Measuring Social Media Marketing

from Hinge Marketing Services Blog 15 Nov 13 enhance by Peter/CXO Wiz4biz

Social Media Bandwagon is easy to hop onto. After all, the major Social networks are free to use and “everyone else is doing it”. All it takes is time, right? “It’s easy.” “Anyone can do it.” The excitement to jump right in, often comes before the strategy and well before setting goals. This approach is the slow path to wasting time & money as well as losing buy-in from level Executives. With that in mind, the major considerations often become setting out to meet measurable key performance indicators that have value, but those . . .

Key Performance Indicators [KPIs] may not ultimately be tied to your firm’s goals. Yes, more followers may lead to Brand Awareness. More social shares may show an increase in “thought” leadership & authority within the industry. Does this mean the program is successful? It may show progress, but it does not necessarily impact the bottom line. Jumping in without a true strategy can do more harm than good. The successes of others in the social media universe do not translate to success for professional services firms. The objectives may be similar, but the goals may be very different. Tweeting is a tactic, gaining more followers is an objective, but how do we measure success?

Determining how to measure Success in social media marketing ties back to the ultimate goal of driving new business. Now we are getting somewhere and can define how to measure the positive impact of social media marketing back to Return on Investment [ROI] – the ultimate goal. First we must define our goals. Keep them simple, quantifiable, & tangible. Here are goals to track progress & success:

Conversion: Generate enough conversion that will prove social media is a viable “lead generation” source. This may include driving qualified traffic to your website and showing that those visitors take action. The goal could be showing that visitors complete a Contact form, Download a valuable piece of content, or register for a Webinar. Position your firm as the #1 resource for services & thought leadership within your industry. Although this may seem more qualitative than quantitative, a firm can measure its position against competitors.

Awareness can be a goal if it is measured in relation to your firm’s competitors. Being the top website for relevant Google searches is an example. Now put a number on it. Determine what you want and when you want it. This may be in the form of new clients. The goal can be to secure X number of clients by a certain time next year.

[ Measuring Social Media success, Customer Relationship Management, New Business in Premium Content ]