tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post8975141665703846677..comments2023-10-18T08:32:17.510-07:00Comments on Kevin Hillstrom: MineThatData: Social Media Snake Oil? Yes? No?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-89410687587778215482009-12-11T06:47:18.862-08:002009-12-11T06:47:18.862-08:00You describe a situation that is good for you, Ale...You describe a situation that is good for you, Alex. Now, where is the ROI?<br /><br />Somebody has to demonstrate a return on investment, or what we're looking at is simply a customer service channel ... and there is absolutely nothing wrong with a customer service channel, we've had those for decades and they're good for customers.<br /><br />You get personal value. <br /><br />Prove where the ROI is for Omniture.MineThatDatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014200122021988374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-18174460636157797782009-12-11T06:17:32.867-08:002009-12-11T06:17:32.867-08:00Very valid point, particularly as it relates to De...Very valid point, particularly as it relates to Dell's revenue- I agree entirely with that number being rather irrelevent.<br /><br />However, with regards to help being the same over e-mail/phone, I'll disagree. Sure, Ben Gaines as an individual resource would probably remain, but part of the power of sending a tweet his way is that the issue is generally picked up by the #omniture community.<br /><br />In effect, Twitter offers a medium by which I publicly ask a group of experts to help me out, and they do so free of charge. In this sense, @omniturecares is a catalyst to get the conversation going, and others hop on and off the wagon as they deem fit. <br /><br />Put another way, he's the seeder of the Torrent, and others hop on and off as they deem fit, in some instances powering group solutions to difficult problems. Remove the Torrent seeder and sure, people may go back to FTP sites, newsgroups and what not to satisfy their pre-torrent habits, but in many ways, the new method offered a value that is tough to recapture.<br /><br />Now I suppose you could counter that a forum, IRC chat room or newsgroup would be capable of the same things, but Twitter is more plugged in with experts/practitioners at all levels than any other tool I've seen. Perhaps in that sense, it is the people, not the medium that matters, and Twitter merely holds the most captive audience at this point. Regardless, I don't know where else I could currently get the personal value out of Twitter that I get now.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10120685415417655234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-26356214731450238492009-12-10T17:59:37.370-08:002009-12-10T17:59:37.370-08:00One of the things we struggle with is the concept ...One of the things we struggle with is the concept of "cannibalization".<br /><br />In other words, if I stopped writing books, I am confident that I'd lose half of the business I attribute to books, while the other half of the business would still happen, just through other "channels" like the blog and conferences and maybe white papers.<br /><br />Now, ask Dell what happens if they shut down their Twitter presence. Do they truly lose all $6.5 million in sales? I highly doubt it.<br /><br />This is the problem that social media has to overcome. Social Media ends up being lower on the customer consideration pecking order, if you will. Sure, you can get help via Twitter, but if that didn't exist, there'd be nothing stopping one from sending an e-mail, using the phone to place a call, or getting advice on a message board.<br /><br />At some point, we saturate ourselves with too much communication, and as a result, not everything pays back. Sure, it seems like it does, but the lower a channel is on the pecking order, the easiest it is to replace if it is gone.<br /><br />For Twitter, that is a challenge they have to overcome.MineThatDatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014200122021988374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-48372149741313582282009-12-10T12:23:22.107-08:002009-12-10T12:23:22.107-08:00To clarify, I don't think it's unfair to T...To clarify, I don't think it's unfair to TRY and evaluate Twitter on the basis of dollars. I try to do that every day.<br /><br />I also acknowledge that ultimately, I have failed at it unto this point, but my belief in its value is still there-- and it is valuable to me as an individual, (I suspect it is, or could be valuable to you as well). I also suspect that the more esoteric your field/question, the more valuable Twitter and good connections are. Googling for how to hack apart an Omniture plugin so that I can classify an action as a success event didn't yield many results ;)<br /><br />Finally, at least for one company, their presence on Twitter makes me a happier and more loyal customer. I can't be alone.Alex Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-87767737306319386972009-12-10T11:28:08.334-08:002009-12-10T11:28:08.334-08:00I don't think there's any issue with attem...I don't think there's any issue with attempting to put a dollar figure on the viability of using a medium. The challenge with Twitter (or social media in general) is attributing the sale or the lead to those initial Twitter interactions.<br /><br />But I agree, it's good to put Twitter under a microscope and question whether it's worthwhile to continue utilizing it for whatever purposes. <br /><br />Great discussion!Marchttp://www.exclamationmarc.