Social media has entered into another year, and we anticipate more members in networks and more interaction as the sharing of information continues to grow. Depending on where you are with your business, social media marketing (SMM) should hold a place in your strategy. With 2011 seemingly moving towards a more postive economic output, CEOs want to see the value in SMM efforts. But what are the metrics for success?
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While the number of fans and followers, along with the quantity of posts and photo tags, provides some idea of progress, these are not necessarily indicators of social media success. So how do you quantify social media efforts in a way that makes sense to clients? The following eight tips can help you determine whether you're winning or losing the social game.
1. Study incoming traffic on the web. If your client is on multiple social networks, it makes sense to note the traffic from all sources and determine which ones are driving the most visitors to the client's website, how much time they spend on the site, etc.
2. Social media post quality. This is significant because it's the core of the SMM effort. Posts that attract comments and start conversations are excellent indicators that your campaign is working. If a post interests your fans enough to comment and share with others, keep doing it. You're on to something good.
3. Keep track of fans and followers. Do you see fans come and go and your network growing and then suddenly dropping quickly? Ask yourself what you might be doing to cause this. While you should expect a margin of "bouncing" fans and followers, your overall goal should be to grow the network at a strategic pace.
4. Evaluate fan interaction. Along with post quality, it's important to note the percentage of your fans that engage with your page. If your network has 300 fans, for instance, and only 25 interact that means you have a return of less than 10 percent. Of course, that doesn't mean that more are not reading your posts, it simply means you have to tweak your posts in such a way to draw more fans into the conversation.
5. Track feedback from fans. It's a marketer's dream to be able to receive free feedback with social media these days. Capitalize on that feedback -- even if it's negative, it can be constructive. Tweak your efforts based on what responses you receive. Social media is constantly evolving, so you need to be on target with what your fans and followers expect from you. At the same time, take note of any negative comments and measure your response to them (i.e., how many negative mentions were there? How quickly was the issue resolved?)
6. Going viral. Probably one of the most obvious measures for success is how quickly and efficiently a post gets shared. Whether it's a video, an article, or a post about your client's business, the number of times people share information directly increases exposure. Just be mindful when you post something in the social-sphere, because once it's out there, it's there for good.
7. Does your client use social media? This might sound silly, but in order for CEOs to understand the power of social media, they have to try it themselves. Whether it's their blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook, it helps when your client understands the concept when evaluating a SMM campaign.
8. Don't forget your blogs. With Facebook and Twitter as the main social media monsters that companies like to track these days, it's still important to track blog comments as well. Keep track of voting on blogs and definitely respond to comments as they come in. Blogs are valuable information sources for website visitors and make for good quality social media posts.
Measuring success in social media will depend on the goals you set with your client. Set realistic expectations over a period of time and determine the measurement criteria in advance. This will help you track your campaign as it goes, and hopefully you will exceed client expectations!
Dennis Franczak is president and CEO of Fuseideas.
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