Show Me The Social Media Money

By: Kirsten Stubbs

Public relations and marketing professionals often struggle with identifying ways to monetize social media influence. If your brand or corporation hasn’t quite cracked that code, start by letting social media save you some money. At Digital Royalty, we’ve found three categories which are often the lowest hanging fruit that can show you the money:

1)   Market Research: In-depth primary market research can mean extensive amounts of time and money. Many studies take months, if not years, to complete and by the time they conclude, the information is often outdated. Social surveying and auditing conveniently and inexpensively allow us to take a pulse of a brand’s online conversation with instantaneous results. As social media platform user counts continue to increase exponentially within every demographic, platforms like Facebook and Twitter can serve as a pretty reliable sample size and set of the general population. With the emergence of tools like Facebook Polls and geo-targeting, crowd sourcing, A/B testing and polling can be conducted in real-time.

It might not be too long before Facebook groups replace focus groups and political polls are conducted via @reply volume.

2) Customer Service: The marriage between social media and customer service is an inherent one.  When a customer service representative (or someone who can direct you to one) is only a click away, time and manpower on the brand side and effort on the consumer side is alleviated.

A few years ago, if you had an issue with purchasing a product, you could:

A) Call a customer service representative

B) Go back to the location of purchase to speak with a representative or

C) Deal with it

Today, in one tweet you can reach someone who can fix the problem without leaving your computer chair or while in a cab. The system has been simplified, removing middlemen and therefore eliminating time and costs. Not only does that save the brand time and money, the convenience encourages customers to be open and vocal with their opinions of a product, providing additional research and testimonials without any extra effort by the brand.

Zappos is a brand that does social media customer service brilliantly. They have a Twitter account dedicated to the idea of “delivering happiness,” with several representatives manning it 24-hours a day. The account is efficient, helpful and above all, human.

3) Reducing Ad Spend: The digital universe makes it easier for brands to know what people think and want as soon as they think and want it. Social media is a two-way conversation.

When a brand builds a bridge to their customers via social media channels they can access that bridge 24/7. When a brand places an ad spend, it’s transactional. The impressions are delivered and the deal is done. Investing time in building stronger relationships with customers allows you to eventually decrease the money you spend in pitching them via TV, radio, outdoor, print and even online display.

Instantaneous analysis and results also reduce spend on ineffective campaigns. Low-performing ads or misguided campaigns can be stopped immediately, unlike print or broadcast ads that have to run their course.

In addition, with the ease of target marketing through digital channels, unnecessary ad spend on unlikely leads drops. Tools like Google AdWords, Facebook Ads and Twitter Promotions have caused a paradigm shift in advertising. Niche marketing is no longer complicated, with the ability to target ads not only by demographic and geographic information, but by interest, previous purchases, online behavior and network.

Email info@thedigitalroyalty.com for more information on Digital Royalty.

There’s a (Royal) App for That

On any given day you can find the Digital Royalty team stationed across the country, taking conference calls in unique places and multitasking. Between our iPad, iPhones, iTunes and other i-prefixed devices that virtually guide us through life, we thought we’d share our favorite apps that help keep us organized and efficient. Not an Apple user? We have two resident Android users and even a BlackBerry loyalist. Check out the full list of our favorites below:

Amy Jo Martin: Evernote

My 75 Evernote notebooks and 1,000+ notes are always with me on my iPhone, iPad and Mac, and they’re always synced.  In a matter of seconds, I can pull up notes on any of my devices, whether it’s a voice note I took a stoplight or notes taken from an airplane during a last-call epiphany before takeoff. I can even access my notes via in-flight WiFi. I was recently in an annual planning meeting with a client and was about to answer a question about last year’s meeting in about 20 seconds thanks to Evernote.

 

 

Alana Golob: Skype

Skype is a simple tool that makes working with clients nationally and internationally much easier. I’ve worked closely for the last few months with a client in Italy, holding conference calls, tutorials and brainstorms solely via Skype. In addition, with the growth of dR’s educational division, Digital Royalty University (dRU), Skype has become a vital tool for speaking engagements with universities and corporations. Skype webinars are an easy and cost-effective way to connect with dRU students without jeopardizing personalization, accessibility and quality of conversation.

