No matter if you are looking to measure marketing results, advertising impact or PR campaign effectiveness, you no doubt will be relying on reporting and metrics from a third party, such as an agency or a software suite of tools. And these days, transparency is more important than ever.
Many marketers are now voting with their feet and leaving third party vendors whose results reporting is murky, opting to shift business to other vendors or to move campaigns in-house, according to recent research. And consumers are similarly opting to do more business with brands that are honest and open in their communications with the public.
On the social media front, for instance, a recent survey from Sprout Social indicated that consumers are demanding that the companies from whom they purchase goods and services be transparent in their dealings. A whopping 81% of consumers surveyed believe businesses have a responsibility to be transparent when they post on social media channels — a higher figure than the standards consumers set for politicians, friends and family, or even themselves.
And according to a study by the Association of National Advertisers, when it comes to advertising, many brands seeking greater transparency are choosing to program their campaigns themselves rather than leave this crucial tactic to third parties. Chief Marketing Officers are doing likewise, according to a study from the CMO Council, about digital media advertising measurement and marketers’ new demands for increased digital platform transparency.
Here at StatePoint Media, measurement and transparency continue to be a priority for us and our clients when it comes to mat releases and social media influencer marketing campaigns. It’s important for us to go beyond simply reporting media placements and impressions. For example, with our editorial placement service we are unique in providing “prominence” rankings for every single online placement, so that our clients know if their articles appeared on a website’s front page or a major section page or a page several clicks from the front page. And we never use multipliers, nor do we rely on assumptions, to inflate our media placement numbers.
With our Social Amplification service, whereby we promote your clients’ content to our network of 500+ online influencers, it’s all about the right metrics. Though we do report social impressions, we’re more focused on moving the needle by getting consumers to act. That’s why we measure and provide minimum guarantees on actual engagements (clicks, likes, shares, comments, etc.). This service combines the viral nature of word-of-mouth marketing with the measurability of online advertising.
By letting our clients know more about their media placements and social media engagements, we can be used as a great way to kick start some positive press or influencer marketing campaigns when you don’t have news or if you’re just beginning your PR efforts. And we’re all about driving website traffic to our clients’ content and generating social media engagements from the right consumers in the demographics are clients are targeting.
When surveying the landscape of services available to you, look for best-in-class transparency that you can trust — no matter if you are a marketer, PR professional or advertising executive. Only do business with brands and services you trust and who are willing to continually prove themselves trustworthy.
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