The latest paper circulation figures for January have been released in the last few days. As we all know the national press has had a turbulent time over the past year and in particular with the News of The World closing there was much speculation as to where all that paper’s readers would go.

Social media seems to have become a buzzword. Most modern marketers would find the question “Do I need a social media strategy?” a no-brainer – as much as the noughties equivalent: “Does my company need a website?”

But what place does such a qualitative, PR-based medium have in the world of Direct Marketing? Any company writing about their latest social media success tends to talk about it in terms of top-line figures: numbers of followers, re-tweets, the number of fans accumulated within X number of hours etc. The success of social media campaigns tends to be measured from the outside, the end result. But why? Because it’s just so difficult to justify how you got there!

However, despite the fact that few marketers seem to be brave enough to utter the terms “ROI” and “social media” in the same sentence, there are platforms emerging which allow the creation and strategic tracking of social network campaigns. One such platform has been developed by the Oxford-based company EngageSciences. The software was developed from two simple premises: the first, based on market research by IBM and Experian Hitwise, is that those who ‘Like’ fan pages on social networks are most likely to do so if they know they’re getting something in return; and secondly, that successful harnessing of social media is achieved by identifying the greatest influencers amongst existing fans. A good campaign will therefore identify and maximise individual channels of potential.

In return for offers and vouchers, the individual is invited to 'Like' a Facebook page, by their friends or by the company, which then subsequently allows the EngageSciences software to track their level of interaction with the fan page and the extent to which they share this activity with their friends. Both of which, of course, vary hugely from user to user, meaning that the most ‘generous’ fans may then be segmented for targeted messaging and offers.

It does seem then that marketers are beginning to harness social media by understanding consumer motivation and embracing the mechanism upon which social networks thrive.

So, are there any other learnings to be taken from this? The day appears to have arrived where a direct marketer is forced to acknowledge the value of earning attention from its customers. ROI is increasingly becoming a reflexive concept: it is no longer the concern solely of the marketer, as customers have a greater range of brands than ever to choose from, each with a similar offering.

From here on there are two routes: the first is increasingly targeted marketing; the product of more and more sophisticated insight. And the second? Attention earned through knowing exactly what your customers will listen to. In an increasingly cluttered marketplace, it’s worth learning a thing or two about the latter.

Sarah Greaney
Analyst

Read more http://mikecollingandcompany.blogspot.com/2012/01/roi-under-spotlight.html

We live, allegedly, in a world of austerity. It is accepted wisdom that all consumers are wearing hair shirts, spending no money and are as miserable as sin.  No marketing activity can overcome this. Especially on Blue Monday.

Bearing in mind prediction is very difficult, especially about the future; who could have foreseen the demise of the News of the World in such torrid circumstances, it’s still worth a crack.

So here are a few pretty safe 2012 predictions - famous last words! Not surprisingly, it’s going to be a big year for TV. London 2012 Olympics,

I attended the Financial Services Forum annual conference this Monday and found it really inspiring. A lot of what was said, although aimed at financial services clients, can be applied to most businesses.

Dave Trott creative legend who brought us the brilliant Hello Tosh campaign in the 80s talked about making things simple. To him this means talking the language of the "punter" not the marketer.  He is right when he says it's a mark of a really clever person to take complext ideas and make them simple.