When it comes to talking about the efficacy of investing resources in social media, one of the popular comebacks that has made more than its fair share of rounds is, “What’s the ROI of your mother?”

Personally, I prefer the “what’s the ROI of pants,” a question that my friends Katie Paine and Shel Israel have had an enjoyable back and forth about on and offline.

Seeing as how I’m not nearly as smart as Katie or Shel, I’m going to suggest that, instead of equating the measurement of social media to one’s mater (yes, that’s a word for mother) or clothing, you and I lesser mortals focus on what we can actually measure.

1.    Forget about social media. What’s your overall goal?

What many people forget about, in the rush to adopt new social media tools and platforms, is why they were invented in the first place. Social media – and networks – while wonderful technologies, do one thing very effectively: they help people connect.

Remember your strategic plan? It’s ok, I’ll wait while you go dust it off. Now, in there, you probably have something about reaching your target audiences in a Citius, Altius, Fortius kind of way.

OMG. Guess what? Connecting with your target audience is what you need to do! OK, now that we’ve gotten that straight, where are they congregating?

Yup. More likely than not, in some social network or platform. But you’ll have to do your own research to figure out which one(s) exactly. There are plenty of tools to help you do this but, believe me, you’ll still have to put some elbow grease into making sense of what the tools tell you.

2.    What do you need these people to do?

I have a favorite “Burkeism” when I speak/teach/write on public relations/social media/measurement. And that is, “begin at the end.”

What are you trying to achieve? Higher sales? Lower acquisition costs? A more engaged donor base (for nonprofit organizations) that you can move into your conversion funnel for long-term donors? Whatever it is, that is what you should be connecting your social media efforts to.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not going to happen overnight.

You will still have to invest in a social media team (or consultant/agency) to manage your social media efforts, all the while building community while participating in the conversations that permeate the Interwebz. There is a definite cost to that, because even if many of the tools are free, the human resources are not.

But as you start getting more familiar, more at ease in these mediums, you need to start connecting and correlating your (or, rather, your team’s) efforts, to what, if any, impact they are having on these end-goals.

Focus on what you are trying to get people to do – the actions you want them to take – as opposed to meaningless (in my opinion) metrics such as how many followers you have, the value of a Facebook fan (a terrific read by Olivier Blanchard), etc.

3.    Did it make a difference?

This is the money question. Did your efforts make a difference to achieving your end objectives?

Did your social media efforts result in the actions you need your customer base – actual and potential – to take?

Because action is what makes our businesses tick. Whether it’s a purchase decision, or a referral, or signing up to an email list (for conversion to future customers), we need our audiences to do more than just follow, like and share.

We need them to “do” in real-world terminology. And only by tracking which tactics get more people to do, as opposed to those that don’t work, can we make our outreach programs more effective… and more measurable.

 Shonali Burke is one of 25 women that rock social media. Her business turns your corporate codswallop into community cool. She also blogs, teaches, and cooks.

If you’re new to baseball, this is an initiative that the MLB launched on the first day of the season. Two fans were selected to watch every single game of 2011. That’s no small feat as their total has hit 2,429 games! But they’ve mixed in appearances by celebrity guests, and documented it all through blogs, video, Twitter and Facebook.

The success was immense. According to ESPN, the two celebrity couch potatoes have built a fan base of a combined more than 150,000 fans on Twitter, while also creating more than 300 blog posts and 200 videos (some of which have gone viral). Tweets about the Fan Cave were 45% positive which far exceeds the 15%-20% average.

Now those numbers sound great, but have they had an impact? Even if you ignore the fact that all the material that was created over the past year can be repackaged for further marketing material, there’s a more tangible success. According to the ESPN article, the average baseball fan is 45 years old, but the average Fan Cave follower was 28. That’s reaching a new market, and an impressive feat.

What can be learned from the Fan Cave’s success? Here are three takeaways to keep in mind, when thinking up your next social media initiative:

1. Use Engaging Personalities – The two fans picked to watch the games in the cave knew baseball, could speak and write baseball and people wanted to hear from them about baseball. That goes a long way in encouraging buzz. Assure your representative knows what he or she will be promoting because the fans can tell the difference
2. Experiment – The content coming out of the Cave changed constantly as the MLB worked to find the right voice and encourage more fans. When they found something that people enjoyed, the Fan Cave team jumped on it to utilize the content, while looking for similar opportunities. That assures fresh, interesting material
3. Fund It – Don’t be afraid to put some money behind the campaign. While this largely used social media to continue the campaign throughout the year, the MLB had to fork up rent for a large studio in downtown New York City. They also paid the two fans for their “work” throughout the year. That can be pricey for social media, but if you ask the MLB, they would no doubt say it was worth it

Announcing via its AdSense blog, Google has launched an ad version that includes the “+1” tool, now synonymous with Google+. Google+ users can click the “+1” on the ad to share the advertisement with their community on Google+. This is a tool that advertisers will jump at to use. But will anyone else?

