How to measure the success of a social marketeer? Let’s find a way

In one of his latest email newsletters, Mahalo CEO Jason Calacanis predicted that the economic downturn will boost social media. In an age where experiences are more important than expenses, social media advertising will flourish, Calacanis wrote.

Advertisers will start cutting print, outdoor, TV, and radio (probably in that order) in favor of the internet’s action-based offerings such as CPA (cost per acquisition), CPL (cost per lead), and CPC (cost per click).

Conversation Agent Valeria Maltoni foresees the same. Since 2006, she has been active in the social media marketing scene because she noticed “the line between marketing and public relations would be blurring considerably with greater adoption of social media”. Maltoni thinks the profession has matured and that it’s about time for an award:

It’s not all talk anymore. Social media is becoming part of our language and behavior – as customers first, as professionals a close second. The terminology may or will change, the dynamics remain. It’s extreme personalization driving it – listening, having a voice, making a difference to the final results.

With all of this in mind, if it doesn’t hurt too much, I think it would be interesting to propose how I would do a list from which to nominate the Social Media Marketer of the Year.

Maltoni isn’t thinking about just a posh show which is all about good PR – she really wants to make an effort. There must be a handpicked panel of judges who would study a collection of metrics and evaluations: “Together, we’d choose metrics that are less open to personal judgment”. Since social media is all about opinion, Maltoni doesn’t want to rule out the subjective judgments completely. She goes on by summing up some possible parameters – like RSS counts, number of blog comments, ROI, and Quantcast reach.

I think Maltoni’s idea deserves some more attention than just three comments – that’s why I wrote this post. If we could come to a solid system with which we can choose the social media marketeer, we will not only have a good party – but also an interesting way of calculating one’s success. Click here to post your selection or join the discussion in the comments.