‘There Is No Single Secret To Social Media Success’

Katie Morse, VP Social Media at Nielsen in New York is one of the keynote speakers at the Marketing Kingdom Amman, Jordan’s first ever global marketing event, taking place from May 10-11, 2015 in Amman.

With less than a month to go to the event, we sat down with Katie to discuss her views on social media and measurement, as well as her expectations from the event.

You have recently moved from Billboard to Nielsen. How different was managing social media at Billboard compared to your current job at Nielsen?

Very different in parts, and very similar in others! For example, Billboard’s goal for every social media post was to drive traffic back to the website. Nielsen is a much more complex and diverse organization, and as such we have more than one goal for our social media program and activities.

As an example, Billboard and Nielsen publish to each platform very differently in terms of post frequency — when I left Billboard the company was posting about 70 times per day to Twitter alone.

Social media is on everyone’s mind. What do you think is the secret to being successful in social media?

There is no single secret to social media success; however, companies who understand their audience and utilize best practices for each platform have a greater chance of being successful over the long-term. There are some tools like influencers who are pretty dependable in terms of results (find out more about influencer agencies here), but it’s the right combination of tools that really makes a brand stand out.

What are some of the mistakes that companies make on social media and how can they avoid making them?

Two big mistakes I see companies make are not following the norms of each platform (best practices), and not listening to their audience. I urge every company to dig into the data provided by each social platform they maintain accounts on and use that data to inform their strategies and tactics for each platform so that their messages reach and resonate with the right people, leading to reactions that help companies achieve their goals.

Measurement in social media has been a hot topic recently. What do you think is the key to measuring the success of your social media activities? Is it just “likes” that matter?

The key to measuring success in social media is to tie back your data points and reporting practices to your company goals. For example, if your goal is to drive traffic to your website, increasing the people following your account or likes is a great start, but you should also measure that metric alongside engagement metrics and clicks to make sure that as your audience grows, they’re still engaging with your account and not ignoring you in their newsfeed, as well as achieving your goal of clicking on your posts to visit your site. Likes are an empty metric without context! But, we all want ‘likes’. If you’re finding it hard to get likes on your posts, you could check out im Social Media Market Shop for more information.

What is the best way to deal with negative comments on social media?

There is no single best way to deal with negative comments and brand detractors. However, every company should have an engagement strategy in place that details how to handle frequency and anticipated engagement opportunities, and this strategy should be approved by the appropriate people in your organization (e.g. marketing, communications, PR, legal, customer service, sales, business development).

What is your advice for senior executives who still do not believe in the power of social media?

Spend time with a member of Generation Z or a younger Millennial! Ask them to show you how they find out information about products and services they’re interested in buying. Ask them how they contact companies they currently do business with for customer service issues. Ask them what brands they’re fans of and how they stay up to date with regards to news from and about that brand.

You have spoken at two Marketing Kingdom events. What are your expectations from the Marketing Kingdom Amman?

A fantastic lineup of speakers, an engaged audience who aren’t shy about asking questions during presentations and panels, and a wonderful first experience in Amman!

The Marketing Kingdom Amman, taking place from 10-11 May 2015, features exclusive presentations on the latest trends in marketing by marketing gurus from Twitter, Lego, Google and Yahoo!

For pricing and ticket information for the Marketing Kingdom Amman please visit www.thepworld.com.

WE SAID THIS: Don’t miss Q&A: Colleen Harris, PR Guru to the Royals.