Author Archives: Jan Wong

5 Reasons Why #SocialMedia Contradicts Conventional Media Marketing

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The more I dive deeper into social media, the more I see how different is marketing today compared to before with the usage of various social media tools and platforms. The conventional way of ‘mass marketing’ or ‘mass advertising’ don’t seem to work that effectively anymore and even some small business owners are beginning to explore this new ‘thing’ called social media.

Before we go further, there’s this VERY interesting video on YouTube that you HAVE TO watch:

Interesting huh? With those thoughts on your mind, here are the 5 reasons why social media marketing contradicts conventional marketing methods:

#1: Conventional Marketing Says TALK. Social Media Marketing Says LISTEN.

Just like the video above, conventional marketing does all the talking and they’ll just go on and on to promote their products and brand just like how this sentence will go on and on without any punctuations and you’ll have to read the entire sentence in one breath and yet it still does not end because they’ll want you to buy and if you don’t they’ll keep talking and talking.

In other words, it’s just a ONE way relationship. Consumers today respond better to conversations. Remember, a conversation is TWO way. Before you click that “update” button, think – will YOU as a consumer respond to a post / update / tweet like that? How does that reflect you as a business? Is it too pitchy? Are you giving an opportunity for your followers to respond?

#2: Conventional Marketing Says KEEP. Social Media Marketing Says SHARE.

Content used to be exclusive. My research is mine. My video is mine. My article is mine. My statements are mine. Can’t blame them though, there isn’t any content sharing platform back then. However, such content were considered as trade secrets and even employees are not told of it.

Today, social media marketing is all about sharing. It is about getting as many people to share the message as possible. Call to actions are no longer limited to “Enter Your Email to Win Prizes” but to “Share This With As Many Friends As Possible to Win”. Companies are even creating content solely for sharing purposes – through SEO (you want to share your content), viral videos, contests and more!

#3: Conventional Marketing Says SELL. Social Media Marketing Says GIVE.

Conventional marketing focuses on the money. You have to pay if you want something from me. Makes sense, right? However in social media marketing, it’s all about giving, and believing in the philosophy of ‘givers gain’. Giving does not necessarily mean money, but VALUE. This can be done through information, service, support and even conversations to keep that relationship with your consumers alive.

#4: MONEY Determines Conventional Marketing. ENGAGEMENT Determines Social Media Marketing.

The rich becomes richer and the poor poorer in conventional marketing. Big corporations have millions of dollars every year to put up huge marketing campaigns with their brand plastered on every wall, ceiling, car and walkways, so much so that it feels as though they dropped a bomb in a city and yes, they do get the word out rather effectively – with a lot of money.

Not so on social media platforms. Money helps, but it does not necessarily produce results. The engagement and relationship speaks louder on social media. Think about it – what is it that really makes a content viral? The content? Or the consumers? The consumers make it happen. Yes, you can purchase fans and followers but that is equivalent of hiring a delivery boy to hand out your flyers and that does not go very well on social media.

This is where smaller businesses stand a chance against the big guys.

#5: Conventional Marketing Says QUANTITY. Social Media Marketing Says QUALITY.

Now this is an interesting one. Many have spoken on this before and I, too have written an article about quality isn’t exactly everything on social media networks (yes, I believe quantity matters, too!). However when it comes to conventional marketing, quantity ALWAYS matters. Think about it: the number of flyers, brochures, airtime, commercial spots, newspaper advertisements, coupons to giveaway, buntings, billboards… you get the drift.

Social media marketing on the other hand, aims for quality. Quality articles that educates, quality fans and followers that become your brand advocates, quality updates to drive conversations and quality conversations to build relationships.

Moving Forward

Recently I met with a potential client that just could not comprehend why would people blog to share personal / company information, update their status so that others would know what they’re up to and ‘check-in’ so that people could stalk them. He knows he needs to ‘do’ social media but just can’t get the reason why are people so into it.

