Businesses should be using social media. It’s a bold statement, but we seem to hear it from everywhere – from bloggers and marketing experts all the way down to the little Facebook icons and Twitter birds that are found on websites, commercials, business cards, and everything in between. But as soon as you start thinking about using social media, you should be wondering: how do I know if it works?
Here is your answer: or, rather, 10 of your answers!
1. Count Clicks
You’re already tracking how people get to your site – now make sure you know which interactions were bringing them from social media sites. Your analytics should be able to do this, and you can help it along by using different shortened URLs for different tweets or shares, to better see which ones were effective with which audience, and how they spread.
2. Tally Retweets and Shares
Some of your clicks are going to come from people who aren’t even following you on your chosen social media platform – that’s thanks to the fans who will retweet or share items they find interesting with their network. After starting a social media campaign, pay attention to what is shared to see which pieces resonate well with your audience, and build on them.
3. Track Interaction
Your fans will interact with you in a number of ways, so don’t forget to notice when they do. You might see more responses to questions posed on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, or you might get more e-mails or phone calls. Find a way to keep track of whatever interactions you have with your customers, especially if social media is mentioned.
4. Size up the Numbers
Don’t forget the easiest things you have to track: the number of fans, followers, or mentions you get. If you want some great motivation, these are good things to put on a chart or a bar graph, so you can see the numbers growing!
5. Tally the Active Fans
While it’s great to watch the number of fans you have go up, not all of them are equal. Keep track of the number of fans who interact with your business – whether they comment on your Facebook profile, suggest the company to their friends, retweet your tweets, or otherwise talk to or about your business. These advocates are significantly more important than fans who might not even see your business page more than once. Keep interacting back, and watch the percentage of active fans rise.
6. Determine Name Recognition
Many traditional advertising channels can only be seen or measured in terms of name recognition. Try measuring your social media activity the same way you measure your TV ads or billboards. Even though there are a lot of ways people can interact with you online, some might only see that their friends are fans and become more open-minded toward your company. Don’t forget that that is success, too, even if it’s less measurable.
7. Notice Exposure
As your company is mentioned on other websites, especially if they link to your Facebook or Twitter presence, take note of what is being said. Respond to questions, criticisms, or compliments in blog comments when possible, and be assured that your business is being exposed to new eyes.
8. Measure SEO
Your SEO efforts are a whole category in and of themselves, but even if you don’t change your SEO tactics outside of your social media campaign, keep track of how your SEO changes as more users interact with your business.
9. Check Retention
Find out how many of your fans are customers – and track them as they become more engaged or become repeat customers. Social media is great for helping individuals remember what they enjoyed and come back to it, whether it’s a restaurant or a pair of jeans. After all, it’s often said that keeping a customer loyal is easier than attracting a new customer!
10. Count the Money
Yes, sometimes it does boil down to money. Though in some industries it is impossible to attribute particular sales to social media (especially if the product cannot be purchased online), you can keep track of leads – define them how you will. Maybe someone asks about what services you provide after you supply helpful answers on LinkedIn or Twitter, or a fan expresses loyalty to a particular brand and says they plan to buy another as a gift.
There seems to be an opinion on how to do this correctly or most effectively every other day. It can get confusing and convoluted but taken as a whole, its posts like this that help to better define social media measurement and analysis and help make it a better and more accurate science. Nicely done.
An excellent post thank you. There are a lot of confusing points of view out there regarding measuring social media, being able to present a simple checklist like this to non believers to help them understand is very helpful.