Social Marketing Conversations

In this episode we press Marcel for the answer to the ROI question and he really delivers.  According to Marcel, the social web provides a greater capability than ever before.

When we examine the traditional media measures, PR and marketing professionals use the circulation of a magazine, times the cost of an ad in that magazine and that is the ROI.  The difficulty is than when you publish an article in say a magazine, you cannot tell who read the article, dog eared it, forwarded or took action on it.

In social media the ability to measure activity and behavior on the social web can be much more precise is what he says – and based upon what I’ve seen so far, I agree. continue reading »

I was treated to a demonstration of the Radian6 platform the other day and was able to see for myself the level of functionality and capability of the product.  It showed me just how far this technology has come and instilled in me thoughts about how far I think it can go.

Mind you my involvement in advanced applications and enterprise solutions spans a few decades, having worked with Computer Associates handling large accounts for database and development tools and then handling a global responsibility with MicroAge for enterprise systems management (ah… I remember Paris…) continue reading »

We’re past the guessing stage as to whether or not social media in a marketing sense is here to stay or not – media that includes social elements are definitely here to stay and we expect them to be come more, much more pervasive over the next few years.  The question now is about the tactics, tools and strategies of what a successful social media presence for a business or a brand looks like.

Marcel LeBrun, CEO of Radian6, a tool in social media metrics and listening technology, sat down and shared an extended conversation about how he sees companies thinking about social media.

He observes three level of maturation in the evolution of using social media in business -

• Level 1 = listening
• Level 2 = listening /engagement
• Level 3 = listening / engagement / meaningful response

Marcel suggests that there are different models for different uses of social media in different business processes.  When it comes to a model of using social media in Customer Support, he cites the Comcast experience that recognized that the customers time is just as important as the customer support departments time – perhaps even more so.  The response is @ComcastCares on Twitter and a steady effort to find and support customers. continue reading »

It might be a trend that I am just now seeing more often than ever before because of my work with Guy Powell, but it seems like lately every time I turn around, I’m seeing people discussing the ROI of social media with more and more earnest.  From my perspective, this is a good thing for companies, individuals and the industry of social media at large.  It validates our work and the years invested in developing a background in social media as a springboard for even better work.

Radian6 is one of the early developers in this space and continues to be a preferred monitoring and brand management tool in the space.  Marcel LeBrun is the CEO for Radian6 and he carved out a good deal of time to talk with us about the ROI of social media and how they see the space shaping up.

In this episode, Marcel and I discuss the question “Is social media the next enterprise application?” and we explore the use of the phrase “social phone” that Radian6 has coined and how it is a model of the conversational aspect of social media and inbound, consumer invitation-based marketing.

The previous podcast is here and the next one will be posted in a few days after I help facilitate the 4th Annual Arizona Entrepreneurship Conference, attend WordCamp AZ (maybe my blog will improve!) and my 3rd year of PodCamp AZ.  A very busy ‘Geek Week’ in Phoenix (use of the phrase Geek Week has been approved by Brian Shaler, a local Geek Week Proponent and Activist, and Brent Spore, who was interviewed by the Arizona Republic last week and ‘Geek Week’ was the headline topic!)

BTW: We introduced Guy Powell in the series, but Guy was (and is again) travelling on business.  He was not able to join us in the recording; he did get a word in edgewise on the last recording and will make it in future recording – no worries and safe travels Guy!

Play / Download Marcel LeBrun Episode 2 Podcast Here

The ROI of social media has been a favored topic of mine that I have been exploring since Robert Scoble and Chris Heuer came to Phoenix in late 2006 as part of an OTEF event at Grand Canyon College that year on the paradigm shift taking place in marketing.  My partner, Lon Safko was also at the event, but we had not met at the time – our partnership was still ahead of us then.

Since then I’ve made the journey from that point to an understanding that social media is now an essential component of an effective online marketing presence.  One of the connections I’ve made on the journey as well is with Guy Powell, the author of “Marketing Calculator: Measuring and Managing Return on Marketing Investment”.  As we got to talking, we decided to collaborate on the ROI question and turn his special talents on marketing ROI with the expertise I have in social media and see what happens.

We collaborated on a whitepaper (to be published soon) and now, we’ve come up with an interview with the top executive for a leading provider of social media metrics tool as a podcast.

Marcel LeBrun is CEO of Radian6 and in the conversation, we meet Marcel and dive into the company he has helped build.  Guy was traveling at the time of the recording, so we miss his voice, other than a short tag on he and I recorded after the fact to make sure his comments are included.  There are several episodes in this interview which will be posted here, at TheSocialMediaBible.com and by Guy at his website, www.DemandROMI.com.

continue reading »