As the world of marketing evolves, social media will likely gobble up more of your budget. Fortunately, investing in social media doesn’t require spending a king’s ransom for results. In fact, the real emphasis should be on maximizing the value of your efforts and implementing the right technologies for accurately measuring ROI.
How do you choose reliable technologies that match the goals and needs of your business? Here are six steps that will help steer you in the right direction. 1. Know What You Need – This, of course, varies for business to business. Once you identify exactly what you’re trying to measure (fans, number of hits, attitude toward your product), you can then fine-tune your efforts to maximize your results.
2. Build a Team – Organize a group of social media experts to keep your strategies on track. Members of this formidable group could include a social media strategist, IT person, and a financial rep who can free up the all-important funding for your efforts.
3. Create a Tool Inventory – This document should spell out in vivid detail what social media tools are currently in the arsenals of each business unit. Then confirm their compatibility with any new tools you’re considering.
4. Identify Potential Partners – Create a list of partners who can provide reliable assistance with various social media metrics, covering everything from listening and sentiment to profile management. It is critical to ask questions that build your understanding of a particular tool and its true potential to meet your needs.
5. Test the Waters – Demo each tool to ensure suitability and reliability. The majority of vendors will be more than willing to accommodate your business with a free trial lasting a month or longer. Once the product proves itself to your satisfaction, investing in it will be a much easier decision.
6. Final Decision – You’ve tested, evaluated, and run a particular social media tool through a million trials by fire. Now the moment of truth – do you invest in the product or not? Even if you decide against purchasing the tool under consideration, your team will have gained a valuable education on the subject of social media technologies. So no matter what the outcome, your efforts clearly will be time well-spent.
Do you have any questions or comments about social media metrics, or about any other marketing topic? Feel free to send them our way. You can connect with The Young Company team at 949-376-8404 #205 or byoung@youngcompany.com. And be sure to follow us for the latest industry news and tips.