This week I’m spending a lot of time with the BlitzMetrics team in Minneapolis.

They were gracious enough to invite me to a fairly intensive training week. I really value a brand that puts so much emphasis in helping others succeed. SOOO many other brands like to keep their secrets hidden from the public. Not BlitzMetics. They’re laying everything out on the table this week!

My biggest takeaway today was a little quote from Dennis Yu,

“The referee is going to win the game because they create the rules.”

So in order to keep the ball in your court, you need to be really smart with how you 1. manage client expectations and 2. use data to drive strategy and influence decision makers. We had a few people today say what many of you might struggle with- a company that does not believe in or is not fully sold on online advertising. How are you going to show your company or a potential client that this really does work? How would you do that? If you don’t have the data to back up your statements, how can you expect to get what you want?

If you don’t have a goal, then all roads look as good as any other.

When you hear of a scenario where the company does not believe in social media marketing, it’s probably because the company does not have any quantifiable goals set. If you don’t have a goal, then all roads look as good as any other. To say you want “greater awareness” or “deeper engagement” is not enough. You need to have quantifiable goals based on a reasonable set of short, medium, and long-term targets. But that requires understanding a few things.

• What IS the right number of fans to have?
• What is a healthy level of engagement?
• How am I doing versus my competitors?
• If I’m a direct marketing company, can I really drive revenue, and if so — how much and how does this play with my other channels?

When you have a defined set of goals, know what content works, have a targeted audience set, and amplify that content accordingly, you come away with metrics that can drive future decisions.

“If you have the data, you can win every argument.” -Dennis Yu

 

Data shapes the decisions we make and influences others to follow our lead. How are you using data to keep the ball in your court?