Social Media ROI for Small Businesses – How to Measure What’s Working
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Introducing Social Media ROI (Return on Investment)
Social media has taken over the world.
With over 2.6 billion monthly active users as of the first quarter of 2020, Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide. In the third quarter of 2012, the number of active Facebook users surpassed one billion, making it the first social network ever to do so. During the last reported quarter, the company stated that almost 3 billion people were using at least one of the company’s core products (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or Messenger) each month. Every business knows that it’s important to have a strong social media presence, with lots of interaction with (hopefully) lots of followers. Yet, the cash value of social media isn’t always clear. Some businesses struggle to accept social media as a valid marketing channel that can deliver a return on the time and money invested in it. But that is a mistake – businesses just need to be prepared to work on social media channels and measure the results.In this guide, we will show you how to track and calculate the value of social media goals. That way you can make sure that you are getting more out of your social media strategy than you are put in.
At first glance, there does not appear to be any costs involved in social media. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the rest are all free to use and it isn’t particularly time-consuming to put together a few tweets or Facebook posts every now and then.But if you’re serious about getting the maximum value from your social media, the hours spent drafting and perfecting posts will quickly add up. On top of that, you may find as your strategy grows you need to invest in some paid social media services, like scheduling or tracking software, as well as digital advertising on these social platforms.
When you have a clear picture of what your overall strategy will cost you, you can then begin to assign value to the goals you want to achieve. Having a clear value assigned to each of your social media goals can help you refine your profiles. Using this information to focus on the most effective elements of your strategy can ultimately lead to more engagements and more sales
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.7″][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ module_id=”part-1″ _builder_version=”4.4.7″ background_color=”#eee” custom_padding=”25px||25px||false|false” da_popup_slug=”part-1″ da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,1_2,1_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.7″ width=”85%” max_width=”2560px”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.7″][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.4.7″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.7″ hover_enabled=”0″]1. Determining the Right Platforms
First, take some time to think about which social media platforms will work best for your business and what steps you need to take to effectively measure the impact of each platform.
Consider where your target audience spends their time. Are they interested in Facebook and Pinterest, or more likely to focus their attention on LinkedIn and Twitter?
At the beginning, it may be wise to test the waters with a number of different platforms. However, as your strategy progresses, it’s important to focus on the platforms that are most effective for you, rather than using up resources trying to cover every platform equally.
Typically, if you’re a B2C business, Facebook and Instagram are where you will focus most of your time. If you’re B2B, Twitter and LinkedIn are probably more ideal for your business.
You’ll need to get to grips with analytics to assess the merits of each platform. Yet, it is time-consuming and complicated to work with the analytics tools of each native social media platform. They use different metrics which can make it difficult to make comparisons between them.
The solution is an integrated all-in-one dashboard – like Zym.ai – that brings analytics from all platforms into one central area in a format that makes it easy to compare and contrast the performance of each social media channel.
2. Polishing Your Platforms
When you have decided which platforms will be the focus of your strategy, it only makes sense to do everything you can to enhance your profile.
It sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how often businesses fail to consider the basics of their online image when working on a social media strategy. You want to take every step you can to make your profile look as professional and interesting as possible.
Don’t forget that you’re competing for the attention of a social media user against Millions (if not billions) of other profiles. Even if you are confident that your profiles are flawless, a review of them all may expose mistakes that have been overlooked.
Go through your profiles with a fine-tooth comb. Make sure that any contact information is correct and up-to-date, and that any and all pictures are bright,engaging and the correct size (bearing in mind your brand and tone of voice – consistency is key!)
Double-check and triple-check for any spelling mistakes and look into any posts from the past that might be better off being removed. Also, ensure you consistently post authentic content across your social channels. Use the feedback from likes, shares and comments to figure out what kinds of content get the best response.
The more you are able to engage with your followers, the more likely they are to share your content, which will, in turn, lead to more engagements and sales.
3. Tracking the Right Metrics
When you look at all of your social media platforms, you will soon find that there are so many metrics that provide information about your profile…