If you find this helpful, pay it forward! More after the article...
Do You Know Your Social Media Goal and ROI?
The Sprocket Report
All the marketing gurus say you need to be on social media. But that’s time and/or money out of your business. If you don’t know what your goals are and aren’t keeping track of the return on your investment, you could be wasting valuable resources.
Recently we read an article that followed a social media manager through his day and it occurred to us that since you’re busy doing what you do best, you may not have time to also think through the “big picture” of social media. So we’re going to break it down for you.
For instance, the manager in the article, who works for a large corporation, reported that he spent about 6.5 hours writing a blog post. Some of that time was spent researching the topic in addition to the actual writing and editing of the article. From our own experience and research, 6.5 hours to prepare a post is fairly common.
The article was interesting, but we got to wondering: what did the corporation get out of it? The social media manager didn’t mention their product at all in the blog post. But there were certainly Calls To Action elsewhere on the blog page. Also, the topic is a perennial favorite that lends itself to social sharing which can reach new readers and drive them back to the website where those Calls To Action are. Their goal then might be brand awareness.
Another blog post we recently read talked about this very topic: goals for your social media efforts. He reported on recent campaigns he himself used to increase readership and engagement on his blog. It was interesting reading and since he sells social media services, the sales path is obvious.
In addition, and keep this in mind when planning your own social media goals, the blog page of his website featured 22 different ads for other companies. Even without converting readers to clients, he has 22 x however many blog posts he’s already written to make a few cents per ad click. Those clicks happen 24/7, without any additional effort on his part.
It can be tricky to measure the ROI of social media, especially if you hire someone to do the job for you. Your social media manager can report back engagement rates and readership growth. Your accountant can report back sales numbers. But who in your organization is keeping track of the correlation between the two?
Planning your social media goals is the first step of smart marketing. “Ringing the Cash Register” is a goal. “Brand Awareness” is also a goal, but the expectations for each are very different. Think through your goals and expectations and follow through by reviewing your ROI. Then you’ll know whether 6.5 hours’ worth of blog writing is a good marketing decision.
We’re with the gurus and advise social media marketing. We’ve seen it work. We’ve also seen wasted effort due to poor goal-planning and no ROI reporting. Whether you do your own social media or hire someone else to do it, we can’t stress the planning and reporting process enough.
If while thinking through your social media plan you want some assistance, give us a call. You know we’re always happy to help!
Did you enjoy this article? Was it helpful? Insightful?
Then please share it! Post it on your favorite Social Media platform(s) so your followers see it.
It's easy. Just click on any of the social icons below and we'll do the heavy lifting for you.
Oh yeah, leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for visiting!
Kate Gingold
I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
Other posts by Kate Gingold
Contact author
Full biography
Full biography
I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
x
Linked In
Google Plus