{"id":4331,"date":"2015-01-02T17:11:07","date_gmt":"2015-01-02T23:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rocksdigital.com\/?p=4331"},"modified":"2024-11-20T11:36:18","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T17:36:18","slug":"roi-social-media-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocksdigital.com\/roi-social-media-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding ROI in Social Media Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mason
Mason Pelt talking social media marketing \/ photo By Paula Dodd Barnes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saying that marketing on social media doesn\u2019t work because you\u2019re not seeing a return on your investment is like saying that the treadmill you faithfully use as a coat rack isn\u2019t working because you haven\u2019t lost any weight. If you\u2019re not making money on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, odds are that you\u2019re not using them correctly. Social media ROI is not a myth!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"That
That said Bale on Twitter is a bit lack luster.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Think about these sites: Globally, Facebook is the second largest website. YouTube is the third largest. Poor little Twitter is only the eighth largest global website, which might make you think that it isn\u2019t worth your time. That\u2019s sort of like thinking that Christian Bale is a failure because he\u2019s only the eighth highest paid actor in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

These are not only large sites, but also they all offer robust targeting options to reach your desired audience, using optimizations on the platform and media buys. Saying that you don\u2019t see any returns on social media means that something isn\u2019t right and changes need to be made.<\/p>\n

Here are the top four things to change if you want to see social marketing make you money:<\/p>\n

Start Setting Meaningful Goals<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This seems almost too obvious to point out, but a lot of people focus their marketing on vanity metrics. \u201cLikes\u201d and \u201cFollowers\u201d mean nothing. At one point, I had a Klout score that was 15 points higher than Joe Biden\u2019s. Now, as much as I would like to believe that I was more influential than the Vice President of the United States, I have a sneaking suspicion that I wasn\u2019t. But the metrics told me so and numbers don\u2019t lie!\u00a0Well, numbers may not lie, but they don\u2019t always tell the whole truth.<\/p>\n

\"1\/22\/09.
1\/22\/09.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite how big Klout.com claimed my social media megaphone was, no one cared about my ideas on foreign policy. (I think we should have one.) No one was asking for my input on economic problems. (I am staunchly opposed to them.) And no one was clamoring to know my views on law enforcement reform. (I\u2019m not about to touch that here!)<\/p>\n

When I begin working on an account, I require a tangible goal. Normally, it is to improve sales with direct marketing. Sometimes, it is to improve awareness for a ubiquitously available product like soda or makeup that can be picked up at any store. But, ultimately, I try to compare year over year trends, or run split tests in different cities to prove an increase in demand caused by social media. Wait a minute. This is beginning to sound like my next point.<\/p>\n

Set Up Your Analytics and Sales Tracking Properly<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Facebook and YouTube each have platform analytics data that blows my mind. But, seeing if someone clicked doesn\u2019t show what that person did off of the site. You know your goals. You should track those.<\/p>\n

Assuming that you sell a product using ecommerce, Google Analytics Goal and Event Tracking, along with UTM strings to track the links you share, will give you a very clear idea of what is and is not working to drive sales. If you\u2019re running ads, something as simple as a conversion pixel in your website will at least give you last click attribution.<\/p>\n

\"beanieTruth be told, I think last click attribution should be placed on the shelf with that $400 Beanie Baby, because it\u2019s time has passed. I have seen analytics mangled in more ways than I can remember, but the worst thing is having nothing to show your results off of the platform.<\/p>\n

In a perfect world, you should add every tracking pixel that makes sense (Try Google Tag Manager<\/a> for this) and integrate your Google Analytics by using UTM strings tied to Goal Tracking. If you want to go the extra mile, try using dimension widening to add more data from your point of sale system, other any other data you like. Go nuts. I do, also in the name of Mat Cuts make your site HTTPS, you’ll thank me.<\/p>\n

Take a look at Google Analytics Academy and Steve Hammer’s Leveling up Google Analytics slide share for more information on advanced Google Analytics functionality.
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