Measuring the Effectiveness of CGM

When researching an advertisers biggest problem you will find that measurement tools are at the top of the list. BuzzLogic is helping to relieve some of this frustration. By implementing the four metrics below a company can determine the influential players in social media:

• Site's contextual relevance to a topic area specified by the client

• Frequency of content publication on the topic

• Number of inbound links

• Traffic

By using these tools , marketers can successfully target their ads and media toward the proper audience, leading to greater promotion. Consumer generated media executed successfully will identify and market to a firm's consumers in a more efficient manner.

A Milestone for CGM

March 25th was the day the world changed, at least the online world as it pertains to consumer-generated media, according to a MarketingVox article. YouTube hosted its first video awards and the turn out was a great success! One winner had 13 million consumers trafficking their video.

Online video sharing is something that is accessible to consumers and businesses, so lets wed the two. Marketers can place ads alongside the videos, sponsor the videos and add their own online videos to YouTube.

Demand for this medium is high and marketers need to respond quickly. Advertising content targeted at different segments can easily be applied and should. Some marketers fear openness of content as they think it could compromise the brand's identity, but really what a corporation is doing is building a relationship with its target markets by way of social media.

Corporate Dominance leads to Angry Users of CGM

There may be a trend forming, when a corporation (with its conservative policy) aquires a start-up the start-up usually has to conform to its new owner. Recently, News Corp. has begun to regulate its social networking site MySpace more, according to a MarketingVox article.

MySpace was designed to provide a community for users to share information whether by way of blogs or music videos; it was meant to provide open communication. Many users have begun throwing around the First Amendment like it was a hacky sack.

Users must realize that there is a balancing act between protecting the company from copyright infringement, which can happen all to readily on a user generated site and allowing users the ability to express themselves freely. As technology becomes more advanced users need to understand the benefits and drawbacks. Let the corporations do what they need to because in the long run it's better for users as a whole.

Building Loyalty Through Relationships

Building affinities with consumers is key to maintaining a long-lasting relationship and Enclave Affinitive has developed the components to establish that contingency. The site provides a community where consumers can research and educate themselves on everything from advertisements to products, and give their feedback. The site also allows consumers to develop their own content, using videos, reviews, banners and icons.

By providing such a range of self expression, viral marketing takes off. Users can invite others to this site, which creates buzz around the site's abilities. Enthused users will remain loyal and build their trust with one another and the various brands discussed.

The benefit of sites like Enclave to other businesses is all the consumer-generated media it provides. Consumers share their likes and dislikes while providing an abundance of information on themselves. Businesses can then use this information to better target these groups through modified products and advertising.