#04: Social Media ROI - Tips for Measuring Success

Hello and welcome to the 4th issue of The Social Dot newsletter. I’m Andreea, your local social media expert, and together we shall connect the dots of the social media world.

The results of our social media efforts are not always as tangible as we would like them to be, yet they exist and they should be measured and celebrated.?

But it’s hard, isn’t it??

To accurately measure your social media ROI, you need to have a crystal-clear idea of everything that goes into your social media campaigns (investment) and the revenue generated as a result of your efforts (outcome).?

Let’s start by exploring some tips for measuring success: best practices, key metrics and common challenges.?

How to accurately prove social media ROI??

• Start with clear goals and KPIs. Before signing any client, Alex Khan , CEO of Attractive Media and top social media expert, has what is called “clarity day”. During this one-day workshop, he learns the client’s business landscape and sets clear goals and KPIs (together with the client) based on the information he collects. These goals could be email sign ups, trials, sales, resource downloads, or something else altogether.
• Keep an eye on your key metrics. Once the goals are set, it’s time to start monitoring your KPIs to make sure they’re on the right track to meeting your objectives. It’s at this stage where social media analytics tools come in very handy. Google Analytics can also be a great help for a wide range of conversion metrics.
• Track your costs. An essential part of measuring social media ROI is keeping track of all costs associated with a certain social media campaign. That can include paid advertising, copywriting services, app subscriptions… the list goes on and on.
• Measure your results. At the end of any social media campaign, you need to measure your outcome. That usually translates to revenue but it can also be a non-financial goal you had in mind. With a detailed picture of the investment and the outcome of your social media efforts, you can calculate your social media ROI.

What to track for social media ROI??

Based on his experience of more than 15 years with thousands of clients, Alex Khan says that we should look at these four variables when tracking social media ROI:??

• performance marketing metrics (e.g. reach, engagement)
• click-through-rate (CTR or how many people click on your ads)
• the influx of website visitors?
• purchase rate (how many people who visit your site actually buy)

Common social media ROI mistakes and pitfalls

As Alex Khan points out, wrong attribution is the number one mistake that occurs when measuring social media ROI. That usually happens because people are unable to track a particular outcome to its source.?

People might see your brand pop up once, twice, 5 or 10 times before they make a move (contact you, start a trial, make a purchase, etc).

Even with a strong combination of advanced social monitoring and analytics tools, you can’t always track a particular user action (sale, trial, resource download, etc) to its source and see what worked and what didn't.

It could’ve happened thanks to a Facebook ad you ran, or because your content is very well optimized for SEO and therefore ranks high in search results.

Wrong attribution is not the norm, just a common challenge when it comes to measuring social media ROI. Most of the time, you can track a specific result back to its source.

Another common error is not giving enough voice to the people. Customer satisfaction is one of the primary values of social media and it should not only be taken into consideration but also prioritized when tracking the results of social media campaigns.?

To find out more about measuring ROI for social media, check out these resources:?

• Teach Me How to Measure Social Media ROI w/ Alex Khan
• Social Media ROI: How to Calculate and Track It

And I’ll see you next week, in the next issue of The Social Dot, a newsletter powered by Socialinsider, and written by me, Andreea, you local social media expert.

Until then, tell me, what’s your number one metric you track when measuring social media ROI??