Want To Measure Social Media? Just Shut It Off.
After reading this article (http://tinyurl.com/yhjzluo) on CMOs intentions to hold social media accountable in 2010 after testing it in 2009, I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if they just shut it down? Unfortunately, we’ve created an imbalance in the online advertising industry between metrics and brand. While online advertising is highly measurable, often times marketers throw brand awareness out the window in favor of a few more clicks that may or may not add anything to a marketer’s bottom line.
If a CMO really wants to measure the effectiveness of their social media efforts, they should just shut it off and listen. See how long it takes for those brand loyalists who have become accustomed to conversing with you through social media to revolt by way of emails, blog posts and posts to their own social media outlets. If you’ve done a good job with your social media efforts, the response will be powerful and swift. You probably won’t have the stomach to keep it turned off for very long. On the other hand, if you don’t hear so much as a whimper, you haven’t built a platform that resonates with your consumer and you need to go back to the drawing board.
Sometimes taking something away is the easiest way to measure its impact. Sort of like taking away that toy that your child hasn’t played with for months but now they can’t live without it.