The first question most business owners ask when presented with a new
marketing plan: How much will this cost? The second question: How
much business will it bring in? The big question about social media is
how to determine the return on investment (ROI). Some experts will
explain that measuring social media success is very difficult, however,
they will also insist that you engage on social media sites in order to
build your brand. How much time and/or money is worth spending on your social media marketing campaigns (or on social media sites in general
engaging with customers)?
Although measuring ROI can be very difficult, here are some tips to help convert those fans into customers.
- Create relationships with your fans. Respond to questions and comments. Your posts should create buzz — interesting items that compel fans to share your content with their friends. When people receive great deals, they are often excited to share their finds on their social media profiles, thereby spreading the word about your brand. Increased awareness equals a higher likelihood to buy your product.
- Follow up with leads. At the end of the day, you want lead generation. Each fan or follower is a potential customer. Determine how best to convert your particular fans into customers and then do it.
- Track website traffic. As we discussed in our recent post, Using Social Media For Taboo Services, not every company’s success can be measured by the number of fans they have on Facebook. Make sure there is a way for customers to easily contact you through your website.
You are probably thinking that we have not yet answered the question: How do you measure social media ROI? That’s because it is a difficult question to answer. There are so many variables and benefits that can’t be fully measured. There is no standard measurement, so we cannot apply an x+y=z to give you hard and fast numbers to prove that time spent on social media sites is worth it.
MDG Advertising recently released a study on social media ROI and explained how most companies are “looking beyond sales and dollar signs, and looking at metrics like site traffic, conversion, number of positive mentions, etc.” The metrics used by CMOs to measure social media marketing activities are site traffic (68% of those surveyed), conversions (66%), number of fans/followers (63%), number of positive customer mentions (63%), number of contributors (50%), revenue (50%), number of page views (43%), number of posts (42%), number of mentions (41%), average order value (23%), reduced returns (16%), increased channel sales (15%) and reduced call volume (11%).
MDG suggests defining your key objectives before implementing a social media marketing strategy. Are you looking for short term sales? Engaging existing customers? Increasing brand awareness? Increasing your searchability? Spreading news and important information? Encouraging word of mouth? Complementing a promotional campaign? You must determine what you would like to get out of social media before you can implement a successful campaign.
You don’t have to navigate the social media jungle alone. If you would
like a free consultation to discuss a social media marketing plan, please contact Social Sonar through our website.