Obviously, Google ad network has become the dominant tool in display advertising. Having a way to take that advertisement, and grow it further (free of charge) can be powerful.

Of course, you also have to wonder how many people will want to share advertisements with their friends? And that will come down to the social media strategy of the advertiser. With this tool, we could see a number of changes in Google ads, which will open up advertisements to interactions and community involvement, as opposed to simply encouraging users to click on a link.

For instance, having advertisements that encourage users to spread information about a new product could proliferate. Maybe attached to these advertisements are dedicated links that provide users with a freebie of some sort, if they spread the word of the ad to enough people. It’s something that social media groups have done on Facebook for some time, but now it can be accomplished through an ad that is targeted to a specific group. That’s very powerful, and something that could further grow Google+ to the non-tech world.

And if those ads are social enough, then it won’t just be advertisers excited about this announcement.

The White House’s move to join Foursquare is an interesting one, and businesses interested in expanding both their reach and interactions with target audiences should pay attention. Here are the reasons why the White House will be using Foursquare to enhance their brand – and why their uses might not be so different from your own:

• Builds buzz leading up to the 2012 Election
  Replace “2012 Election” with your latest marketing campaign – making a Foursquare account part of an overall strategic social media plan can be a unique way to gain attention and excitement for your campaign.

• Gives the White House another channel in which to interact with their target audience: voters
  While your target audience may not need to register to vote to get in on the action, they’re just as important and want your time and attention. Creating a Foursquare account provides customers with another way to engage with you, creating a deeper interaction with your brand.

• Encourages loyalty amongst key constituents by giving them “bragging rights” for attending Town Hall and campaign events
  One of the features the White House has enabled is the ability to “check in” to scheduled events. In basic terms, they’ve created a loyalty program where the top tier of their target audience can check-in to become Mayor, encouraging them to attend additional events. Companies can do the same type of thing at major events or tradeshows – giving frequent customers or press “bragging rights.”

• Creates another way for the White House to provide constituents with information
  The White House has also created a Tips feed, so you can get first-hand information on locations the President has visited. Companies can start the conversation on Foursquare by adding their own tips. For example, a company  could add helpful tips and information near a major event location (i.e. the Superbowl, locations near their Headquarters or at a high-traffic tradeshow.)

Is your business using Foursquare just like the White House? What are you doing differently? Let me know in the comments!

Every once in awhile, media companies pull down the shades and give tips to public relation professionals on how to pitch their journalists. Lets face it; PR folks love this because it gives us an opportunity to refresh our strategy with the outlet. And this refresh can lead to new hits for our clients. What’s not to love about that?

PR Newser recently refreshed their tips, which range from updating your media list to telling your clients “No” when pitching to certain outlets, if the pitch doesn’t fit the journalist’s beat. They consist of more general tips, but would work for PR Newser as well.

This got me thinking, though. Why don’t media outlets include social media in these tips? Social media is everywhere else, but it’s rare to see anything about it in these tips. So, in the meantime, I came up with three tips that could help PR professionals better pitch journalists:

1)   Litter Facebook With Stats: In a recent study by PR Genie, they found that 62% of journalists use Facebook in their reporting. That’s a large group. Besides obviously posting information about a new campaign on the page, you should use the Facebook page to highlight stats that the company wants a journalist to see. It could be stats about the company or stats on a study. But trickling these pieces of information out will help if a journalist sees your pitch then looks at the company Facebook page for more information.

2)   Use Twitter Feeds and Lists to spread press releases: Posting a press release on the company Twitter feed is social media 101. Everyone does it now, but go further, using outlets like MuckRack to post the press release. For a dollar a character, you can post a press release tweet on the MuckRack Twitter list. This is so journalists looking for a quick story can see the press release with a glance in one place, then open it from MuckRack. A great tool, that could be used by more PR pros. This can also satisfy the client, in reaching some journalists that aren’t necessarily a perfect fit for the press release, but still can be reached through this medium.

3)   Interact with a Journalist on Social Media Before You Need Them: This is definitely a long-tail approach, but interacting with a journalist on Twitter or Facebook in a casual way, can help you when pitching. If you create positive interactions (meaning you’re actually helping or conversing with the journalist, not selling something) then they will remember you. So when you send that pitch, and they see your name in their email inbox, there’s more of a chance they will take a look.

Those are my tips, based on what I know about journalists. But, hey, media companies, come on: Help us out with some social media pitching tips as well!

