In order to prove the value of social media, it’s important to understand how it differs from traditional advertising.
If you’re like most of our clients, you’ve already moved into the social media arena. But now, you may be getting questions from your CEO about how it’s working. Or you may be trying to decide if you’re allocating the appropriate resources to social media. How can you know if it’s really working?
We’ve been talking to our clients about moving beyond traditional advertising metrics to think about how social media measurement is different.
I recently read a post by Katie Saffey that features a side-by-side comparison and offers a good starting point for social media measurement.
Engagement vs. impressions
Social media success relies on engagement vs. advertising’s traditional number of impressions. The ability to engage one-on-one with your audience can allow you to deliver customized messages that speak directly to an individual’s concerns.
Quality vs. Quantity
With traditional advertising, we often measure reach. With social media, it’s more important to think about the quality of each individual interaction.
Constant vs. Sporadic
While traditional advertising often uses a “flighted” strategy, it’s important for social media communications to be ongoing and consistent every day.
Reputation management
Social media allows you to monitor what people are saying about your brand, and you can participate in the conversation in an authentic, relevant way.
As Safrey points out, “Words such as engagement and conversation do not get you off the hook for providing real numbers” in measuring social media results.
If you’re not tracking links, click-throughs and other Web analytics, that’s an important first step. There are many free tools out there to help you get started.
