In management, if it can’t be measured it can’t be managed. The same goes for your business’s involvement in social media. Our social media guru Julia Rosien will tell you how to measure and grow your online presence.
I’m often asked how I measure social media for business, which is a fair question. But it’s one I often answer with, “how did you measure that billboard you paid someone to put up at the local hockey arena?”
In a country where the average person faces more than 400 advertisements daily, the modern marketer’s ultimate challenge is actually making a message sticky – the one people remember. It might be hard to measure the reach of that billboard, but social media is different story.
When people “like” or “follow” brands on social media, they’re giving that brand permission to join an inner circle. It’s called permission marketing because you’re no longer interrupting a TV show or a song. You’re an invited guest into the conversation.
So how do you do know if you’re doing it right? Start by measuring sentiment rather than numbers. Take time to understand if the communities you’re building are mostly happy or if it’s a public brand lynching.
- Track likes vs. unlikes (follows vs. unfollows). If you lose followers faster than you gain them, you’re doing something wrong.
Remember you’re dealing with human feelings. People want to talk to other people – not corporations. They control the like button. The moment your messages become annoying, corporate and too markety is the moment the like button becomes an unlike button.
- Record complaints and kudos and act on them quickly. Complaints signify that your community is listening when you make a promise.
When you’re given permission to follow-up, it’s a delicate trust. Not following up can signal that you’re not serious about your online community – which can devastate your online reputation.
Remember this is a respect issue. You need your community but they may or may not need your product. Recognize that you’re here to be of service, not the other way around.
- Are you doing what you set out to do? Whether it’s better customer service, increased sales or brand awareness, is your ROI paying off? If you’re not moving the dial on those goals, what do you need to change?
Whether you call this new way of communicating permission marketing, social media marketing or social networking marketing, it’s effective and demanding in equal measures
I’m often asked how I measure social media for business, which is a fair question. But it’s one I often answer with, “how did you measure that billboard you paid someone to put up at the local hockey arena?”
In a country where the average person faces more than 400 advertisements daily, the modern marketer’s ultimate challenge is actually making a message sticky – the one people remember. It might be hard to measure the reach of that billboard, but social media is different story.
When people “like” or “follow” brands on social media, they’re giving that brand permission to join an inner circle. It’s called permission marketing because you’re no longer interrupting a TV show or a song. You’re an invited guest into the conversation.
So how do you do know if you’re doing it right? Start by measuring sentiment rather than numbers. Take time to understand if the communities you’re building are mostly happy or if it’s a public brand lynching.
Measurement #1
Track likes vs. unlikes (follows vs. unfollows). If you lose followers faster than you gain them, you’re doing something wrong.
Remember you’re dealing with human feelings. People want to talk to other people – not corporations. They control the like button. The moment your messages become annoying, corporate and too markety is the moment the like button becomes an unlike button.
Measurement #2
Record complaints and kudos and act on them quickly. Complaints signify that your community is listening when you make a promise.
When you’re given permission to follow-up, it’s a delicate trust. Not following up can signal that you’re not serious about your online community – which can devastate your online reputation.
Remember this is a respect issue. You need your community but they may or may not need your product. Recognize that you’re here to be of service, not the other way around.
Measurement #3
Are you doing what you set out to do? Whether it’s better customer service, increased sales or brand awareness, is your ROI paying off? If you’re not moving the dial on those goals, what do you need to change?
Whether you call this new way of communicating permission marketing, social media marketing or social networking marketing, it’s effective and demanding in equal measures