How to measure ROI on social media

Many companies struggle to measure the value, volume and nature of activity in real time on social media, on top of the number of social media analytics tools available.

So how can you measure real business value and ROI on social media?

Evaluate from the start

• Design your measurement approach at the planning stage of the social media campaign, instead of thinking about it once it is under way or even finished.
• Keep in mind that campaign plans may need adjusting to allow effective measurement, for example reviewing the weighting of activity or introducing an A/B test.
• Planning the evaluation at this stage will also let you set benchmarks for success and make predictions to measure against.

Back to basics

• Use the basics of traditional campaign planning and measurement to inform your approach to social media.
• The first step is to define the objectives of the activity and the role each social network is playing. Once these are set, consider the purpose, priorities and timing of the evaluation.
• There needs to be clarity about which decisions the measurement will inform, and whether it will be needed in real time to inform campaign execution or once the activity has finished.

Don’t just count, measure

• Measure the business value of the activities carried out on social media, whether in terms of sales, cost reduction, customer satisfaction or other key business performance indicators.
• Remember there is no single approach. You will have to select the right data and methodology to organize the campaign objectives.

Avoid measuring in silos

• Integrate your social media and other marketing activities. Social media is often only one part of marketing communications and tends to work more effectively in combination with other media.
• Design your evaluation approach to take into account the effects and synergies with other media for an accurate reading.

Think about long-term goals

• Distinguish between the short-term and long-term effects of social media marketing activity. Account for this in how you measure communication results.
• Activities with a call to action, for example competitions that ask for likes, will inevitably result in a higher immediate response and online participation, but may not necessarily be set up to show long-term effects such as brand loyalty, profitability and price elasticity.