Have you ever banked an something you believed was a sure thing, only to be proven wrong? Then watch the Journey, Social Media Examiner’s episodic video documentary that shows you what really happens inside a growing business.
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In episode 6, Michael Stelzner (founder of Social Media Examiner) and his team conclude testing and launch a multi-channel product promotion for Social Media Marketing World. Will all their hard work pay off?
The show opens on the final countdown to launch day, and Mike questioning if the placement of a video on the conference website is hurting sales.
In the past he’s believed that having video on the sales page helped sell tickets. After analyzing page scroll however, Mike is concerned the video may actually be hurting ticket sales. He makes the decision to run a split test to check his suspicion.
It’s the Friday before launch day and Mike is increasingly conscious that his team is under a huge obligation to sell an enormous number of tickets. He checks in with his team to assess their readiness.
Marketing Manager Jennifer Ballard is in the final stages of testing promotional emails against spam filters. The emails are designed to reach 4 distinct consumer segments:
- Newsletter subscribers who aren’t yet customers
- Past conference attendees
- Past Virtual Ticket purchasers
- Social Media Marketing Society members
Kim Reynolds reports that she has about 40 Facebook ads and 40 Instagram ads ready to run.
Saturday before launch day finds Mike on a bridge contemplating the path opening up before him. He can either focus on continuing to market the conference or pursue a new dream that has far reaching possibilities. Should he stick with the sure thing he knows he’s good at or choose to lean into an untested opportunity?
Next, Mike begins a process of analysis for Project Genesis. He’s sorting thousands of paper responses into piles. As the stacks grow, they’ll form patterns that should reveal the opportunities for Project Genesis.
Finally, it’s August 20th, launch day. The team is reviewing everything. Kim confirms that Facebook ads, Instagram placement ads, and Instagram Stories ads are all firing; and Jennifer shares that marketing is promoting the event via a sophisticated Google AdWords campaign.
During the meeting, Mike shares some interesting results from the ongoing split test of the sales page video placement. Regardless of where the video was placed, it negatively impacted sales. Mike is running one final test, placing the video near the bottom of the sales page.
On the social front, Jennifer reports that Erik Fisher and his team have organic activities in full swing. He’s posted the showcase video to the company’s Facebook page and his team is launching a Twitter chat. Organic posts are also planned for Snapchat, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
The Journey is up and running and there’s a new player in the mix this year—Social Media Examiner’s Alexa Flash Briefing.
As the day passes, Mike is following ticket sales closely and checks with Jennifer to find out how the day’s sales compare to the first day of sales last year. In 2017, 11 tickets were sold the Social Media Marketing World 2018. This year, 50 tickets have been sold for Social Media Marketing World 2019!
The episode ends with a possible problem with the social media ads.
Today Social Media Examiner turned 9 years old. Help us celebrate! How has Social Media Examiner impacted you? Share your ideas and thoughts in the comments below.