Have you ever created and shared great social media content only to realize you don’t know how to prove its worth to others?
In social media marketing, it is all too easy to rely on instincts and knowing other people don’t quite understand what you do all day.
But that is no way to grow and add value to a business.
By tracking numbers and making real-world connections between a social media campaign and potential customers, you can open a whole new world.
A world where supervisors and board rooms don’t question the validity of a Twitter post. Instead, the executives express gratitude to the new connections a Twitter post creates because they know it will lead to a customer down the line.
A world where your Aunt Sally and Uncle Joe don’t go on about how they post on their Facebook page all the time before questioning how difficult your job really is.
To many social media marketers, tracking and calculating the value of social media campaigns can be daunting.
Fortunately, it doesn’t need to be. We’ve compiled a list of the five top tips to determine your social media marketing success.
The Five Top Tips
Set Measurable Goals
Get into the habit of creating content in terms of campaigns. Each of your social media posts should be attached to a campaign with a specific set of goals and a target audience.
These goals can be increased engagement, link clicks, reach, revenue, lead generation, and much more. With established goals, you will have an easier time tracking your content down the line.
Measurable goals will also take your social advertising game to the next level.
Track and Evaluate Your Content
Once you set your goals, be consistent with tracking and evaluating them. Analytics tools help you take a look at all of your performance metrics.
You should aim to pull these numbers at least once a month and create a system that allows you to evaluate performance over time.
You should track metrics specific to your goals as well as “vanity metrics” such as likes, favorites, shares, and followers. While these don’t often affect your ultimate goals, they enable you to keep a pulse on what content is performing well with your established audience.
Determine Your ROI
Your ROI (Return on Investment) translates likes and retweets into real-world numbers that everyone can understand.
To determine your ROI, identify the metrics that directly demonstrate your goals. Then work your way from the top down to establish a monetary value to each metric.
To work your way from the top down, you need to determine the value of the final goal and work your way backward to establish each performance metric’s value along the way. Everything from an initial follow to becoming an active lead counts as a step.
Follow the Breadcrumbs
Don’t forget about your website! Each time someone interacts with your business on social media, they should have different ways to access your site.
A customer leaving social media to go to your website qualifies as a conversion in and of itself. It demonstrates growth in that relationship and interest in the business.
Use a website analytics software, like Google Analytics, to track how many of your website views come from your social media by checking your traffic sources.
Make Real-World Connections
Make an effort to analyze “real-world” customers and clients.
Monitor your sales for spikes that coincide with specific social marketing campaigns. When you analyze these numbers, be reasonable about how many of these conversions were due to your social media.
Another way to follow in-person conversions is to simply ask customers how they found you. Keep track of these responses to get an idea of how well your social marketing translates in store.
Spoiler Alert: They aren’t all winners.
This spoiler alert is not offered to hurt any feelings or discourage you from tracking these metrics.
Instead, take it as a reminder that tracking these metrics is a way to continually grow and improve.
If you notice a campaign isn’t reaching the goals you set, take the time to address any issues you may see or simply start from the beginning.
Not all campaigns can be winners, but no social media marketer should waste their time on underperforming campaigns
If you use these tips, you should be able to address the duds and elevate the star campaigns to new heights.