1. Welcome, Lisa! Could you please describe your professional background? How has your work brought you to where you are now, a leader in social media strategy?
I started my career in partner-marketing, and transitioned into community management a few years later. Loving the social aspect that communities offered so much, I transferred into a social media channel management role. I made the move to Marketo last year and have been so excited to have the opportunity to lead social media for one of the leading marketing software companies in the world!
2. Describe your role/your team’s role within your organization. How has social media influenced the daily work of the business functions you touch?
I currently manage all of the social media marketing strategy for Marketo. We like to include social media marketing as a key component of any program within the organization; meaning, I touch everything from corporate social responsibility events to product launches, to content marketing. A few ways I’ve incorporated social media into our marketing strategy:
- Include social-sharing options in all of our content produced
- Have a presence on all major social channels both organically, and paid
- Host weekly live engagements via our social platforms (#marketochat, FB livestreaming, Periscope #marketolive) so audiences can engage with industry experts in real-time
- Manage an employee social advocacy platform to incentivize employees to share on social media
- Collaborate with content to ensure all Dollar General assets are promoted via the social channels; i.e., webinars, ebooks, Definitive Guides
- Manage social influencer outreach
- Customer support channel to answer inquiries and provide customer service
- Collaborate with corporate social responsibility to promote events
- #MKTGnation Summit
- Events
- Product launches
In fact, we just released a 100-page Definitive Guide to Social Media Marketing that dives into several aspects of social selling and marketing. It took several months of research, but it turned out to be such a huge success!
3. What is the unique role social media plays in the customer journey with your organization?
The fact is, social media touches buyers at every stage of their journey, which really makes it fun! And with every stage of the buyers’ journey being equally important, I approach each campaign with a holistic lens, thinking through beginning, mid, and late stage messaging.
Starting with the first touch, I want to drive brand awareness, capture audience interest, and establish the brand as a thought leader, expert in the field, and a go-to for advice.
(With 55% of B2B buyers doing their research by using social networks, social channels provide a real-time platform where buyers can share information, research products, and make informed decisions when it comes to their purchasing decisions.)
Next I look at engagement and try to get a little more granular with targeting and nurture strategies to help nudge a potential customer toward a conversion. I make an effort not be too pushy or “sales-y,” but instead take an informative approach. I want to provide value to our followers by taking an education first stance. Social media targeting with paid can be especially great when your buyers are showing interest in what you have to offer. In addition, I use organic listening and engagement to participate in chats, respond to inquiries, and start conversations.
Once your buyer has purchased the product and converted into a customer, social media really is a great way to create long-term relationships with lead to retention and loyalty. Continue to provide your followers with valuable content, customer service, and be actively engaging them when they share, and you’ll find customers feel valued and listened to.
The goal in social media is always to offer a great customer experience. Make your customers feel valued and they just may become your biggest advocates!
4. How are you measuring social media as its own marketing channel? What are the signposts of progress? How are you measuring social media as one channel within the broad spectrum of marketing?
I define progress based on what the business goals are for each campaign. If my goal is to acquire more leads/contacts, I’ll create a campaign around gated content and measure based on MQLs or SQLs. However, if my goal is to increase brand awareness, I’ll concentrate on producing ungated content such as an infographic or a fun video and monitor followers, engagement, and impressions. I’ll also dig a little deeper to see if influencers are mentioning us and the sentiment of conversations when our brand is mentioned.
It’s key to have a social relationship platform (SRP) such as Hootsuite, Sprinklr, or Buffer for social publishing on social networks, as well as a listening platform such as Simply Measured, Radian 6, or TrackMaven that can help you establish sentiment and share of voice. All of our social campaigns are integrated into our marketing automation platform so we can track pipeline and revenue. Here’s a simple way to breakdown how I measure campaigns:
Early Stage Metrics:
- Reach/Impressions
- CTR/Engagement
By integrating a Marketing Automation Platform, you can track:
- Conversions
- New Names, Cost per Lead/Acquisition
Mid-Stage Metrics:
- MQL/SQL
- Opportunity & Pipeline
Late Stage Metrics:
- Opportunities Won
- Revenue & ROI
- Customer LTV
5. Can you share an example of how social media uniquely impacts your customers, your organization?
Absolutely! Social is such a fun way to engage our customers and create long, meaningful relationships. For example, this year I launched a #marketochat program and have seen huge success! One of our Marketo Champions launched a weekly Google hangout where they “talk shop.” Through our engagement on social media, I’ve been able to encourage participation in his chats and vice versa. As a result, we’re working on a collaboration for our upcoming #MKTGnation Summit where I will be able to feature our Champions on our #marketochat and build that relationship even further. How awesome is that? We’re able to show our advocates how much we appreciate them, and in turn, they provide amazing content around our product every week. #Win!
