Is Social Media Really Impactful?

In the recent article, "Marketers Still Can't Tie Social to Bottom Line," the author talks about the challenges in tracking the true impact and effectiveness from marketing on social media channels. The article states that beyond tracking the number of "likes" or "comments," there was no way to track how social media is impacting the bottom line.

The website marketing experts at The Website Marketing Agency believe that social media should be used strategically. Sometimes the wrong companies are using the wrong channels. The truth is, not everyone is going to have an impact from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

If you are thinking about incorporating social media channels into your marketing plan, you need to have a well thought out strategy that defines how the uses of the channels are "social".

A good example of how to share information and make it impactful is the Global Citizen project. Global Citizen incorporated social media heavily in the promotion of a free concert in New York City's Central Park.

Global Citizen wasn't interested in raising money for the cause as much as creating a viral message to help prevent extreme poverty around the world. In order to get tickets, visitors had to take action prior to winning them. They were required to register with Global Citizen, sign petitions, and share information throughout multiple social media channels. For every action completed, they received points and a chance to win tickets to the event.

When it was all said and done, Global Citizen had given away 60,000 free tickets to the concert. Think of the impact they achieved by having that many visitors taking action and sharing information throughout their own social communities.

So again, it is important to do more with social media than just put up a Facebook and Twitter page. You need to think through and execute a plan that encourages visitors to view and share your message within their social network. In other words, keep it social.