23 9 / 2010
Social Media Strategy – Part 4: How will you monetize your social media program?
Today’s blog post is part four of a seven-part series of key planning questions everyone should ask themselves when developing a social media strategy.
In Part 3 of our Social Media Strategy blog series, we covered why it’s important to have a plan in place to drive traffic to your social media program. The next step is to determine if and how you will monetize your initiative.
Monetization of social media can take different forms, from online advertising to subscription models, but social media can also be a branding exercise or a means to remain current and competitive. Look at your overall business goals and determine whether or not monetization makes sense in your social media program.
If considering online advertising, for instance, would your site or app make enough impressions, turn enough pages, or generate enough video plays to make the impact of ad revenue dollars significant? Would your audience even want to see ads on your social property? The answer can go either way. A niche online community with an active user base could very well generate the traffic needed to make ad integration worth it, especially when relevant ads are served. On the other hand, monetizing a video remix contest promoting a new product with other brands’ ads is probably inappropriate.
Click here for other examples of social media monetization models and check out our new and free Strategy Guide: Getting Started with Social Media. It includes seven additional planning questions you should ask yourself before launching into your social media initiative. Good luck!
