Let’s step outside of the echo chamber for a minute.
Does social media marketing matter?
What I want to know is, how does this stuff impact the bottom line? As a consumer (and apologies, biased towards the US – with our weak currency, these examples carry less efficacy when everything looks like it’s discounted 30 – 50%), I’m curious to know if you have ever done any of the following. (Partial credit on examples to Mashable and Jeremiah.)
Add up points as you go:
+3 points:
- Switched cable, internet, or phone providers after Comcast Must Die or Sleeping Technician
- Bought a brand other than Nikon after the blogger campaign
- Bought shoes from Zappos after interacting on Twitter
- Bought a Blendtec blender
+2 points:
- Stopped shopping at Target after the Times Square billboard
- Stopped shopping at Wal-Mart after the fake blog
- Switched laptops after reading about Dell Hell
- Purchased a Kodak product after reading posts from their chief blogger
+1 point:
- Subscribed to a magazine after joining its Facebook group
- Eaten at McDonald’s after reading their corporate social responsibility blog
- Booked a flight on Southwest or Delta after reading their blogs
- Booked a hotel stay at Starwood or Marriott after reading their blogs
-2 points for any of the following:
- Became a regular viewer of Aqua Teen Hunger Force after the "bomb scare"
- Bought Doritos after the consumer-generated Super Bowl ad
- Joined Facebook after hearing about it on your local evening news
- Bought a Sony PSP as a Christmas 2006 gift anyway
- Have ever been Rickroll’d
So how’d you score?
- Over 20: Congratulations. You are a bonafide social media activist. You not only hear about marketing memes, your actions are proof that social media marketing matters.
- +20 to +11: Well done. You are personally in tune with the wisdom of the crowds. Did I see you on the cover of Here Comes Everybody?
- +10 to +1: Hmm…I bet you’ve heard of all these examples, yet have not been influenced. The force is strong in you. You must be a social media consultant.
- Less than zero: Who are you and how did you end up reading my blog? Are you reading this post as a printout on a piece of paper?
I think most people will score zero…which is why I asked the initial question. How did you score?