On Friday, September 19, 2014, Webolutions Strategic Marketing Lead Jody Martin and Director of New Media Strategies Mike Hanbery led a lively conversation about social media’s role in increasing customer satisfaction at Denver social media marketing group Social Marketing for Business.
Video courtesy Conversation Starters Public Relations
Martin led the presentation, providing examples of listening, responding and engaging, including success stories such as Allstate’s Mayhem and Dos Equis’s Most Interesting Man in the World, in which advertising copy has given way to user-generated content. Martin and Hanbery shared methods and paths to social media marketing Return on Investment (ROI) for tracking brand sentiment, managing public nay-sayers and soliciting input. Webolutions clients also served as examples of how customer feedback provided via social media can be used to identify opportunities in specific areas.
Content development recommendations included:
- Build trust and reinforce purchase decision
- Make it personal
- Show eagerness to address issues
- Educate, inform and entertain
- Show ROI
- Showcase valued customers
- Reward engagement
- Make it about them
The presentation highlighted a soon-to-be-released benchmark study by Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs that concludes 97 percent of effective content marketers have a social media marketing content strategy and only 54 percent of those having documented that strategy, as compared to 56 percent and eleven percent, respectively, for Ineffective content marketers. Content strategy fundamentals and the top reasons people follow brands on social media rounded out the conversation.
All materials including the presentation slide deck and handouts were made available to group members via the group’s Meetup.com online hub, Facebook and Twitter.
On this occasion, the group celebrated its fifth birthday. The group’s first meeting was in September, 2009. It has met on a monthly basis since, with exceptions for the holiday season. For the occasion, the group gifted itself social media cover art designed by Webolutions graphic design.
With nearly 1,400 online members, Social Marketing for Business is the largest Denver social media marketing group and one of the largest in the world. The entire business community is welcome and there is no cost to attend, thanks in large part to the group’s generous sponsors:
- Breakfast is provided by Whole Foods Market, My Favorite Muffin and Peet’s Coffee.
- The 5th birthday event was chronicled in pictures by KC Keefer Photography & Video.
- The curriculum is designed and presented by Denver digital marketing agency Webolutions.
- Video services are provided by Conversation Starters Public Relations.
- The venue is provided by the South Metro Denver Chamber.
Webolutions invited group members to join their team for the upcoming Run the ‘Rocks 5K on October 12 and to bring coats to the October event. Webolutions serves as a collection center for Coats for Colorado.
October’s topic is Social Media’s Role in Communicating with Current and Past Customers. As the group’s principal goal is to help members generate positive ROI from social media marketing, the focus will be on driving additional, ancillary revenue and increasing existing customer satisfaction.
Social Marketing for Business meets the third Friday of each month, 7:30 AM – 9:00 AM. Each session features professional networking, a moderated conversation about a strategic social media marketing topic, and social media Tips Groups breakout sessions where attendees exchange tactical knowledge about Internet social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn.
