Our marketing director thinks the latter. Find out why on her most recent blog post.

Some of the questions that need to be asked include: Can we do this ourselves? How much time and energy is this going to take? Would it be more cost effective to outsource it entirely? Are there any other options?

Well, in terms of outsourcing it entirely, there are companies that do that. And while there are a lot of good people out there with a lot of advice on social media, if you’re considering hiring a company to completely take on your social media tasks – provide them for you outsourced, do everything for you, so that you can get the benefits of social media without expending internal effort, without making the social media expert a part of your company team – there are so many ramifications that I’d say: “Don’t do it!” After all, the very idea of social media is against outsourcing. Social media is about RELATIONSHIP building. Can a third party provider build the relationship between you and your customers? That’d be like having someone else date your prospective wife to build up the relationship, and then expecting the marriage to work. It’s just not going to happen.

But where does that leave you? Can a savvy business that understands the limitations of your staff’s available time, yet still wants to run a campaign, do so affordably and with a lessened risk of being “outted” for using outside help?

I see five Social Media options available:

Option #1: The Learning Path
This is where you run a SM campaign, but understand that you’re dabbling. You’re not intending to really get a lift, you’re just putting your name out there so that you can say you’re doing something. Your goal is not to go all out, but to slowly work your way in – kind of like the swimmer who starts by just letting his feet get hit by the waves. Then slowly works up to the ankles, and so on. The goal is that as you learn the venues available, you can start to see what’s working well for you and then begin to expend more time and energy there.

Upside: you won’t have to expend a lot of energy right away.

Downsides: you may get distracted and forget all about maintenance. Plus, it will take a long time to get any results at all.

Option #2: The Intern
In this option, you hire an intern to run your social marketing for you. The intern won’t expect a lot of pay and will enjoy being able to play online as their job. You’ll need to be careful in the hiring to ensure you get someone who is already savvy about the benefits of SM. That way they’ll know where to start you off. An intern who is studying marketing or PR is a good choice. And you’ll need to make sure to train the intern on everything your business does and your corporate culture so that s/he can represent you appropriately.

Upside: Cost is fairly reasonable and you get a full-blown campaign.

Downsides: You’re putting your reputation into the hands of an intern. This could work well if you hire the right one, or horribly if you don’t.

Option #3: Part-time Staffer
Similar to The Intern, in this case, you just hire someone part time.

Upside: Cost is reasonable, full-blown campaign.

Downside: Part-timer are less likely to feel loyalty, so the vibe from your campaign might not be as strong as it could be.

Option #4: Outsourced, but YOUR staff
In this option, you’re hiring a professional social media company to run your campaign – BUT the person who runs it is actually your staff. Okay, that sounds a little confusing, but it’s not. What happens is that the social media company, understanding the need for transparency and relationship building, hires staff that are accountable to YOUR company. They go through your company training. They’re expected to attend your company meetings. They understand your culture and products. They’re an extension of your company – an offshoot. But they work at the social media company’s office. Chances are the person who becomes your social media liaison is liaison to one or two other companies as well. It’s like they’re a shared part-timer. The other companies should not, in any way, be competitive to your industry. Because this person is a full-time employee, they won’t be distracted by the need to find a full-time position, so they can show the dedication you’ll need. And you won’t have the burden of paying them for a full-time position. Also, because they’re in a company dedicated to social media, they’ll be on top of the latest trends and can provide you with better service.

The caveats are that you’ll need to make sure you’re transparent about the arrangement, so that no one can call you on it later. You’ll also need to be sure that your in-house staff is willing to provide excellent communication, never forgetting that your SM specialist is a part of the team. If you leave them out of important discussions or forget to connect the full marketing plan, that’s when everything can fall apart.

Upsides: Reasonable costs, full campaign, staying on top of trends.

Downsides: Need for transparency & superior communication.

Option #5: Dedicating the Time with Internal Staff
And the final option is to just bite the bullet and determine that you’re going to get your staff the training to run a SM campaign, and allow them the time to do it.

Upsides: Full integration of marketing efforts, no new staff

Downsides: Time to run the campaign may eat into other efforts.

Those are the 5 options as I see ‘em. Anyone have ideas for other options?

They’re well-written (or videoed, as the case may be), well-respected, and deservedly so.

But, and I’m not sure about anyone else out here, famous is not what I’m trying to be.

by Storm Crypt, via Flickr

The fact is, I work in marketing, and it’s not ABOUT me. It’s about my clients and their customers. My focus is on how to get the two to connect in a meaningful way for both.

Obviously, the most meaningful way for my clients to connect with their customers is when the customers give them more of their money. But to be a successful marketer, the customers also have to get something they need, and to feel a connection to the client. Most specifically, so that they’ll come back to give my client more money later, too – I’ll never deny that.

So these connections are my chief focus. Which is what makes my own foray into social media so strange.

Social media, by its very nature forces individuals toward some semblance of fame. Even if they’re fairly self-effacing and humble, there’s still a need to project, “Trust me, I know what I’m talking about,” with proof in the details of what we post.