Having looked at all that, it is clear that social media marketing really DOES NOT make sense to a conventional marketer. If you’ve been wondering why is it so difficult to convince an “experienced” marketer in your company (or client) to adopt social media methods, it is because it does not make sense to them.

It’s sharing time! Are there any other areas that conventional marketing efforts contradicts social media marketing? Do leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

Websites vs Blogs: Which is More Superior?

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I’ve been on #TweetDiner (a weekly chat on Twitter) for about a month now and it has been really awesome thus far! Met a number of great people and have definitely learnt quite a bit from fellow diners. If you do not know how it works, we have a topic every week and we’ve been talking about LinkedIn last month and today we started on the series of Blogging (click here to see what’s coming up next).

While discussing about Blogs, there was a mini discussion about the differences between a Blog and a Website. How different is a Blog from a Website? Should every business Blog? Is a Blog a Website?

A quick ‘define’ function on Google tells us that:

A blog is a personal website on which an individual records opinion, links to other sites, etc. on a regular basis.

A website is a location connected to the Internet that maintains one or more pages on the World Wide Web.

What does this mean?

To me, this means that Blogs are merely a subset of a Website, in which a Website encompasses everything on the Internet – from Blogs, Forums, Social Networking Sites, Search Engines, Shopping Carts and etc. In other words, Blogs, Forums and Social Networking Sites are merely functions to a Website.

Blogs

Blogs in general operates as a Content Management System (CMS). If you were one of those that had a GeoCities site years ago, you were technically already “blogging” back then. The term ‘Blog’ only came into being when people started keeping online (or web) journals (or logs) on different Websites. Having said that, it is no wonder a Blog allows you to create, manage and publish contents so easily – just like what a CMS does.

Websites

Here comes the tricky part. True, traditional websites are built to have static information on what we call HTML. Content updating was a tiresome task and requires technical skills to do so which is why web designers earn up to RM10,000 (about USD3,000) back then for a simple HTML website. As technology grew, people found a way to update content the easier (and cheaper) way – through CMS.

W3Techs: Research shows that WordPress is the most widely used CMS

Which Reigns Superior?

As you can see, that is an unfair comparison. Websites encompasses (and can be a combination) of everything which is naturally more superior to Blogs.

Should / Can A Company Use a Blog as their Website?

PLEASE DO. An ordinary user may only look at WordPress as a publishing (i.e. Blog) tool. Did you know that that very same blogging tool you have holds great power (sorry, couldn’t resist that one)?

Let’s take a look at some examples of companies using WordPress as their Website, both old and new:

www.kb24.com

Interesting, no?

Some of these sites don’t even look like a Blog! How do we know it is WordPress? Simple. Simply right click on any Website and select “View Page Source”. You’ll be presented with a whole bunch of codes somewhat like below:

revealing the source code

Some sites choose to rename the path to something else but if you’re familiar with the codes WordPress uses, you may be able to spot which is and which is not :)

3 Reasons Why You Want to Use WordPress As Your Website

#1: It’s Easy To Get Started

Head over to www.WordPress.org and you’ll know what I mean. Installing WordPress is as easy 1-2-3, within 5 minutes! It’s all about downloading the file, uploading it to your web host, put in your details and that’s about it. There’s even a VERY detailed guide to guide you on it. You’ll no longer need a web developer to do the job.

#2: It’s Easy to Manage

With WordPress as your CMS, you can now add your company’s content to it just like how you’re blogging. If you’re not ready to roll out periodic updates, play with the ‘Pages’ and put up the necessities – “About Us”, “Contact Us”, “Our Services” and etc.

#3: It’s Easy to Grow

Getting tired of your Website? Change the theme simply by downloading a new one, adding new functionalities with WordPress Plugins, Widgets and more! If you didn’t know, there are Plugins for inventory management, shopping cart, community membership and a whole lot more.