If you haven’t had a chance to experience the Plus yet, imagine a mash-up of all the social media tools you have used, with the Google twist. For example, there’s something called “Circles,” which will allow you to filter your community into groups. You can separate your community into two different groups – lets say healthcare and education. You can include any healthcare contacts in the healthcare circle and do the same with education. Then you can send messages, information and statuses only to that specific group. While some doubt the importance to regular folks at home, it creates a very useful feature for marketers. It allows for a more dynamic way to interact with a group then say separating your network into Twitter lists or simply emailing your entire Facebook network.

Already, reports have come out announcing more features expected soon, like gaming capabilities (similar to Facebook apps), ways to check-in for deals (watch out Foursquare) and a questions platform (Quora). Could this be your one place to go for all social media needs?

I wouldn’t jump ahead in naming Google+ the end all; be all of social media feeds quite yet. While there may be a lot of marketers and PR professionals on the site right now figuring out what ways their companies can use the tools, there’s little proof that a large mass of people will use it. And without that, there’s little Google+ can do but promise.

However, in the meantime, it’s important for those in charge of brand presences online to do three things on the new platform:

1. Monitor: This adds a new way for people to communicate about your company’s offerings. It also offers another place where you can interact with a community interested in your products. It’s definitely worth joining those conversations, whether they are on Twitter, Google+ or whatever other platform comes in the future
2. Target: With some of the capabilities highlighted in the first installment of Google+, it provides the opportunity to target the message. This could become the greatest asset that Google+ provides, and definitely worth trying out
3. Experiment: With the new tools, the winners on the platform will be the brave. Those who jump on the platform quickly, with a clear message and fun tools could find a large network, very quickly, once Google+ moves out of beta and creates tools for companies to add presences

Has anyone seen any really interesting Google+ presences yet?

I responded quickly by saying that businesses go on Twitter to connect with existing customers and also to attract potential ones. Then I asked this, “Does your company have a Twitter account?” Out of the eight businesses everyone works for, six companies had accounts. Then I asked what kind of posts were on the handles. One girl said that her firm’s handle consists mainly of company news and updates. I asked if she follows them, and she told me that she did only because she worked there. Then other people chimed in that they wouldn’t follow a company like that because it gets boring.

We ended up discussing what we would want to see on a Twitter feed from a company. The first thing: discounts. After looking past this obvious answer from college students, we developed a short list of rules for companies on Twitter.

1. Tweet when you have something relevant to say. We will only read a few of the tweets, and posting too many times per day could lead us to unfollow you.
2. Use humor to get us interested, or post something we’ll want to talk about with other people. We spend a lot of time socializing offline, and it’s nice to have fresh and interesting topics when you’re with your peers.
3. Talk about things in addition to your company. If you are in the technology industry, post about technology related news. This way, we can get our information from you instead of searching elsewhere. It also keeps us as followers, and we trust your company more.
4. If your post contains more hash tags than content, we won’t read it. Is the only reason you are posting this tweet so that you show up in as many trending topics as possible? Then it’s probably not worth posting or reading.

As the summer continues, I’m excited for more discussions with the other interns. You never know when they will happen, but I was happy to see that the experience I’m gaining allowed me to educate others. Hopefully, I’ve sold them on the benefits of Twitter!

Wrong.

One of the most often forgotten – but crucial – last steps of any program should be a project debrief. Trust me, I can see why we forget or sometimes choose to skip this step. If the project went well, the last thing you’d want to do is sit down and obsess over the little things that went wrong.

However, a project debrief is the key to making every next assignment smoother, more creative, and more seamless for everyone involved. Identifying key successes, areas for improvement and then creating next steps is a great way to wrap-up your campaign, while also preparing yourself for the next time a similar project comes along.

Many of us have sat through boring team debriefs, or perhaps ones that turned ugly. Recently I did a lot of research for a debrief of my own, and I wanted to share some best practices here below:

• Getting Started: One of the key mistakes debrief leaders make is in opening up the floor as a “free for all” on what went wrong. Instead, create a setting where each person can jot down the answers to three key questions: What Worked, What Needs Improvement and Next Steps. You’ll find that each member of the team can then write down their private thoughts, without being swayed by the group. One interesting way I’ve seen this done is using post its, where at the end of the time team members post them on the wall to see what literally, “sticks.”
• There is No Wrong Answer: Create an atmosphere where nothing is off limits, while also guiding the discussions towards the projects key issue areas. Provide a “Food for Thought” list that outlines the major project areas and decisions to prompt these answers.
• Okay, But Why? A project debrief leader should never make statements – instead, keep asking questions. After all of your team members have shared their answers, make sure that you ask, “Why?”
• What’s Next? Debriefs are not team therapy sessions. Instead, create a real action plan for change. Often, there are immediate action items your team can put into place either to plan for the next project, or in creating new policies and procedures.

What are some other debrief tactics that have worked for you and your teams? Share in the comments below!

A PR or Advertising person attending Internet Week walks into a bar…. No, it’s not necessarily a joke that requires a fill-in-the-blank answer.

