Guest Post by Larry Yatkowsky.
Geez Joe nothing like insisting that I pull my pants down by way of a post on your blog to get a simple answer to an on going very complicated question which I think many bloggers would like a concise answer.
In the interim, at the risk of foregoing Reputation Management, obtuse curiosity demands our attention to the detail of this picture as we ask – WHAT IS THIS FELLOW’S ROI?
Do our blogs, like this man, expose a brand without direction and in doing so, does it explain a lacking ROI? Serving an isolated metaphorical purpose, this picture asks if your brand is exposed to the right demographic or, is it just another Apple in the blog-sphere?
By way of centuries old FLASH technology, it is assumed our case study believes his bared brand offers implied value for the benefit of his selected niche – the female consumer. At question is whether he projected his brand to the right demographic? It is possible that you also believe your blog-brand is chock full of implied benefit to a particular consumer group?
Without reflection and analysis, are we as mistaken as this man? Suspect from viewing the women’s nonplussed reaction in this picture is that for a brief moment, his brand may have been an Apple to their eye, but ultimately came up short on garnering link love and the ability to survive the long haul. If you are blogging for the long haul then ask if your brand’s message is saying the right thing to the right people?
Joe, like me and you, know that statistics measure results, witness fact and help us determine our respective course of business. That being established, then consider the position of the man in blue. Statistically, there is a 1 in 3 chance that the brand message delivered by the man in the coat may have been misdirected. Consider if you will, the position of the man in blue. Not having a phone to make the call, one questions if he was signaling his preparedness to engage in a discussion of services that might lead to a transaction? We’ll never know! As time was stopped in the capture of this picture we are left only with a skewed imagined supposition!
Determining ROI is difficult. It requires diligence to record keeping, is subject to time and is a reflection of other events. The statistics need that you count every word written in all your posts, pictures you have taken and posted to Flickr or other repositories, Twitter Tweets, the number of Faces you have collected on Facebook, the call to action words spoken in your videos on Vimeo and YouTube, the slide shows with commentary, topics discussed in public appearances, marketing presentations you made with Slide, Animoto, the degree to which you are LinkdIn, or if you are Plaxo’d. Last but not least, what number of responsible comments have you made on others blogs in the hope of some reciprocal love. All of this in the hope of getting a call that says “hey, I read or saw your blog and because of your efforts I have come to know, like and trust YOU to HELP me.
It is a daunting collection of data, but we have to start somewhere.
Where do you start? Maybe the first step is in the lesson given by the man in the coat. Look at your brand. Is it just hanging out on the web? If you think it is then it might be time to look real hard at your brand’s message. If you are finding your ROI elusive, review your shine – it may be time to polish up your apple.
We all know what ROI is. We would all like more of it in our pockets when going on holiday. What we are unsure of in blogging, is how to get it. From the list above it could be this or it could be that. The list is ‘VIRTUALLY’ endless. Blogging is a relatively new venture for Real Estate practitioners and there are few concrete guidelines to success. What is known is that determination is not enough to achieve ROI. There are amongst us those who claim ROI success be it fleeting, consistent, real or imagined. Nobody’s really baring their chests to proclaim unequivocal success.
Hopefully, answers to Joe’s questions on this post are the beginning. Boys and girls, flash if you must, a good chuckle is hard to find these days, in today’s world it might be the only ROI you get. At least it’s a beginning to help clear the “smoke”.