What are your thoughts on using WordPress as a corporate site? Have you used WordPress for other purposes other than blogging?

credits to: 1stwebdesigner.com

 

5 #SocialMedia Lessons We Can Learn From The Dot-com Boom (and bust!)

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A few days ago I posted an article about how we’ve move away from the ‘E’ to the ‘Social’ era and it is interesting to note how far have we came since those days. I’m definitely happy to have witnessed the beginning of the Internet, the glorious days of Netscape Navigator (it was THE web browser, if you didn’t know), the rise of ICQ and the list goes on.

Looking back at those times, there are 5 lessons we can actually learn from to be applied in today’s ‘social’ world.

Lesson #1: Only The Fools Rush In

I personally know of someone that bought many domain names during the dot-com boom at a hefty price. He was convinced that they’re going to sell because he saw the potential of the internet. Some of these domain names were pretty good (and we’ve seen how people have been making big bucks of it) so he held on to them, just waiting for the right time.. until today – and it’s still there.

It is no longer a time where the number of accounts / websites you have make you look good. In fact, it hardly even matters anymore. It is all about having the right tools to do the right job. Don’t get me wrong – I have nothing against securing long-tail-keyworded domain names, unique Twitter handles or Facebook usernames but the question is: does that help you in achieving your goals or will it merely pull you down? Understand where your target audience is and focus in making that work for you and your customers.

Lesson #2: It’s Just Not a Numbers Game

Now, you may be thinking that it is still a numbers game as metrics such as number of unique visitors, click throughs, retweets and shares are important in measuring ROI on social media. That’s true, to a certain extent. However, most businesses today are looking towards the level of engagement you have on social media.

In other words, you may have 1,000 page views per day but if you’re unable to receive any kind of response (e.g. retweets, shares or comments), it still does not justify anything. Same goes to the number of followers or the number of fans on your Facebook page. It’s the level of engagement that counts and the number is secondary. Focus on building relationships with your customers by catching up with them every once in awhile.

Lesson #3: The Stakes are Higher

Gone were the days that you can simply start a business website, ignore the customers and yet make sales. With social networks kicking in, the news can travel within literally a click of a button. Social media has empowered customers to be more vocal and open with their thoughts, which can be both advantageous and detrimental to your business.

Which side do you want to be on? I’d prefer the former. If you’re like me, you would definitely want to listen to what the customers have to say and get them talking positively about you.

Lesson #4: It is No Longer About You

Your website looks impressive. You’ve utilized text, images and videos effectively and you have stated all your strengths and abilities to the very best – in fact, you look like an expert, second to none in the industry. What’s your social presence / credibility? Zero. You can talk about yourself all that you want on your website, Facebook and Twitter accounts but customers do not care. Rather, they’ll run away on sight.

Customers have become the focal point in every brand / business that is online. What good is your expertise if there’s nobody to share it with? Use your expertise to provide value to the network and you’ll be amazed with what you’ll receive in the long run. If you’re a consultant, blogs and webinars may be a good platform. If you’re in retail, Twitter and Facebook may help you get your products out faster than you would think, especially if you make it share-worthy, minus the sales pitch. See @geekbabe’s experience with Pretzel Crisps!

Lesson #5: Sharing is Caring

I don’t know about you but it would seem that most business websites were a little stingy in the past. There was nothing about sharing except Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V and every website kept it’s information to their own. You also end up signing up with tons of websites because they all require you to sign up with them.

facebook like buttonWhile that seemed common back then, it is a whole new world today. Businesses are asking for their content to be shared by putting up share widgets, asking for likes and retweets, RSS allows content to be taken and published elsewhere, even account creation is minimized as many websites now integrate social media logins / verifications through Facebook and Twitter. Businesses see the importance of establishing a presence online today and having a website today becomes a necessity rather than a want.

Is your content shareable? If not, it’s time to make the change!

What in the World is Happening?

