Most traditional forms of marketing one can measure the rate of return on investment easily. Place an ad, the phone rings you get clients...maybe yes maybe no but either way you can determine easily the results of placing that ad in a short period of time.
In the world of social media it is not quite so easy. Most social media resources are free so the monetary costs are relatively low especially if you are doing your own marketing. You are however investing your time Ahh that precious commodity of time where we ask ourselves how much is our time worth. Each individual will have their own answer to that question.The question is not really how much time to put into social media but to make sure that in the time you do put into it that you are working smart. That you are doing quality social media and not quantity and that you are consistent. It is not enough for people to just see your name but it is about how they are perceiving you. You want to be seen as an expert in your field, that you are giving value so that those who do not know you will use you as a resource when the time comes that they do need you. This is the power that is in social media.
There are some things to bear in mind when trying to measure your social media marketing results.
1. Do not read too much into things like click through numbers, readers of posts on a blog, email addresses you are capturing and such. These numbers are useful in showing growth and the impact your social media campaign is having.You are looking for growth and increased impact. If in the beginning you are getting only a few people clicking through and such do not worry about it. You want to look for increases and not at the actual raw data.
2. Another important factor is if your get an increase response to a certain post, that does not mean the next time you try something similar that you will get the same results. The world of social media is very fickle and every changing. You can however determine what your followers are generally interested in and from there you will need to provide even more information to hold their interest, not the same information just said differently.
3. Social Media users are very savvy these days. You need to respect their intelligence and educate them on who you are and what it is you offer and not try to sell them or trick them into something. Many will not share their email etc as they do not want to get a mailbox full of your product offerings, webinars etc. You do want to make it easy for them to contact you should they be interested. Empower them to choose you by providing good content that will peek their interest. Talk to them and not at them.
4. There is no substitute for good content. If you are not getting the results you desire, step up your content. Provide them with the information they are looking for. Social Media is about informing and educating your followers in a personable and interactive manner so that they will feel they know, like and trust you.
5. Results take time and you are looking to grow your influence and impact. Numbers alone will not tell you this. You need to determine how you want to be seen, what you want to be known for and gear your content in the direction. Your content needs to be a reflection of this in a consistent, personable and relate-able.
So my fellow social media gods and goddesses don't stress over all of this....the world of social media is so new that even the guru's don't have it figured out but they are sure trying and are having a real struggle in doing so. You can make social media marketing work for you and you can get the results you desire. Just remember to keep everything in perspective and be yourself. After all is it not you that they want to do business with?
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