There are so many voices attempting to distract all the clients and confuse the matter, finding a marketing partner is worse than trying to decide what toothpaste to buy. (And why on earth do we need 500 different toothpastes to choose from???)

Social media helps put “taste” as well as credentials into the decision process. (I’m assuming that most marketing purchasers actually do look at credentials before purchasing. Maybe I shouldn’t assume that, but I’m going to anyway.) The blogs you read allow you to get a feeling for someone’s character. If someone’s “flavor” doesn’t sit well with you, don’t buy ‘em. There are plenty more out there.

And this is where the fame comes in. With equal web space and opportunity available, the most interesting flavors should get read more, eventually anyway. Knowing this, we’re all now trying – to some extent – to get that fame. Love me! Read me! HIRE me!

But the real trick is to balance this fame with your clients’ fortunes. Because that’s the true success measurement of social media – not how many followers you have.

How’s your balance these days?

Photo via flicker, by net_efekt

The ban was slated to be lifted as of June 15, 2009, but I’m not completely sold that it will remain in place, if Google did indeed follow through on their announcement. Imagine yourself as a company like Apple or Lexus, wouldn’t you file a lawsuit to block others from using your brand name for their profit? There is just too much riding on this for the brands not to fight – trademarks were instituted for a reason. If these likely lawsuits pop up the deadline will have to be pushed back (if the ban is still lifted at all).

The big issue is the cost per click. Obviously if demand for purchasing certain keywords (like Toyota Prius or Lexus IS Convertible) goes up, the price for these terms will too. This could really hurt an already ailing automotive industry if their online advertising budget has to increase to keep up PPC keyword bidding. Great for Google though because this increases their revenue.

As many of you know, the major auto manufacturers affected by this policy change would be Toyota (including Lexus and Scion) and BMW. These brands strictly enforce their trademarks in ad copy (whereas other brands like Ford do not). Right now, to use any of these protected brands or their models in your ad copy the advertiser must have permission from the manufacturer. This stops dealerships who aren’t affiliated with the brand, who likely have the cars in their used inventory, from using the keywords in their ad copy. So instead of advertising their “great selection of used Lexus cars”, they can only talk about their “wide selection of low-mileage vehicles”.

Lifting the trademark ban on Google isn’t a cut and dry, good or bad issue. While keyword costs would increase and manufacturers would lose control over how their brands are represented, there are some winners. Used car dealers or dealers with other brands in their used inventory would finally be able to run a PPC campaign for their specific used inventory.

So, what do you think? Are you for or against Google removing these trademark restrictions?

In fact, according to Tealium (a Web analytics integration and consultation provider), businesses are grossly under-counting their social media and PR traffic by skipping over “view-through” traffic.

Tealium conducted their own study on this (using their own product, which measures the ROI of social media and online PR, including tracking view-through traffic). According to the study, only 20% of site visitors from social media and PR are the result of a direct click. The remaining 80% are via view-throughs.

So what’s a view through? Tealium says view-throughs are “traffic from Internet users that come to the site after viewing a piece of social media or online PR content that DID NOT contain a direct link to the site or didn’t acquire the user as a result of a direct link from the content.” In other words, view-throughs happen when people see your social media or online PR message, but don’t click through right away, instead, they later go there directly or through a 3^rd party, without following your content’s direct link to get there.

Basically, according to Tealium, you can break social media and online PR traffic down into 3 scenarios:

1. The social media outlet provides a direct link to a site and the visitor clicks the link. This is what most analytics measure.
2. The social media outlet provides a direct link to a site, which is not clicked on, but the outlet still generates the interest for a future visit. Not typically measured.
3. The social media outlet does not provide a direct link to the site and all traffic generated will be indirect and occurs as a view-through. Not typically measured.

Now, it’s obvious that Tealium conducted this study to push their own product – since it claims to be the industry’s only view-through measuring analytics. Think about it. 80% of traffic to your site is being under-reported, according to this study.

But the fact remains, not every hit to your site can be tracked to a specific marketing or PR tactic. Even if their results are wrong by ½, that’s still 40% of traffic that’s being misattributed. It’s something to consider when you’re putting together your marketing and PR strategy – considering what to cut and what to keep.

Admittedly, many businesses are still experimenting with their social media marketing strategy and don’t understand the legal implications of their actions in this space.  But social media isn’t like the Wild West anymore.  Some of the “questionable” actions that businesses participated in years (or even months) ago are no longer dismissed with a “they must not have known better”.  Internet marketing is getting more and more savvy every month.

Mainly, most SMM is okay.  However, if you’re being compensated to talk about a product, then you must disclose it.  For example, if I’m a paid spokesperson / brand ambassador for a car manufacturer and I’m leaving comments on people’s blogs, tweeting about how great this brand is, and/or posting on review sites, you better believe I should be disclosing this relationship. That is, unless I want to spend some quality time with my friends at the FTC.

For most, these rules are common sense and will not affect their SMM strategy in the least. WebProNews gives some great key takeaway points for these new regulations.  Really though, if you’re honest to those you’re interacting with in the social media world and develop an ethical SMM strategy, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

But it’s not the case.