This is the social era and much have changed since the ‘E’ days. Businesses are becoming more transparent in their processes and knowledge simply because they realize the importance of providing value to their customers. When will the Social era end? Not soon – because being social is what humans do best. We are made to be social and this may just be the beginning of something bigger.

What have you learnt from the ‘E’ era? What other differences can you spot with today’s Social era? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!

 

#SocialMedia Lessons from My Visit to @StarbucksMY

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Just about 3 days ago I had an appointment with a potential client at a Starbucks outlet in town. Being one that frequents Starbucks quite often especially for discussions, I walked into this particular outlet without any expectations – already with a drink in mind.

I opened the door, stepped into the outlet and the baristas on duty turned and welcomed me. Nothing special here, most Starbucks outlets do that. It’s also a common sight in many cafes around the area.

I continued walking to the counter into the queue and something caught my attention. The barista introduced herself to the customer in front of me, got the customer’s name and began conversing with the customer by name. She eventually wrote the customer’s name on the cup and have been addressing the customer by name ever since.

I was impressed. Even after I got my drink I stood to observe just a little longer and all the baristas were doing the same – something totally different from the other outlets I’ve been to.

What’s the deal over here?

I can’t help but to think that businesses and individuals can learn a great deal from the situation above in their social media endeavors.

Here are 4 lessons I’ve learnt from this visit:

#1: A Warm Welcome – Welcomes are no longer a ‘good to have’ today. It is now a ‘must have’. Customers have grown to expect a welcome as it also makes them feel important and recognized.

welcome to janwong.my

#2: Personalization – This is the tricky part. On social media platforms such as Twitter, many are seen to be using automated tools to do the welcoming (auto DMs, anyone?). The least you can do is to take a few minutes to look at your new followers’ Twitter profile or blog and to address them by name. I usually try my best to give my new followers a shout out on Twitter to create an opportunity to get to know them better.

#3: Be Genuine – “Be yourself. People can sense when something is forced” @BrandonPDuncan. Take genuine interest in your followers by getting to know them first. There are plenty of ways to do this – read their blog, check out their Facebook page or their tweets. You can never pretend to know them.

#4: Consistency – The last thing you would want to be is to be inconsistent. Whether as a brand or an individual, consistency is key to build your presence and a lasting perception. I would say that you shouldn’t start off anything if you doubt you can stick with it. It may do you more harm than good.

Is there anything I missed? I would love to hear your thoughts on how businesses can enhance the experience of their fans and followers.

Social is the New ‘E’

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Just a couple of years back, the world was into the ‘E’ phase – ‘E’lectronic Mails, ‘E’lectronic Commerce, ‘E’lectronic Portals and the list go on. What’s happening to the ‘E’ today? How are the ‘E’s holding up?

7 ‘E’s that became Social

from e to socialWhat other ‘E’s have I missed? What’s the ‘Social’ equivalent of it? Do share them below!

Are You Taking #SocialMedia Seriously: 23 Complaints = 10,000 Dissatisfactions!

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Just a couple of days ago, my good Twen @AskAaronLee tweeted an interesting stat:

Tweet by @AskAaronLee

Interesting, huh? It has much truth in that.

Many businesses and individuals go on social media to leverage upon it’s strengths and opportunities. You hear of testimonials of how great comments and feedbacks have benefited them and their business. Are we overlooking something over here? If positive feedbacks spread well on social media networks, negative feedbacks spread even better.

If that does illustrate the magnitude of dreadfulness, here is a scary calculation:

For every ONE complaining customer, there are an average of 26 customers who don’t bother to complain = 27 unhappy customers

27 unhappy customers x an average 16 people they will tell = 432 dissatisfactions

And this is just for ONE complaining customer.

What if we have 23 of them?

23 complains x 432 dissatisfactions = 9,936 dissatisfactions for every 23 complains!

How scary is THAT?

If it’s still not scary enough – understand this:

This research was done WITHOUT the involvement social media networks.

Which also means that the figures above were calculated based on conventional means of communication. Having that said, imagine what will happen with social media?

