There’s still some clouds in the way when it comes to properly calculating social media ROI, but it’s worth investigating.
Social media is a big part of your business’ digital marketing strategy. With all the social platforms sprouting up and taking off (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest), the possibilities to market yourself are almost endless. A little creativity can go a long way to growing your online reputation and your ROI. Social media can make it happen much faster than with traditional forms of media.
Can you track your social media return on investment?
Not everything you do on Twitter and Facebook is going to move people directly to the checkout every time. What it will do is increase your visibility. In regards to ROI, what is your reputation worth? One way to calculate is by asking how much that syndication and reputation outlet would cost in real media dollars. Considering Facebook and Twitter are free (unless you buy ads), the cost of social media is relatively low compared to newspaper or television campaigns.
Here are a few things to consider when putting together a social media marketing campaign:
- Realize what you will be missing out on if you don’t engage
- Make sure all social channels are aligned towards one single goal
- Understand it takes time to cultivate and nurture social leads so the longer you wait the bigger the jump your competition has on you
Tools Available for Your Social Media ROI
As marketers and developers continue to unravel the mystery of social ROI, the number of social monitoring tools is growing. Recently, Google launched a Social Reports addition to Google Analytics, while Adobe launched Adobe Social. As more digital powerhouses release options for social media tracking, it becomes clear just how important so-called “vanity metrics” is to marketers.
In the end, it’s all about what your business needs from your social media campaign, be it followers, likes or general brand awareness.