You can trust me

My mother is a dance teacher and a very good one. She’s been teaching since she was 15, and just about every single one of her students – even those who didn’t like the fact that she was strict – will state that they gained something by studying dance with her.

One time, she got a new, adult student. This student studied with her for only three months. That’s it. Learned the basics – hadn’t achieved becoming truly proficient, much less mastery. She quit at that point and opened up her own school in town and actually tried to steal away some of her students. Three months later, she came back and wanted to become a student again. She’d used up all the material she’d learned and needed more so she could continue to teach.

The lesson to be learned from this tale: be careful. Does that expert you’re trusting really know what they’re talking about? Or are they just three months ahead of you? And what will you do if they run out of material?

If the content on someone’s blog is what they believe, why do I care if they’re the one who wrote it? Isn’t it the content that’s most important? Don’t you choose to build your relationships based on common ground? And isn’t that content?

Or is it all about personality? And if it’s about personality, what if how you write doesn’t reflect your personality face-to-face? Should that person be banned from having a blog? Is it so wrong to have someone else write your ideas so that it sounds more like you? Because that’s what the blogosphere seems to be saying about the matter. [Link ]

I write my own blog. But I’m a writer. I spend my free-time writing. I love to write. But not everyone has this skill (which makes me more marketable – go me!). And I don’t think they need to have that skill to have a successful blog. *I* think they should be able to use someone LIKE me to write their thoughts for them. Heck, I’d do it, ‘cuz to me, writing is FUN!

Unfortunately, I’ve seen people lose credibility for less heinous crimes than seeking writing assistance.

I can understand people being upset if the person writing the blog and the person who’s getting credit don’t cross paths – if the person who’s getting the credit barely knows what’s being posted in his/her name. Because then, this person simply isn’t the expert s/he’s claiming to be. But what about those who simply need help writing – for time or skill reasons? For example, most of the people who blog for PTMS have assistance. They come up with ideas for the posts, someone else writes the posts, then they read to make sure that the written post matches their thinking. But they’re too busy selling and shooting and programming to capture their thoughts appropriately in writing, so they enlist the help of others who are better skilled at it.

The thing that troubles me is that maybe, just MAYBE, the people who are so anti-“ghostblogging” are against it not because they don’t want people to position themselves as experts when they’re not, but that they’re against it because they know they can write well and they want those who can’t to feel like they’ve got no right to post. It’s blogosphere security.

Personally, I’d rather read a well-written and thoughtful ghostblog than a poorly written original blog. And the fact that someone realizes their lack in writing skill makes me appreciate their thinking all the more. We should all recognize our limitations.

Where do you stand in this debate?

While I agree with most of the premises for running a good social media campaign, I think there’s some additional points that need to be made about marketing planning in general:

First, traditional marketing is not dead. You need the right mix. Get your strategy straight before you start.

Second, let’s not forget branding and your own website. If you have a social media program in place and your website doesn’t convert, there’s really no point. In fact, before I’d spend money on a social media program, I’d make sure my site is not only converting, it’s pulling people for repeat visits. If you’re not giving them new content on your site regularly, is there any reason for them to come back? And if they’re not coming back, how are you convincing them to work with you?

Third, just because a lot of other companies are jumping on the social media bandwagon doesn’t mean it’s right for you. Get your plan together before you expend effort and budget on this.

Finally, if you do endeavor to get a social media plan together and follow the advice in the BusinessWeek article on how to do it, you still are going to need someone on your end to answer questions and interact with those responding to your efforts. Make sure you have that in the budget before you run with it.

What are your thoughts?

• Social media is here to stay, but you need to beware of some of the facts before you make a plan for your dealership.

• Social media is NOT free. There are many free tools you can use, but you have to spend time and money (and you know that time is money) if you want your campaign to actually work. Don’t expect it to be a disposable  part of your plan. It’ll end up costing you more than you think if you haven’t planned well.

• Social media ISN’T easy. Sure, anyone can create a profile on facebook and anyone can create a twitter profile and start tweeting. But that’s not the same thing as a successful campaign. GET PROFESSIONAL HELP if you really want to reach your potential customers.

• Social media is NOT an immediate gratification solution. If you’re not in it for the long haul, it’s not likely going to reach anyone. You have to build up a community of support. This is done slowly, and in stages .

• Social media is NOT something most companies are equipped to take in house. Strategy, contacts, experience and time, time, lots of time are needed to make it work. Do you have staff sitting around doing nothing? If so, then bring your social media program in house. But I’ll bet your staff are all working hard to beat the economy. So… get professional help. (yes, I know I said that before)

• A great social media concept does NOT mean instant success. This is not a “if you build it, they will come” scenario. The hard thing about social media is you not only have to promote your brand, you have to promote your concept. You have to draw attention – which, means you have to be making lots of contacts and followers. Which goes back to the whole time thing.

• Social media IS trackable. Not only can you use statistics from Google Trends (as mentioned in the article) there are professional companies that scan ALL social media sources and rank results in near real time so that you can see how you rate before, during, and after a campaign.

Got questions about your social media?