How do we measure Social Media ROI?

Social media networks are a revolutionary marketing tool for businesses these days. This is because these social media networks have staggering numbers which are almost impossible to reach through any other internet marketing strategy or advertising campaign. It is for this reason that more and more companies are opening pages on social networking sites with the aim of generating traffic back to their website. Others are opting for Pay Per Click advertising on these websites with the hope of reaching their target market in a quicker and scale-able manner. So much time, effort and money is spent monitoring these websites, and it is sometimes difficult to determine whether the organisation is really getting a return on their investment.

1. Determine your Goals

When measuring the Return on Investment (ROI) of using social media networks, it is first important to determine what the company hopes to achieve through the social media networks. After determining the goal of using the social media network, the company should also establish their definition of success in social media network marketing. This is the only way that the company will really be able to establish whether their social media network campaign has been successful.

2. Track your Results

The company should then use web analytics software to track and monitor the traffic that is generated to their webpage through a particular social media network. They should also determine any sales that they get because of their page and Pay Per Click programs on social media networks. This web analytics program will determine how many members a particular business page has, how many of those members actually lead to traffic on their website, and how many people from this traffic actually become customers.

3. Calculate your ROI

ROI is a calculation, and therefore it is important to know the income generated as a result of social media networks and the cost of advertising through a social networks.

4. How do I measure Social Media ROI? 

Once the company is able to crunch this numbers, they will determine whether the social media campaign is bearing fruits or not. Most of the time, the measure of results differs from website to website. A PR firm has a different definition of success from an online store and the measure of their return on investment will be different as well. An online newspaper or blog also has a different return on investment because they simply require people to read their articles and not necessarily to buy anything. An online store will however require the traffic and leads to their website to actually swipe their card for them to consider the social media campaign as successful.

5. ROI is not always a definitive number 

However, it is also important to note that Social Media ROI is more than the hard cash in your bank account. There is a lot that can be achieved by businesses from social media network that cannot be measured in currency. As it is often said, money cannot buy you love, but a social media network can. The company is able to improve the experience of their consumers, as well as communicate with them more effectively from social media networks. Furthermore, companies are able to conduct online surveys more effectively through social media networks. These surveys will help them to know what they are doing right so that they can keep up with this trend. The surveys will also give them an idea about where they are going wrong so that they can learn from it and hopefully make improvements.

6. See what your consumers are saying 

Social media networks can also help companies to know more about what is current or trending. This will help them to satisfy the needs of their consumers better because they will be able to know what consumers want. By visiting the pages of social media networks, companies will be able to look at discussions in the various pages and this will give them an idea about how to satisfy their customers in the future.

7. See what your competitors are doing on Social Networks 

Also, social media networks are the best way to know how your competitors are doing. This is because many companies have opened pages in social media networks and there are no restrictions on who can join a particular social media page. By following these pages, a company is able to know more about the threats posed by their competitors, as well as the opportunities that the market has and this would have been more difficult without the help of social media networks.

8. Remember, ROI can be measured even if you are not generating money from that particular campaign

Social media networks have a return on investment that can be measured in both monetary and non-monetary terms, and it is important to consider all the above factors when determining whether marketing through social media networks is worth your buck.