Forgetting to monitor analytics/ROI
So you’ve set your objectives, executed your social media activity, and are wondering whether it worked or not. Business owners are not often aware of the metrics available to measure such performance, or focus on too few (mainly quantitative – i.e. numbers-based). Some even deem their social media activity worthless if it hasn’t led directly to a visible increase in sales.
A number of ways exist in which to measure the effectiveness of your social media activity, both from social media analytics and wider metrics. Here are some measures you should definitely be considering for your business:
1. Social media tracking statistics
Most social media networks now offer a form of analytics; for Facebook this is ‘Insights’ (access to this is available when your business page has 30 or more ‘likes’), Twitter’s are called ‘Analytics’, for LinkedIn it’s ‘Analytics’ etc. Aside from number of followers/fans these also provide data over a period on engagement-related activity, e.g. shares, ReTweets, favourites, comments. You can assess the profile of your followers/fans and the tone/sentiment of any comments posted. Such statistics are also available for paid ad campaigns, which are useful in testing what works and doesn’t on a small budget prior to rolling out a campaign supported by a larger one.
2. Google Analytics
This is available to business owners by registering your website with Google. It provides a wealth of data on the number of ‘hits (visits), the sources of traffic, any traffic coming from unique links, traffic arriving at specific landing pages, the average length of visit (‘stickiness’) and more.
3. Website/newsletter sign ups and enquiries.
A positive measure of engagement with your business.
4. Google rankings (SEO)
An imprecise science, on which a good web developer can advise.
An imprecise science, on which a good web developer can advise.
5. Wider business measures
These include new enquiries/leads (always check where possible where visitors/customers heard of your business/what triggered them to visit/call/interact with you). Other such measures include sales conversion rates*, repeat purchasing, complaints levels and customer ‘churn’ (i.e. retention rates).
* it’s important to acknowledge that responsibility for converting traffic to sales depends on the customer experience e.g. service, website usability, environment
Once you have decided which measures are best suited to your objectives, the key is to track and interpret your performance, adapting your strategy as you develop. As the famous management consultant Peter Drucker is often quoted, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”.
Do contact us if you would like any support with your social media, whether choosing suitable networks, learning how to use them, planning activity, creating/sourcing relevant content, measuring performance or other challenges.
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