Using a similar calculation, if you have 1 dissatisfied fan on your Facebook Fan Page, that again totals to 27 dissatisfied fans.

If each fan has an average of 130 friends, 27 unhappy friends = 3,510 negative impressions on Facebook alone.

What happens if you’ve more?

Think again before ignoring that complain – it may cost you more than you thought it would. It is never ‘just a fan’ on social media. It is ‘what the fan can / would do’.

It will be awesome to hear your thoughts regarding the findings above!

Resource Source: White House Office of Consumer Affairs, Washington, DC

Are You Building a Ghost Town on #SocialMedia?

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With over 600 million users connected via Facebook and 200 million on Twitter, it seems almost impossible to be on the network yet have nobody noticing you or your business. Is that right? In fact, many businesses think that they’ll automatically be spotted by millions of fans just by hooking up unto the social network.

A recent discussion with Andrew (@hanelly) from TMG Media got me thinking – how are these businesses doing on the social network? What kind of network are they building? Are they building a Ghost Town or a growing Business Hub? Are YOU building a Ghost Town?

5 Indications of You Building A Ghost Town on Social Media

social media ghost town, tom fishburne

#1: Your last update / post was at least a month ago.

Last updated: December 2010.

What does that tell you? Perhaps it shows that I’m not interested in what I’m doing here anymore, I just couldn’t care less, or maybe I’ve closed down? Whatever the reason is – it’s not a good one. If your social media networks are idle, you’re simply telling your prospects and audience that you’re closed for business.

#2: You do not have the time to respond to comments.

Have you been to websites, blogs or Facebook pages that are filled with enquiries but they are not responded to? Some businesses even choose to respond to comments selectively – which is equally bad (or worst!). To respond is to communicate, to engage, and this is the essence of social media. If you’re on the social network only to push content, you may just want to consider advertising instead.

#3: Your blog / wall is populated by others (spam).

Your blog or Facebook wall is yours, which also mean that people that stops by expects to see your content. Facebook walls have the tendency to be filled with advertisements and updates from other users if not managed properly and it only reflects a negative image on you. Customers walk into Starbucks for a cup of coffee and not to buy pizzas.

#4: Nobody seems interested.

Open, but closed

Now this is a tough one. You’re spending a lot of time creating content, trying to open up opportunities for engagement but nobody seems to be listening to what you’re doing. This calls for a change. Try doing something different if you haven’t. Instead of trying to create conversations in your own blog / wall, go out and engage with others to build your network.

#5: You’ve abandoned the ship.

This is the worst that can happen! It is never, ever a good idea to abandon your social media networks if you’re still in business, simply because you’ll never know what will happen to it. It may become a spam paradise and it could be detrimental to your business in the long run. The least you could do is to delete / suspend those accounts if you’ve concluded that you’re not going to work on it further.

Are you building a ghost town?

I sure hope not! But if  you think you have any of the above indications, now it is a good time to do a check and find out what’s going on.

What are your thoughts on a social media ghost town? Ever been to one before?

Why Do People Forget the Basics and the Essence of #SocialMedia?

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In my previous post, I mentioned how keeping the basics right can actually bring about success in business or even in life for an individual. Right before I clicked on the “Publish” button – it got me thinking:

If being successful is as simple as just getting the basics right, why do people still fail to grasp the basics? What is it that is stopping them from succeeding in what they do – in business, on social media networks and in life?

It is not the techniques. It is not the skills. It is not that you do not know how. It is not the unavailability of guides or mentors. Sometimes, it is not even because you’re inexperienced (or very experienced). It is your MINDSET. That’s the component with the problem.

Here are 3 mindsets that may be holding you back from achieving success:

#1: Ignorance

Do you remember picking up that new piece of gadget, chucking the manual aside and begin fiddling with it immediately? That’s ignorance. You know that there is help somewhere (like, by searching Google) but it is somehow too bothersome. You prefer to have it hands-on to get working on something immediately, to learn from experience, but ended up taking more time than you should or missing out on a ‘killer feature’ on your gadget – and that could cost you.

