Social Media Footprint

People seem to be talking more about footprints nowadays. It used to be that superstitious folk would see them and speculate about what sort of creature had created them (Yeti, anyone?!). Recently, the footprint that seems most talked about is one’s carbon footprint. The implication being that this indicates the impact that we have on the environment through our use of natural resources, with such greater consciousness helping us to make “greener” lifestyle choices.

Now call me predictable, but this got some of the folk at R*M thinking about social media, and for wont of a better word, a brand’s Social Media Footprint – that is their impact in social media space. As such, our concept of a “Social Media Footprint”, is probably closest to that of a satellite’s footprint, that is the area of the earth’s surface from which a satellite’s signals can be received.

Why think about the Social Media Footprint of a brand, cause or organisation (let’s face it, in theory it could apply to any of these, and more)? Well, we believe it can provide a wealth of valuable information about brands. With the advent of Web 2.0, things aren’t as simple for marketers as they once were: instead of imposing a brand image or message upon consumers using a flurry of top-down strategies (and $$$$$), Web 2.0 has given consumers a voice. This apparent democratisation of the internet – and the media more generally (but there are other views…) – means that those who were previously voiceless now have a voice; the grassroots can be heard to root (bad pun, I know) for a particular favourite product. This is one aspect of a brand’s Social Media Footprint. The flipside of this being that the disenfranchised too can air their concerns and criticisms of a brand more vocally. This equal and opposite force is also an important part of the brand’s Social Media Footprint. In effect, this results in a combination of customer satisfaction surveys and focus groups involving key consumers freely available online. The only problem is tracking the information down and making sense of it, in order to get an accurate picture of the Social Media Footprint.

Fortunately – and unfortunately – for those of us in the social media arena, there is a lot of information out there, and a variety of conversation monitoring tools and services too. However, the mere existence of information and tools leaves us in a marginally better position than those superstitious folk out there looking at lesser-spotted-yeti-prints; without an experienced “animal expert” (there must be a fancier name for it than this…), you are in a difficult and complex position of trying to make sense of the footprints. For example, primarily this may concern the valence, or positivity/negativity of the conversations, as well as the conversational share that a particular brand has. Further, we may be looking to figure out what issues matter most in the discussion? What triggers a discussion? What makes a particular audience care or take action? That is the value of social media and marketing expertise to help interpret and contextualise the social media conversations, and the resulting Social Media Footprint in the grander scheme of things.

Our aim is therefore to provide a holistic approach (perhaps like managing one’s carbon footprint): From determining where the brand’s Social Media Footprint is located currently and helping a brand to manage their Social Media Footprint effectively, to how this can be integrated along with more traditional media, into a KUDOS-ful strategy.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll develop our thinking on this subject and share some thoughts on the processes and tools – some freely available and some paid-for – that could be used to develop this Social Media Footprint.