This article in the Harvard Business Review sparked my interest about social media, especially as brands shift more dollars to social media marketing. He raises the issue about social media being too much about talk, tweets, and posts, and not enough about the bottom line – does it increase sales?
Discussion Questions:
- After reading the article, would you agree with Frank Cespedes that companies do not actually measure social media’s impact on profits? Why or why not?
- What are the typical ways companies measure social media impact? Are these good measures? Why or why not?
- Cite from the article some of the statistics on social media usage by consumers, such as posts from top brands on Twitter and Facebook reach just 2% of followers. Comment on these statistics.
- What is the most surprising fact you picked up from this article? Why is it so surprising?
- If you were the marketing manager for a popular brand, what would be your reaction to this article? Explain.
Clow/Baack 