#2: Common Sense / Know-it-all

The commonly known common sense isn’t really that common. Remember the times where you told yourself “Ah, I’ll never forget that. It’s common sense.” and you forget it when you need it the most? That happens because you’ve told your brain to put that aside and if you label all your findings and knowledge as ‘common sense’, you’ll never find them when you need them the most. I usually compile all useful resources into Microsoft OneNote. It isn’t the best software around, but it does what I need it to do – taking down notes and organizing them into separate categories.

#3: Complacent

When it comes to social media, learning happens everyday. You stop making progress the moment you decide to stop learning. Some businesses tend to relax when they’ve achieved what they set out to do thinking that the success stays with them. The truth is, your fans and followers can feel it when you’re laid back and eventually lose interest in you. It is important to keep your game up consistently and never remain too comfortable.

What do you think? What are the other thoughts that can derail one from being successful on social media?

How to: Be Successful in Business? Back to Basics

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Startup Weekend MalaysiaRecently I have been invited to the Startup Weekend Malaysia to experience the program and mingle around with people with great ideas. If you’re wondering, the Startup Weekend is a global initiative to assist aspiring (serious) entrepreneurs in making their first step to realize their business ideas. Each participant is given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to the room in 1-minute and the top 10 ideas (based on votes) will be selected and that’s where the real work begins – from forming teams, brainstorming, market research to prototype development.

The beauty of this program? Everyone leaves with a developed business idea. Cool, huh?

As I was listening to the individual pitches, observing and talking to these entrepreneurs, it made me once again realize the secret ingredient for success – whether it is in business, social media campaigns or even in life – and they really are the basics, nothing fancy or extraordinary.

One of the plenary sessions at the Startup Weekend Malaysia

Here are the 7 basic attributes to be successful:

#1: Dream

Every participant that came to the program had a dream – an idea, a business plan waiting to be fulfilled. They’ve probably been sleeping on it ever since it popped into their heads and they are just waiting for the opportunity to get it started.

What About You?: Do you have a dream? Do not be afraid to dream. Ideas only stop coming because you allowed it to. A rule – don’t set boundaries to your dream. Dream big!

Further reading: It’s time to dream!

#2: Passion

Even though the participants were only given 1-minute to pitch, their passion and enthusiasm is unmistakable. They are eager to see their business idea come to live and they obviously do not care if the rest thinks it is a silly / inviable idea. It’s theirs and they are proud that they own it.

What About You?: Do you have an idea but am afraid of what others might think? Stop yourself from thinking that way and let your passion take over. Sometimes, a silly idea turns great through passion – simply because you never stopped believing.

#3: Action

Passion is put to test when the participants are required to form teams to actually work on their ideas. This is where the participants had to really do something about it – to make the idea work, beyond just talking and sharing.

What About You?: Maybe it is time for you to take action and put that passion of yours to good use. Sitting on it won’t do any good. Action makes things happen.

Further reading: Passion without Action is dead!

#4: Determination

Let’s take a step back – even before the participants had to form teams, they had to gather votes from everyone present as only 10 ideas with the highest votes will be given the opportunity to form teams to drive the idea further. I particularly remember this participant, Aaron, that came up to me saying “Sir, will you give me an opportunity to share my idea with you?”. His idea wasn’t extraordinary but his passion and determination (and preliminary idea research) won my vote.

What About You?: How determined are you to make your idea a reality? Remember, it is always easier to give up but being successful in most cases, is like running a marathon. It’s a long journey but the reward is great.

#5: Team Work

It is interesting to see how the teams were formed at the Startup Weekend. Almost every team were looking for a developer, marketer and finance person simply because they understood that they cannot do it alone.

