The social media campaign’s return of investment (ROI) is one thing that remains a mystery to marketers and brand managers. It is something that every proprietor knows they must have, but don’t know how to measure. In fact, there’s no uniform way of scaling the economic benefits of social media to any business. That’s why the question remains: How are marketers suppose to measure the success of their social media campaign?
Instead of formula, below are three ways of how you can approach social media ROI.
Social Media as a Communication Tool
Business owners and marketers often treat social media as a destination rather than the vehicle. Networks like Facebook or Twitter are actually communication tools that require consistent action to attract and engage followers. These websites merely represent another business potential, so you can’t actually measure your ROI based on the number of your fans or followers. Social media’s success metrics rely on the fans-to-customer conversion rate.
Social Media as Marketing Resources
Social media is an interactive channel. Hence, business owners should listen to the conversation generated through “subscribed” or “fan” accounts and see how these could benefit every department of their business.
While a single post could earn thousands of likes and hundreds of comments, pure numbers don’t say much. The best thing to do is see which among your posts has a higher volume of response, and use this information for your next product, campaign or promotion. That way, the number of impression each posts receive could translate to a new and more successful product.
Social Media as a Performance Metrics
Measuring your business’ social media campaign is more than just checking the increase of your Facebook fans or Twitter followers. You should also consider how these social media are used within the organization. The sales department runs on a different metrics, while the customer service aspect of social media operates on an entirely different system. Understand which departments are using social media, and measure their success based on relevant performance metrics of each department. Moreover, the success should be based on every department’s specific goal.
In summary, the success of your business’ social media campaign doesn’t rely entirely on the number of hits, fans or followers that your channel has. The key to measuring your social media’s ROI is your investment of good relationship with your audience, and their conversion from followers to loyal brand advocates.
Jen Williams
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