Online Media Tracking Methodology for Social Media
Meaningful metrics for tracking the performance of a social media program fall into these three categories.
Meaningful metrics for tracking the performance of a social media program fall into these three categories.
Many marketers still think they can’t track social media marketing ROI (define). They say it’s so new and hard to define that the old metrics and tracking technologies just can’t be applied. This widespread perception is reflected by comments in major publications (I have taken out their real names, but I assure you the quotes are real and recent):
“The problem with trying to determine ROI for social media is you are trying to put numeric quantities around human interactions and conversations, which are not quantifiable…What you’re trying to do is assign multiple choice scoring to an essay question. It’s not possible.” -Principal, social media marketing agency
[Figuring out the ROI of social media] “is the million dollar question.” -Director of corporate branding, major retailer
However, as a person coming from the online media world, I never accepted that. When it comes to online, everything can and should be tracked.
You can track social media ROI just like online media and search, and even layer on a few extras!
The difference is that, unlike paid search, online media, and other online marketing tactics, the social channel can take more time to mature and the results can take longer to be realized.
For many of the metrics, there is no need to reinvent the wheel – one can look at the same performance indicators in use for online today such as clicks, cost per click, leads, cost per lead, and even revenue.
Social Media Metrics
Reliable, meaningful metrics that fall into three broad categories.
Now, the integration of all this data on a dashboard may pose a challenge for organizations and agencies. The reality is, it’s pretty easy once the technology is in place and a workflow is established. Our agency has created such a dashboard; it’s also possible to get a large portion of the items listed above using technologies you most likely already have in place such as Google Analytics, Omniture, Net Insight, Radian6, and the stats you get from your Facebook page, Twitter account, and other social properties. They key is understanding how to filter it and piece it together, but the trick is to stick to your guns and track the things that have always been important to you as an online marketer!