COMMENTS
if you want to get real statistics on your twitter profile get into
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Show them what their competitors are doing. It's hard to ignore that.
Forrester came out with a stat yesterday, up to 19% of SG&A expense is spent on supporting sales.
Using inbound and content marketing that aligns to and educates prospects during their buying life can reduce those support costs.
I think that kind of action by the execs is ignorant.. have they looked at the total impact Social marketing can have on their company? Not just in lead gen, but branding, interaction, agility? It's disappointing when execs make a rash decision like that. Social Media marketing is the least expensive and potentially highest impact marketing activity they can engage in - if done correctly.
I've seen the shut down before. I've also seen company executives completely embrace social media and get shut down by their own staff.
There is something about this environment that doesn't really let you sit on the fence. Either you are in or out because you can't do both half-arsed.
It's too bad you can't show competitive companies in the same field and show one using social media and the other not and see who wins. Do you have that kind of example.
BTW, we had a great moment in customer service training talking about Twitter. We did a live example and actually generated a hot lead in front of the entire team. I thought they were going to jump out of their seats, they were so excited.
Thanks for the charts. Always love you guys' stuff.
Forrester came out with a hard number yesterday, "up to 19% of SG&A expense is tied up in hidden costs that support sales". Inbound and content marketing that educates cleints and prospects during a buying life cycle can go a long way in reducing those costs.
This is excellent information that I will be able to share internally. The chart that is missing here is the age factor. How old are the executives that are shutting social activity down? If they are 50+, often there is still a huge learning curve. This goes against their years of training--talking to a live body, not interacting through a computer. I was told, "You are teaching cowboys to drive." And that helped immensely!
I couldn't agree more with John White. Show them proofs that this worth a risk (if there really is, which I believe there is none). Let them understand the impact it'll give to them.
40 leads a month, and company executives halted social marketing? Crazy!
I agree with the earlier post though, that you commit to it or don't. A tepid engagement with customers and the web will not work.
Some of us just doze off when we see statistics and graphs. There are those who are far better reached with anecdotal evidence and interesting stories. I'm just sayin'...
Charts are nice. Anecdotes can be convincing, but for some managment types the only way you will ever convice them is with numbers. And ROI isn't going to work alone since there is such a low outlay of cash in the social media realm. You have to show how it is either going to shorten sales cycles, increase revenues, decrease costs or all of the above.
I am starting (brand new, no site online yet) a series of 8hr seminar workshops to address this issue in Bay Area.
Most business owners hire a designer, get some lousy brochure site up written by a web designer, and realize zero sales improvement.
Thank you for the article. I will reference Hubspot in my workshop.
It is time to show them how this is done. :)
Very useful article, thanks!!.
We're looking for every way we can to convince Marketing departments about the power of engaging their consumers in a dialogue. This is great information.
Unbelievable and yet, somewhat not surprising data. Social media is an incredibly valuable resource for companies far beyond simply "marketing." Good stuff.
Maria Reyes-McDavis
Social media is a must, whether there is time or not. It's such a great way to promote your business and keep in touch with clients. It doesn't take long too observe that all competitors are involved in social media and that you must too.