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-25527457486632024362009-12-10T11:03:58.888-08:002009-12-10T11:03:58.888-08:00How about the rest of you? Do you side with Alex ...How about the rest of you? Do you side with Alex B and his thoughts? Is this an issue of me not using Twitter in the right way? Is this an issue of it not being fair to evaluate something on the basis of dollars/profit? And if value is not to be meausured via dollars, then of what value is "value" anyway?<br /><br />Thoughts?MineThatDatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014200122021988374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-59804148710027493562009-12-10T10:52:25.215-08:002009-12-10T10:52:25.215-08:00You raise an excellent point about the Dell factoi...You raise an excellent point about the Dell factoid and how utterly irrelevant it is in the grand scheme of things, but you gloss over the value of Twitter (albeit one that is hard to quantify) a bit unfairly when pointing only to your revenue.<br /><br />From an individual standpoint, Twitter offers connections to practitioners in your field-- some of the brightest minds available really, who you can bounce ideas off of. I personally do this frequently, and it has made me a better analyst, and exposed me to better ways to do my job. Just yesterday I threw out a question and got two highly technical and custom solutions to my problem. Perhaps you're just not asking the right questions? <br /><br />At a corporate level, you're right that, for your situation Twitter probably wont bring in much revenue and there is certainly a level of snake oil involved, but there are companies that, through support online, can win loyal customers without being credited in dollars. <br /><br />For example, I know that being able to ping @omniturecares on Twitter for example is a HUGE benefit to the Omniture platform in my eyes. I would miss that feature greatly if I were to switch platforms, because I would instantly lose an excellent resource that can answer almost any question I have.<br /><br />In sum, measuring value in the Social Media world right now is very difficult to do-- you're right to seize on the one data point trumpeted about and call shenanigans, but don't throw the baby out with the bath water, there is value, and there are other people aside from yourself working actively to try and capture it.Alex Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-45723614292429213282009-12-10T10:37:15.762-08:002009-12-10T10:37:15.762-08:00Thanks for the honest stats... It's refreshing...Thanks for the honest stats... It's refreshing to see concrete data amidst all the social media experts saying "nice words".<br /><br />We've found Twitter / Facebook to be another outlet for getting the word out, giving a little back, making business connections, and helping with SEO. As a direct sales tool for a hosting company, it's probably in the 0.1 - 0.5% range, but the intangibles of building a reputation and developing relationships are hard to measure, but are certainly there.<br /><br />It remains to be seen how effective a direct sales tool each social media arena is...<br /><br />Rob - LexiConnRob Mangiaficohttp://www.lexiconn.com/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-83034946170797888622009-12-10T10:04:30.467-08:002009-12-10T10:04:30.467-08:00Thank you folks, all good comments. There are sel...Thank you folks, all good comments. There are seldom right or wrong answers to these topics, just lots of good things to consider.MineThatDatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014200122021988374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-11496533811198316832009-12-10T09:35:23.640-08:002009-12-10T09:35:23.640-08:00Another thing to consider as well is sales after t...Another thing to consider as well is sales after the initial impression. <br /><br />Not sure how Dell measured their sales from Twitter. But also consider the sale that occurs at a later date. 30-90 days that happen after they initially discover the Dell outlet from a tweet.Marchttp://www.exclamationmarc.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-13932570982276937732009-12-10T08:41:57.369-08:002009-12-10T08:41:57.369-08:00Marketing is all about impressions.
Twitter is ju...Marketing is all about impressions.<br /><br />Twitter is just another tool for generating impressions.<br /><br />Folks that purchase your books, who then recommend them to colleagues, who then direct senior management to your blog could very well have discovered you on Twitter.<br /><br />All these tools and media build on each other. Just as each channel in multi-channel retail affects other channels so does each media impression.<br /><br />The big takeaway I see for you, Kevin, is to post more blog articles and distribute and promote them through Twitter and other channels.Jeremy Brownhttp://twitter.com/JBGurunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-46679887727977889212009-12-10T08:25:57.786-08:002009-12-10T08:25:57.786-08:00Great perspective on the Dell Twitter success. But...Great perspective on the Dell Twitter success. But wonder how much effort & resources they put into Twitter to get that $6.5 in sales, vs trying to use other methods to generate the same amount of sales from their outlets. They're markup is probably also higher on outlet items as they're refurbished (assuming here).Marchttp://www.exclamationmarc.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-39768408020471257002009-12-10T07:20:11.057-08:002009-12-10T07:20:11.057-08:00Sames goes for vendors! Great post!Sames goes for vendors! Great post!ikongsgfhttp://twitter.com/ikongsgfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32202893.post-70184834608621325092009-12-09T23:21:47.431-08:002009-12-09T23:21:47.431-08:00Not all consultants that follow you are competitor...Not all consultants that follow you are competitors, Kevin. Many of us are students.... Keep on teachin'!John Caldwellhttp://redpillemail.comnoreply@blogger.com