Let’s face it. Businesses and the left brained among us thrive on what can be measured. Social Media, which can be wildly effective, can also be difficult to measure. Social Media is about reaching the masses and leveraging networks. Think of your Social Media strategy as you would paying for advertising for television. There is a huge potential to reach everyone, but the only way to truly know the effectiveness of a campaign is ultimately how many people respond to the message.
Here are three ways we can measure the success of a Social Media Campaign: Response, Reach, and Revenue
Response
An easy way to know if your message is attractive with an audience is by the response. Does your content resonate and inspire people to action? Are people responding directly to you in Social Media? Have you made room for them to respond? Are people walking in your door and visiting your site? If not, you may need to research the needs of your demographic and restructure your approach. Remember, that Social Media is not a lecture, it’s a conversation. Customers want interaction. The more you respond directly and share content that resonates, you’ll see an increase in your effectiveness.
Reach
Is anyone sharing your content? Do people find your message and offerings valuable enough to share with the people they care about? Twitter and Facebook have awesome sharing functionality. If no one is sharing your message, then your efforts are not bearing fruit. Be sure that your content is attractive to a diverse audience, or if you have a select niche, be sure that you’ve created interesting content to share. It could be that you’re not connected to the right audience or need to tweak your communications. Keep the posts brief, interesting and provide links that can easily be shared.
Revenue
We all know that this is the BIG one. Ultimately, we need to see an increase in revenue. Response and reach can get us there. A good social media strategy will have people congregating around your content and buying your goods and services. Website traffic, people coming into your business and hiring you for consulting are good measures. Make sure that at the end of your social media breadcrumb trail, people have a clear call to action so they know what’s needed from them.
LEARN ABOUT: Social Communication Questionnaire
By beginning with the end and setting goals around Response, Reach and Revenue, you can build a Social Media Strategy that takes your business to the next level!
About the Author: If you’ve ever wondered how you’re going to build your brand using social media, then pay attention to our our guest columnist today. Staci J. Shelton is a social media expert and blogger who specializes in building and maximizing online relationships