What About You?: No man is an island. You’ll definitely need a team to make up for your weaknesses. Get your team together and you’ll find that that’s the best decision you’ve ever made! It also helps you focus on what you need to do – managing and keeping the vision intact.

#6: Focus

From time to time again the participants were reminded to build a MVP – Most Viable Product, forgoing fancy features and functions and focusing on the must-haves, the actual benefits that the consumer wants.

What About You?: It is easy to get caught up with the cool features and add-ons of your plans but if you do not have anything to begin with, your ideas are nothing to begin with. Focus on getting the core benefits right THEN the add-ons. Remember, build a MVP!

Further reading: The 2 Secret Ingredients for a Successful Product

#7: Anticipation

People say that when Apple is building the very first iPhone, they already have the iPhone 4 and the iPad in mind, just waiting for the right time to roll them out. Build with the future in mind! Anticipate opportunities for expansion and problems that may occur.

What About You?: It is all about preparation. A scalable product will definitely have a larger potential and you may just capture the attention of investors are venture capitalists. Always be on your toes – you’ll never know when you’ll need to sprint forward ;)

Do you remember the time when you were just starting out? What drove / motivated you? I would love to hear your experience :)

 

A Simple Way to Score Your #SocialMedia Efforts (even if you’re new!)

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So I’ve been bombarded with stacks of degree assignments to mark in the past week and strange enough, the painful process of marking actually made me realize something that happens to be relevant to monitoring social media efforts. I can’t speak for other universities but for mine, we follow what we call a marking scheme or a marking grid which outlines the criteria in which the marks are allocated for e.g. Research and Analysis (20%), Flow of Thoughts (10%), Formatting (5%) and etc.

What Does Marking Have Got to Do with Social Media Monitoring?

Interestingly, quite a fair bit. Monitoring has always been a tedious process on social media and many individuals and companies are struggling to monitor the performance of their presence across social media networks. There are many great articles (like these) written on different measurements such as Conversion Rates, Feedbacks, Inbound Links, Unique Visits, Retweets, Clicks and the likes of it but many of these can still be rather complicated for someone new on social media. Also, how do one put all these together?

Is There Anything Simpler?

With the understanding of different individuals or businesses have different priorities and expectations on social media networks, you may want to consider producing a marking grid by 4 simple steps:

#1: Listing down all the criteria that you deem as important. For example, Number of Retweets and Shares, Comments and Feedbacks, Unique Visits, Number of Fans / Followers, Number of Impressions, Number of @Mentions and etc.

#2: Assigning a score to each of the criteria to a total of 100%. For example, Number of Retweets and Shares (10%), Comments and Feedbacks (30%)… you get the drift :)

#3: Set an end goal to each of the criteria (desirable vs non-desirable). This is so that you know how you’re doing throughout. For example, Number of Retweets and Shares – Desirable (>50 Retweets) vs Non-Desirable (<10 Retweets).

#4: Score yourself on a periodic basis. It’ll be great if you can do it weekly, else every two weeks – I won’t recommend going less than once a month. After all, the whole purpose of this is to track your progress, no?

Why You May Want to Consider This (Self-Created) Method

You may be reading this and have been wondering whether this works or whether it is appropriate for your situation. Should you consider a more professional / advanced tool instead of this method? Now, you may definitely require something more advanced than this method especially if you require more complex analysis and information but it can be a great start for you if you’ve just getting started.

Reason 1: It is built to your expectations. You set your own goals that caters to your own situation and environment. If you think that the number of visits to your site isn’t important (e.g. because you prefer to have a small but closely knit community), then assign the criteria with a lower score.

Reason 2: You do not need any fancy software or applications. Pen and paper will do but if you insist on using one, try Excel or any spreadsheet app, it is more than enough.

Reason 3: It is very straight forward. Also perhaps the easiest way to keep track of your progress. This way, you’ll also know where should you put that extra effort instead of just looking at fancy graphs trying to figure out what’s next.

What do you think? Do share with me your thoughts on the idea or even better if you’ve more to share!