This week on 'Social Media for the CEO' radio show, we're quite fortunate to welcome Jay Dunn, Vice President of Marketing for Lane Bryant, Inc.  Jay is a man of many talents; he is a gifted speaker and more importantly a genius when it comes to marketing a brand using social media smartly.

In The Art of Social Sales, Dunn examines social media and the challenges, concerns, and benefits which come along when an organization employs this tactic as part of their marketing plan.  Access this great read here:

Access The Art of Social Sales here: http://ow.ly/3iokb

Sneek Preview Excerpt | Introduction from The Art of Social Sales by Jay Dunn

In every meeting, every presentation and nearly every discussion about social media, the question arises: “Can You Create ROI?”  It’s a legitimate concern—we’re running retail businesses here, not free clinics—and beyond anything else we do, we sell things to make money.

And while numerous other benefits of social media are positive for a brand (awareness, community, CRM, customer service, brand engagement, etc.), in the end, a return on investment for the resources deployed and the content created is necessary. In fact, ROI is merely the first target. Incremental Sales is up next, so let’s not delude ourselves with ROI only.

So, the right question is two questions: “Can You Create ROI? And Can You Make Profitable Sales Through Social Media?” And to that I answer a robust and enthusiastic: “Hey, I’m working on it.”

Retail CMOs are endeavoring to create a relevant business model around social media—I am no exception. We see the potential of viral distribution, of creating a platform for conversation with our customers. The opportunity of social networks and social media is appealing in its scale, particularly when offset by its low costs of entry and participation. But let’s be frank, most companies are intrigued because social media is comprised of lots of potential customers—at the very least, warm bodies—and because it is perceived to be cheap.

And compared to traditional media (direct mail, broadcast, e-commerce, PR, etc.), it is. But it’s not free. It’s not an insignificant investment, if your social media program is done right. Yet, it is not expensive, comparatively.