Five Ways to Measure Success for Any Social Media Program

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Many have invested heavily in social media, many more are still trying to figure things out. Even the companies that are playing in the social media space are still not completely sure on how they can measure the success of their efforts. Businesses typically cite the following reasons to get involved:

'It is a way to engage our consumers.'

'That is where our consumers are.'

' Everybody else is doing it!'

While these are all good reasons and quite true, you should seek a way to measure success so you can make your engagement more effective, gain the trust of your consumers, & outdo 'everybody else.'

Here are five key principles to apply -

1 - You use social media to increase your outreach. Pick a few channels and stay focused to drive 'growth' metrics. Perhaps you are looking to find more people or raise awareness. List what you want to do and then measure that metric month over month.

2 - You use social media to let your consumer know more about your organization. That way if the consumer is in the market for a particular product or service you want to make sure that they are aware of what your organization has to offer.

3 - You use social media to go viral. If you speak tactfully and offer value on your social media channels your consumer will share what you offer with others. Keep thinking of ways to engage your consumers in a dialogue - answer their question, solicit their opinion, & make it easy for them to share.

4 - You use social media to cut costs. There are dozens of things you can do to begin cutting costs from your traditional marketing channels through judicious application of social media. This is an absolute requirement to drive social media success.

5 - You use social media to drive revenue. It is easier to measure your success in the digital world and the impact of social media can be measured easily. Pick a few programs and then use social media to try and sell those programs within your organization.

You have to save money, and drive revenue to continue any marketing program. Social media is no exception. If you are perplexed on specifics (make money & save money) - I have put together a number of specific ideas that span a number of organizations including retailers & financial institutions.

Remember, if you save 'real money' & make 'real money,' you will be 'really successful.'