketing investment lags as a metric
used to measure the effectiveness of those
that this organic distribution of the message will
ultimately result in increased brand visibility,
point to other campaigns. This is true because a lot of
money can be spent on social media oppor-
which can be readily measured through aided
and unaided brand awareness studies.
touchpoints.”
tunities that do not tie back directly to the
company’s CRM systems, their point-of-sale
systems and their core business goals. This
Bert DuMars, VP, eBusiness and Inter-
active Marketing, Newell-Rubbermaid
52% 59% 62%
Less
Commonly
Used
Rate & Review Metrics*
Related Research Brand awareness/ Customer acquisition Return on
exposure measure cost marketing investment
Tell a Friend
* According to Top Performers, based on 284 Qualified Survey Responses to the Q3 2010 Gleanster Voice of the Customer survey
Note: This document is intended for individual
use. Electronic distribution via email or by post-
ing on a personal website is in violation of the
terms of use.
Entire content © 2010 Gleanster, LLC. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.

11. Gleansight: Social Media Marketing 11
.
Part 6: Success Story
Major consumer brands spend millions of dollars every year on sponsor-
ship deals as a way of grabbing consumer mindshare during activities
that would otherwise seem far-removed from their core go-to-market
message and brand promise. Mars Chocolate North America, no stranger
to such deals, has a longstanding relationship with NASCAR, which has
More Success Stories been supported in recent years by an innovative social media marketing
campaign looking to identify the M&M’s Most Colorful Fans of NASCAR.
The campaign, now in its third year, has been sweet for the brand, which
says it is seeing a higher level of engagement and activity through its
integrated marketing approach.
The Challenge selected through voting of registered users at
NASCAR.com/mostcolorfulfans. The campaign
NASCAR has one of the most brand-loyal
is supported by Facebook and Twitter feeds
fan bases in all of sports and is second only
and was expanded this year to allow partici-
to the NFL in TV viewership. M&M’s, which
pants to upload their photos through Sprint
has had a NASCAR relationship for 20 years,
smart phones.
entered the 2008
season looking for “Mars wanted to Winners in early
a fan-friendly way
to boost customer leverage the NASCAR rounds get gift
cards, while the
Note: The original version of this Success Story
engagement while
employing the fans’ legendary enthu- ultimate winner gets
a $10,000 prize and
may have been prepared—and previously pub-
lished—by an enabling solution provider. If so,
it is edited and reproduced here by permission.
social media tactics
that were beginning
siasm with a campaign is showcased for
a year in a display
While reasonable efforts have been made to
verify the accuracy of the information contained
to hold sway.
that would connect at the NASCAR
Hall of Fame.
racing fans to the
herein through independent fact-checking, Mars wanted
Gleanster disclaims liability for any content
that was developed and submitted by third to leverage The Results
M&M brand and
parties. Success Stories are selected based the NASCAR
solely on the merits of the content as judged The simplicity of the
fans’ legendary
by Gleanster’s Research Oversight Committee. contest matched
Vendors are not charged a fee for inclusion and
no preference is given to vendors based on their
ability to purchase other Gleanster products or
enthusiasm with
a campaign that to one another.” with the natural
enthusiasm of
services. Any questions or concerns regarding would connect
the fan base was
this particular Success Story–or Gleanster’s racing fans to the M&M brand and to one
selection criteria or policies, in general–should a hit for Mars, which found that the sharing
another. The company understood that it
be directed to successstories@gleanster.com. and engagement on social media properties
Case studies may be submitted for publish- needed to have an integrated approach to the
ing consideration using the Success Stories drove entries, buzz and word of mouth. The
campaign, one that involved digital creative,
Submission Form. company reports that it saw exponential growth
public relations, media and the promotions
in engagement (measured in votes), submis-
team. And officials knew they would need to
sions and media impressions in 2009 over
measure reach, engagement and sentiment
2008. Some 5,700 photos were submitted
– and gain a clear understanding of how the
in 2009, up from about 2,000 photos the
campaign would address business goals.
first year. About 7 million votes were cast in
The Solution 2009, up an astounding 1400% from 2008.
Rate & Review
The M&M’s Most Colorful Fans of NASCAR “M&M’s Most Colorful Fans of NASCAR
Related Research contest is a deceptively simple campaign that contest is unique because it’s 100
takes advantage of NASCAR fans’ passion percent fan generated,” noted Suzanne
Tell a Friend for the sport and the most basic social media Beaudoin, vice president of sponsor-
Note: this document is intended for individual sharing tools. Participants are encouraged to ships and sports marketing.
use. Electronic Distribution via eamil or by post- upload colorful photos depicting their enthusi-
ing on a personal website is in violation of the
terms of use.
asm for all things NASCAR, and winners are
Entire content © 2010 Gleanster, LLC. All rights reserved. Unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.