7 Things You Want to Know When Measuring Social Media ROI
Filed Under Social Marketing
Most businesses today are involved in social media, either relying on a single platform or juggling multiple accounts. But not every one of those businesses actually measures the results from using social media marketing. Without knowing the numbers that your efforts are producing, how do you know that it is even working for you?
Measuring your metrics is what gives you insight into what your marketing efforts are doing for your bottom line. If you are just randomly posting to your business’ Facebook account every week, then you don’t really know how you are benefiting from that interaction.
To know what is and is not working for your brand on social media, you need to have a system in place that lets you measure your results regularly. Here are seven questions you should be asking so that you can effectively measure your social networking return on investment (ROI).
How do I measure ROI easily?
The single best way to measure the success of your social marketing is to track the number of conversions that come from your social networking accounts. This number is easily found by using simple web analytics. Google Analytics is the most popular- and free- website for measuring metrics.
How do I track conversions?
There are several different types of conversions that you can measure- sales, leads, newsletter subscriptions, coupon downloads, etc. A conversion is anything that requires a user to take a specific action. This type of data can be found on Google Analytics when you check Traffic Sources and click on Conversions.
How do I use metrics to grow my business?
The goal of social media marketing is to increase brand awareness and focus on raising click-through rates and the number of shares for all of your campaigns. If you pay to advertise on social media, make sure that you are getting the results you want for the cost. If you are getting thousands of likes from your ad, but no click-throughs or engagement, then you might want to reconsider those ads.
What are the best analytics tools?
Some of the best analytics tools that are preferred by most social media marketers include Google Analytics, MOZ Analytics and KISS Metrics. Google Analytics is free while the other two offer a free trial period when you sign up.
Are there all-in-one tools to measure across several channels?
There are several tools that you can use to measure your metrics from multiple social networks. SproutSocial offers users cross-platform measurements to large and small businesses. This includes a customizable analytics report PDF as well as competitor analysis. They offer a 30-day free trial when you sign up and costs range between $39 and $99 a month.
Inside Social is another tool for measuring your analytics for all your social media accounts, including conversions, purchases, signups, and shares that lead to engagement.
Which metrics are the most important?
You want to keep your eye on the number of new and existing fans for your brand as well as the cost per acquisition and lead. Knowing your numbers will give you insight into how big you need your following to be. For instance, if you know that 5% of your followers actually make a purchase, then you want to have a large number of followers to make sure you are producing a healthy amount of sales.
How often do I need to check my metrics?
It is recommended that you look at your social media metrics at least once a week. Monitoring them regularly lets you see what types of content are working the best for your brand and drive the most conversions.
What types of metrics do you use to track your ROI? Which do you find is the most efficient, free or paid?
Comments
-
-
Dawn Pigoni, IVAA Member
