In my pursuit of answers, I just keep finding more and more people talking about this topic;

The recent Web 2.0 Expo
Media Week
New Media Knowledge
Emarketer
Search Engine Land

These were just some sites. There are lots more plus blogs and other companies that do what we do.
There are the usual ‘make a $million on Facebook - GUARANTEED’ merchants, but most sensible people seem, at best, not totally sure of how best to use the online social networking movement to generate new customers for their business.

In this situation I find the best way to resolve the issue is to carry out an experiment. I already have some keen ‘guinea pigs’, but a few more would help. If you’re interested in testing the concept of using Social Networking sites to promote your business please let me know. It will probably take the form of a workshop with follow up meetings to measure results.

I’m also still interested in your opinions, experiences, etc. So keep commenting…

Well maybe not everyone, but just about everyone involved in the Web industry and marketing is talking about social networking.

In many cases this is focussed on creating your own community and using social networking tools; blogs, forums, wikis, etc. (Web 2.0) We have already embraced this approach and have built, or are building, many Web sites based around this concept. There are many others talking about ‘monetising’ social networking sites such as Facebook. This is the topic of these posts and something we are currently wresting with. Brian’s experience (see comment on yesterday’s post) is interesting. We built and support the bomocreatives Web site in partnership with Brian to match his vision and purpose for the group as a whole. It has been built as a social networking site; events are listed, there is a forum and so on. This site performs the function for which it was intended. Brian has also turned to Facebook as another way to find new contacts and build relationships with existing contacts. He states this has not generated any income for his business, BUT it has improved attendance for Bomocreatives. So there has been a benefit. Although it has not generated any additional income yet. Maybe it will do in time. As Brian meets more people and they get to know him better and trust him he will get more work and make more money.

I certainly don’t believe online networking is a shortcut to building relationships with people to the point where they trust you enough to do business with you. I do believe there is an opportunity to make that initial contact with another group of people you may not otherwise reach. You would then need to do the usual things you do to convince someone of the value of doing business with you.

‘Monetising’ social networking is itself big business. in fact today there is a large conference taking place in Los Angeles: The Economics of Social Media Conference. This presentation in particular caught my eye;

3:30 - 4:20pm
Pushing Social Media Boundaries With Marketing And Advertising
Sponsored by Bunchball

Is social media advertising a beacon of light or a train wreck? Social media has been blasting through the boundaries of online advertising as consumers engage and carry messages more easily than ever. From ad networks to immersive social brand marketing campaigns that are driving consumer engagement - marketers have more tools at their disposal than ever. How is the marketing landscape changing, where is the creative bar being set and how is engagement being measured?

Maybe if I’d have know about this conference earlier I could have booked a ticket and found out all the answers to my questions. As it is i am hoping there will be access to notes/slides/MP3 recordings and I will be able to find enlightenment only slightly later than the attendees and without the need for long air flights.

Is the use of social networking to promote businesses another attempt by technologists to make promises they cannot necessarily keep?
I’m not sure. that’s why we’re asking the questions, trying things out and MEASURING the results we get compared to the amount of work needed. Only then will we be able to say with any confidence ‘using social networking to promote your business can have a positive impact on your bottom line!’

Anyone else with something to share?

As we wrestle with the concepts of promoting business through the medium of Social Networking sites, the most obvious question is; ‘how will we know if we have been successful?’

Everything we do as a business is executed in a manner which allows us to measure, and therefore assess, performance. We work in partnership with our clients to make ‘a measurable difference to their business’. This implies we have some way of measuring what we do for them. If we assist a client with a Social Networking campaign, what is going to be our ‘yardstick’? What results do we want and what are we going to measure?
How many Facebook friends/fans the business has?
How many people say ‘I saw your company on MySpace’ when we remember to ask them how they found us?
How many ‘conversations’ or ‘relationships’ your business has online?
How much profit changes over the period the campaign runs for?

Ultimately for a commercial organisation it comes down to profit - hard cash! You get profit from satisfied customers. Social networking sites might be one place to find new customers you can satisfy. But this is just a tad crude and we’re not sure yet what the time lag will be. How can we effectively monitor performance as we go along and be confident we’re heading towards having more satisfied customers giving us more profit?

Is it about ‘audience’ numbers or should there be a focus on the level of participation?
Do we need a range of measurements to match our clients goals?
Is it really that different to measuring other marketing activities?

These ,and others, are questions that many people are struglling with;
Facebook Group - Social Media Measurement
MeasurementCamp
Chinwag - Measuring Social Media

I actually found lots of places where this question is raised - has anyone got ideas about the answers???

Does your business have an Acceptable Use Policy to control IT use?  As well as issues of cost and security, businesses need to think about how much freedom they give their employees.
Do you allow unhindered Internet access? Even for social networking? Do you allow employees access to all data? What is the risk to your business if they leave and take data to a competitor?

Unsurprisingly, different businesses have different standards. Often there are issues about the business culture as well as the IT itself. If you go too far, are you creating a culture where your employees do not feel trusted?
It is a complex issue. One thing is clear though: every business should have an Acceptable Use Policy. Otherwise, how do employees know what is acceptable and what is not? Just as importantly; how do you enforce a policy that doesn’t exist?