The world today is digital. From finding a restaurant with a cell phone app to swiping that same cell phone to pay a meal ticket, consumers are continually plugged in. That’s why your marketing efforts should be tailored to gaining their attention, at least in part, via technology-savvy social media messages.
There is a nasty, intertwining, often-whining debate going on surrounding social media influencers. Is it best to have a mass of Facebook fans or is a malaise of retweets better when considering the impact of a particular message? Where is the connectedness coming from, and who or what is causing it to continue?
Well, there is no hard, fast answer. The questions and concerns surrounding the influence of social media and social media influencers are swirling about like a tornado, and companies, such as PeopleBrowsr, are attempting to develop and shape metrics to understand and interpret the impact of it all.
“At PeopleBrowsr, we define influencers as people who have the potential to help a brand spread their message and engage audiences,” a PeopleBrowsr blogger wrote. “Across the industry, ‘influence-grading’ is shaping the course of social media ROI. We’re more and more interested in the value influencers provide to identify ways in which we can reward our biggest advocates. In doing so, we’re redefining what it means to be an ‘influencer’ and acting as educators on how ‘influence’ is calculated.”
CultureWaves, a global consumer-insights company, offers a fresh approach to the insights process. It provides its clients with consumer insights based on real underlying human emotion—the why, not the what—of a trend. With a constant feed of content being researched and uploaded 24 hours a day from around the world, the unique software system utilizes “cloud” methodology and varied worldwide feeders to capture this life evidence.
“Everything we do starts with insights,” said Allison Duncan, general manager for CultureWaves. “The insights we provide our customers gives them 24/7 access to the most current knowledge and information regarding global trends, allowing them to prepare and plan for the future of the market.”
No matter what resource you choose for measuring or interpreting the growth of social media and a brand’s influencers, social media messages will definitely be an ongoing trend and force in foodservice marketing. For those who intend to get the best ROI for their marketing dollars, some sort of social media messaging must be part of the package. Which platform is best remains a question many are trying to answer.
