Simple Ways to Measure Your Social Media Efforts

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Published: May 17, 2009

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Business owners are used to tracking their results when it comes to marketing, whether online or off. There are certain methods for calculating your return on investment which are usually rather straightforward.

Along comes social media marketing and suddenly measuring your ROI is not so cut and dry. I am often asked how you can tell whether the time you’ve spent on social media activities is really making a difference. Here are some easy (and free) ways to help determine whether your social media efforts are sizzling–or fizzling.

Profile engagement: In other words, are people in your target market commenting on your Facebook wall, inviting you to join groups on LinkedIn, replying to you on Twitter, and so on?

Blog comments: This will tell you not only that your content is fresh, interesting and worthy of reading–but that readers are willing to stick around and take the time to engage you.

Blog subscribers: If readers like what they see and want to be kept informed of each time you post, you can be sure you’ve struck a chord with them–and increased the possibility that they will respond positively to offers you make in the future.

E-zine subscribers: If the visitors being driven to your site by social media are being converted into newsletter subscribers, you know that you have appealed to them enough to further the relationship with you. Getting their permission to communicate with them on a regular basis will only strengthen the “KLT” (know, like and trust) factor.

Website metrics: A free tool like Google Analytics makes it easy to see your unique visitors, time spent on the site, page views per visitor, frequency of visits, conversions and more.

Social bookmarking/social news: Are your blog posts being bookmarked or voted up on sites like Delicious, Digg and StumbleUpon?

Followers and friends: I will be the first person to say that quantity doesn’t always equal quality–but it is one indication of whether you’re being seen, heard and offering something of value.

Links from other blogs: Are other relevant sites linking to yours? This means you are providing valuable content as well as posting with consistency.

Products/services sold: The ultimate goal, of course. All of the indicators above help give you a clearer picture of whether it’s likely this goal will be reached.

So, it comes down to: Are you findable? Are you being seen as an expert? Do people want to find out more about what it is you do?

You may not be able to equate your interactions to dollars now, but you are planting seeds which can have big payoffs later on. And that makes social media well worth most small business owners’ time.

Christine Gallagher, MLS, MSIS, founder of CommunicateValue.com, teaches small business owners and professionals how to conquer the overwhelming aspects of online and social media marketing to increase business and maximize profits. For FREE tips on how to build profitable relationships, leverage technology and create your own successful online business, visit http://CommunicateValue.com

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