Does Your Social Media Marketing Measure Up?

By Author: avax seo
Total Articles: 18
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People like to measure things. Their weight, or distances traveled. Knowing where you stand is good. When it comes to social media marketing, measuring success should be high on the list. If you're one of those businesses that isn't sure about spending on social media, or about what it can do for you, there are a few things to consider.

Making the investment
Hopefully there's no doubt in your mind about getting into the social media marketing arena. You may, however, still be in debate about how much time and money to spend on it. Companies continue to invest in social media. Results from a Target Marketing survey show that customer acquisition through social media was a tactic used by 64.7% of respondents in 2012, up from just over 56% in 2011.

Businesses cite many reasons for increases in digital marketing efforts and expenditures in a DataXu study this year. Increased measurability and accountability topped the list.

Determining the results
Measurability and accountability are factors that are crucial to many undertakings. There may be several reasons you choose to diet and exercise, from ...
... losing weight, to changing certain health related-numbers, to simply feeling better. You want to measure your results by stepping on the scale, or measuring inches lost. You may also want to track other healthful results by monitoring blood pressure, checking cholesterol levels, or simply tracking how you feel each day.

You may have engaged in social media marketing to pull in new customers, or to create a better relationship with existing ones. Another goal could have been to inform or entertain consumers and further your brand. Just as with a personal health plan, whatever the reason, determining the results of your efforts should be part of the plan.

Most companies only look at the ego-boosting results of social media, like numbers of fans and followers. While this can make you feel good, it's not an accurate engagement measurement, or true indicator of marketing success. There are several relevant things to track.

Referring traffic: You want to know how you're getting more visits, and where they are coming from.
Google Analytics is a good way to track this information.

Impact of content: Monitoring page views, how much time is spent on a page, and total pages viewed gives a good indication of whether your content is what people are looking for.
Again, Google Analytics is an efficient tool for the process.

Mentions: The frequency with which you are being mentioned online, especially compared with your competitors, can give you an idea of the effectiveness of your social media content. It can also help you determine which channels are working best.

Social Media Explorer calls this “Share of Voice” which can be measured by dividing the number of conversations or mentions of your brand by the total number of mentions about other brands on your market.
SocialMention is a good tool here.

Sentiment: Not all mentions and responses are good, so take the time to go through your mentions and determine if they are positive or negative. This will help you to alter your strategy or correct any unfortunate opinions.

There are numerous other metrics for measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) for social media marketing. ClickZ, a Marketing News site, outlines several of them in this article.

The next step
Just as engaging in a social media marketing plan isn't a one-step enterprise – you need to also measure results. Measuring results isn't the end of the line either. Take what you've learned from these metrics and use them to improve your plan. Be willing to determine the results of your social media efforts, then be willing to make changes if necessary, based on your results.

Do you have a solid social media marketing plan in place? If so, what metrics do you use to measure the success? We can help you take those numbers and work up a new direction, or enhance your current plan. Simply contact today our social media marketing Atlanta and let's get started.