 

 

 

Kristin Adams: MLB.com At Bat

Working in the sports world, I have to stay up to date on what’s happening in all the different leagues and the MLB.com At Bat 11 is the best app put out by a pro sports league. You can get information you’re looking for quickly and have a full recap of that day’s results and highlights. And even better I can even follow tweets for a team without leaving the app. At Bat enhances every type of ‘viewing’ experience for its fans whether they are at the stadium or checking scores at work.

 

 

Kirsten Stubbs: Mashable

Our industry is evolving at an incredibly rapid pace. The only way to stay relevant  is through constant curiosity and vigilant learning. Mashable is hands-down my favorite app (and news outlet) for social media, tech and digital marketing news.  Mashable provides the perfect mix of industry research, tech reviews, thought-provoking case studies and viral cat videos. The content reminds me to constantly raise the bar, color outside the lines and never be stagnant in best practices. Plus, the mobile app is clean, convenient and perfect for reading during a layover or while in line at the DMV.

 

 

Dustin Thompson: Dropbox

Dropbox allows you to designate a desktop folder (or sub-directory) to synchronize.  It’s a cloud-based storage system that allows you access to your files on-the-go. On the iPhone, Dropbox allows you to upload and download files, and provides links to individual files for collaborators to share. For a business user on the go, the ability to provide the link through e-mail is critical, and the ability to view the files can be a lifesaver.

 

 

 

 

Britt Johnson: Jorte Calendar

My favorite business application is the Jorte calendar system. I was once a firm supporter of the paper planner until I found this app. It simulates the feeling of hand-writing your daily tasks, and presents them in an easy-to-read fashion. As a self-described “organizational freak” I was also impressed by the customizable interface and color coding options. Best of all, it’s free!

 

 

 

 

With our education division, Digital Royalty University, we not only offer social media education, but recommendations for applications and shortcuts that make being Digital Royalty easier. To learn more about dRU, check-out case studies here and here. For more info, email: Info@TheDigitalRoyalty.com

First Social Media Incentive Program for Athletes

By: Britt Johnson

The NBA, NFL, and other professional sports leagues are all too familiar with handing down fines to athletes (and owners/coaches) who violate their social media policies. The UFC has no interest in collecting money from its own athletes. Instead, they are doing the reverse in handing out the cash—$240,000 annually to be exact.

This week UFC president Dana White announced the first-ever incentive-based social media program for fighters during the UFC Summit in Las Vegas where more than 300 fighters were required to go through Digital Royalty University social media training. The allotted money will be dispersed as quarterly bonuses to fighters who make the most impact with their personal Twitter accounts.

Competition was in the air as the program was announced to more than 300 fighters at the annual UFC Summit at the Red Rock Casino in Vegas. Thousands of fans, fighters and media outlets followed along here using the #UFCSummit Hashtag where thousands of tweets were exchanged real-time throughout the week. Mashable and Sports Business Journal also covered the news.

The UFC understands the power of social media. The goal for the incentive program is to encourage the athletes to embrace these new communication tools and increase fan engagement. The UFC and related Twitter accounts are already known for their fighter-to-fighter interactions. The heightened engagement will strengthen the organization’s network, allowing for quick message delivery, more fighter-to-fan interaction and most importantly it provides exclusive value to new and existing fans.

Starting June 1st, Stikeforce and UFC fighters will be divided into four groups depending on their number of followers. From those groups, three winners will be named in the following categories, each receiving $5,000 for most followers gained, highest percentage of followers gained and most creative campaign.

A social media powerhouse himself, Dana knows the influence Twitter followers carry. Factor in a few hundred additional social media-savvy athletes, and you have a force to be reckoned with.

For more information about Digital Royalty University, email Info@TheDigitalRoyalty.com


© Digital Royalty Inc.