There were many of us PR/Advertising-savvy types at Internet Week (#IWNY), and after the sessions and panels had wrapped, many of us did continue our networking and socializing at the bar parties afterwards. Need proof? Checked Twitpic or Facebook lately?

All kidding aside, there were some rather serious business-oriented lessons to be had from this year’s Internet Week. I’ll share a few of those with you here, keeping with a “bar” theme. (I’ll take some poetic license with the “bar” thing, so just work with me here, OK?)

“Bar” #1: Storytelling, Humor and “Touchy-Feely” Moves to B2B

It’s very clear at this point that “THE BAR IS RAISED” regarding engaging in an effective and relevant way via social media, and that’s no longer limited to B2C companies, but also B2Bs as well. After all, companies are made up of people, and those people have emotions that (whether they are conscious of it or not) are driving many decisions. At Internet Week, there was great emphasis on using strategies in corporate communication efforts that only a few years ago, some might have dismissed as too “touchy-feely” for business.

This year amongst business types, there seemed to be an increased appreciation and perceived business value for reaching out for that emotional connection. There were many mentions of “storytelling”, both auditory and visual, within a corporate context. There were a lot of discussions about how “humor” is important and can not only help connect with an audience, but also may help a brand diffuse a situation if there is some unwanted brand-mocking going on.

“Bar” #2: There’s a Social Media Strategy for Every Business (You Just Have  to Figure it Out)

“BAR NONE”, today’s companies, B2C or B2B, can certainly benefit from some type of social media presence. Of course, you didn’t really need to attend Internet Week to know this, but it was certainly reinforced as to how many different shapes, flavors, and textures that social media presence can have and that there is a strategy out there that will be a good fit, if only you just dedicate some time to figure that out. There are so many options, formats and mediums available when it comes to social media, and a much larger price to pay in abstaining. Authenticity resonates, so it’s also important, whatever the approach/strategy, that the social media presence be true to the “voice” of the company/brand.

“Bar” #3: Messages have to Be Crafted With Two-Way Communications in Mind

“DON’T BAR-K”. (OK, so “bar” is in there. It counts!) This year’s Internet Week attendees realize that the era when only one-way communication was sufficient is over.  Barking at people about what your company feels is important with timing of your company’s choosing will no longer cut it. Companies can still craft messages, but that they also need to listen, engage, and do it all in a timely, relevant manner. Just as it wouldn’t be a good idea to crash a bar party and thrust your business cards into everyone’s hands suddenly without an introduction and some conversation, this holds true for today’s online business presence as well. Also, timing is important. Even if you love animals, if you’re not expecting a dog to bark, and he does suddenly, it can be startling. If in real estate, it’s “location, location, location”, then in social media it’s “timing, timing, timing”. People and companies are surely more receptive when the timing is right.

Hope these 3 “bar” tips I’ve shared here are helpful and satisfying. Speaking of satisfying, all this “bar” talk is making me crave a bar of a different kind. (Hmm. Should I go with milk or dark?) It must be Internet Week sweets truck withdrawal.

-Stephanie Grayson (@Critiques4Geeks)

Stephanie Grayson is an experienced corporate communications professional in New York who sometimes guest-blogs on PR and Advertising when cool people ask her to.

The first week of classes in college is typically known as “Syllabus Week.” Professors hand out the most important document for the class which outlines learning expectations, the books that need to be purchased, homework assignments, and dates of exams. Nothing is really taught or learned during those first few days as students add and drop classes in an effort to craft the perfect schedule.

Meanwhile in the working world, there is no class syllabus and no syllabus week. In my first hour at Affect, I was warmly greeted, taken on a tour of the office, given a brief orientation, and then was given a hands on assignment. Interns here don’t learn from a book, instead we engage in projects that contribute to the team. I’ve already been assigned to different client accounts and actually feel like my work makes an impact.

In school, I was able to anticipate when my workload would be the heaviest and prepared because my courses were predictable. The field of Public Relations is not so foreseeable, especially when dealing with Social Media, which is what keeps it interesting. One day last week, an urgent project came up and I had to put aside all of my assignments. Of course, the rest of my duties still had to be finished that day – thank you past extracurricular activities to help me through the stress. Even though it was only my third day at the office, I was being entrusted with something important. It’s clear the promises Affect made in the New York Intern Project contest were definitely not empty ones.

Home for the Summer

For the summer I’m living in Brooklyn at a building specializing in short term housing for interns. I’ve made a lot of friends who are working at various companies all over the city, and each weekday we venture out to our respective internships then return home and all eat dinner together while we reminisce about our days. In talking with many other New York City interns, I’ve found that each company differs with regards to intern programs and that I definitely earned a place in the program that fits me best. With one week of the internship done, I am excited to see what will happen next!

Read more about Pat’s time at Affect throughout the summer right here as he details his time in New York City.