The company that develops an accurate way to measure the value of social Web connections would etch its place in marketing history, but is it really possible to put hard numbers to the value of social Web connections and conversations? One company, Vitrue, is trying to do exactly that and with new research reveals that one million social Web connections translates into $3.6 million in media over the course of a year.
According to an article on BrandWeek, Vitrue developed its valuations by researching Facebook impressions and updates and discovered that connected people deliver more impressions overall. That means, if you have an audience on the social Web, you should actively interact with them. They are listening to you.
Vitrue is quick to point out that not all brands are created equal on the social Web. “Sexier” brands have more engaged audiences and get more impressions than less exciting brands. It’s all about perception though. How can you make your brand more like the brands that are having success in engaging their audiences on the social Web? That’s just one opportunity for you to find added success in your own social media marketing efforts.
Vitrue’s research also didn’t analyze the value of the engagements and relationships that develop between brands and the people who connect with them on the social Web — just the variance in brand impressions that those connections experience was analyzed. Clearly, the more interactive and engaged the audience is and the deeper relationships grow, the greater the value of those connections. That means the $3.6 million value is probably much higher. However, like measuring brand value, measuring the value of social media connections still alludes companies. The point to take away from this research is that social Web connections do impact brands in the long-term and social media marketing should be an integral part of any marketing plan.
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Susan Gunelius is the author of 10 marketing, social media, branding, copywriting, and technology books, and she is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She also owns Women on Business, an award-wining blog for business women. She is a featured columnist for Entrepreneur.com and Forbes.com, and her marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, TodayShow.com, and more.
She has over 20 years of experience in the marketing field having spent the first decade of her career directing marketing programs for some of the largest companies in the world, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC. Today, her clients include large and small companies around the world and household brands like Citigroup, Cox Communications, Intuit, and more. Susan is frequently interviewed about marketing and branding by television, radio, print, and online media organizations, and she speaks about these topics at events around the world. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google+.
