Social Media Metrics: Measurement Management
Here’s a summary about what we’ve already discussed:
And now we’re into week 3: Measurement and Metrics.
Measuring metrics should be self-explanatory. But according to 2009 Mzinga & Babson Executive Education study, over 80% of professionals do not measure ROI for their company’s social media programs.
How do you know your Social Media efforts are effective if you’re not measuring results?
Your metrics should be in-line with your strategy. What is it that you want to acheive?
Are you:
- Building awareneness?
- Building sales?
- Improving customer service?
- Extending brand presence?
Here are some top Social Media metrics you may want to measure:
- Increased number of followers
- Level of engagement (likes, comments)
- Conversion to leads or sales
- Pass along (are they sending to friends/colleagues?)
- Customer sentiment
Simply keeping track using an Excel spreadsheet can be very useful to see what is working (and what isn’t).
There are a few tools that can assist you with tracking measurement and metrics. A fairly comprehensive list can be found at: http://wiki.kenburbary.com/social-meda-monitoring-wiki
What’s important to remember is that there are a lot of factors and variables that aren’t measured using tools and metrics. There are a lot of “lurkers” who aren’t clicking “LIKE’ or responding, yet your message is reaching them.
Social Media growth is organic and must be cultivated just like a garden. If you don’t take care of it, it won’t grow.