Social media is essential to your marketing strategy. Its rapid growth among online users makes it a critical factor in the success of your business.
Social media marketing requires comprehensive strategies that help you reach your target audience and convert prospects into customers.
Your return on investment (ROI) provides the data and validation needed to ensure that these strategies work.
But social media ROI can be difficult to measure.
Knowing how to measure and report social media ROI ensures long-term growth and prevents unnecessary use of valuable resources.
Start With Your Goals
There are different metrics you can use to measure your social media ROI (we’ll get to those in a minute). But they all depend on the goals you’ve set for your business.
Businesses have different conversion goals such as the download of a product brochure or opting into an email list.
Establishing clear social media objectives lets you determine which metrics you need to track over time.
You need to review those goals on a regular basis and evaluate your results to determine if you’ve set the right goals for your social media activity.
Know Your Metrics
The following are some of the most important metrics to use when determining social media ROI:
- Traffic source
- Leads
- Conversion
- Reach
Traffic is the total number of users coming to your site. Analytics data help you identify how much traffic your social media activity generates and where you’re getting the greatest (and least) returns.
The traffic you receive from social media channels must convert into leads in order to provide a return on your social media investment.
Measure the number of leads generated against the number of users who reach your site or landing page from each of your social media channels.
Leads must convert into paying customers. You can track the percentage of leads that convert as a measure of the success of your social media activity.
This determines the most effective social media platforms for your business. You need to meet your customers where they are to maximize the effectiveness of your marketing.
Your total number of followers determines your company’s reach across different social media channels. A larger reach means that your content is seen and shared by more people.
Reach metrics should increase over time. If they decrease or remain unchanged, then you need to invest more time and energy into generating more followers. This builds a foundation for all of your marketing efforts on social media.
Strategic Decisions
Social media ROI influences the decisions you make related to your marketing strategies.
The platforms you choose must be in line with your business in order for them to be successful. Some platforms may not be as conducive to selling your products and services as others.
You need to establish a reporting structure for measuring social media ROI. Set up a schedule that works for your business. Having a quarterly or monthly reporting timeline creates consistency in your review of all social media activity.
Social media marketing requires the use of valuable resources. You need to track the time invested in your campaigns and consider the cost of offline activities like events or promotions that are tied in with your social media marketing.
Tracking the ROI of social media campaigns is one of the biggest challenges for businesses.
Using metrics such as traffic, conversion, and reach helps provide concrete data for your and your team.
You’ll have a clearer picture of how well your social media activity is supporting the business and how to maximize it for future growth.
If you’re having difficulties measuring your social media ROI, you’re not alone. Let us know what challenges you’re running into in the comments below so we can determine the best ways that you can get more traction from your social media activity.
