How Social Media Measurement is Like Ordering a Starbucks Coffee
70% of companies admit they are “inadequately” measuring social media.
Reasons given for lack of measurement run the gamut from “lack of dedicated resources” to “we didn’t know what to measure.” We’re suggesting that measuring social media is like ordering Starbucks coffee. You can make it as complicated as you want …
however, a simpler more direct route gets you the same benefit in the end …
The Tech4Good Community here in Denver invited me to share some insights on how to effectively measure social media. The full presentation can be downloaded by clicking here, and following is a shorter version of the three steps to easily measure social media results that matter:
Step 1. Use Social Media for Strategic Organizational Goals
Pick two or three goals from the chart below as your primary social media goals. This way you’re not trying to boil the ocean.
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Step 2: Choose the social media platforms that best support your goals.
Most major US brands and nonprofits use Facebook, Blogs, Twitter and YouTube as their top social media platforms. Why? Because those are the social media platforms CONSUMERS are flocking to and using. See the Internet Minute graphic below.
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In fact, a recent survey of Chief Marketing Officer shows that major US Brands will be investing their social media budget for the next year in YouTube, Facebook, Blogs, and Twitter.
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To complete Step 2, choose the platform(s) that best fits your business goals using our following chart for guidance. The full presentation offers more suggestions on which platform perform the best for your organizational goals, but this will give you a sense of the kind of insights and actions you might seek from social media to support your organizational goals.
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Step 3: Choose your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that correlate back to your organizational goals and objectives
For example, if you’re looking for marketing exposure you would measure number of fans. If you’re priority is growing your housefile, you would measure new leads. Or, if you’re trying to drive revenue, you’d measure how many donations you’re driving from your social media applications and links.
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Download and use this social media measurement worksheet to develop a targeted social media measurement plan. And remember …
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