How to Measure Social Media with Nichole Kelly

Nichole KellyMeasuring your social media ROI (return on investment) is critical to the success of any digital marketing campaign…so why do so few small businesses do it?

Do you know how to measure your social media activity, and see if it’s all worth it?

If not, you’re not alone. Many small businesses have no idea how to set goals and measure the time and results they get from social media. That’s why we asked Nichole Kelly, author of How to Measure Social Media and CEO of Social Media Explorer, to show us how, in this week’s episode of The Marketing Agents Podcast.

Big Ideas:

  • How can small businesses get started with measuring social media?
    • Install Google Analytics and set up goals.
    • Add Google URL parameters to links to track everything.
    • Use Google URL builder (source, medium, campaign parameters) 
  • How can small biz determine what their goals should be on social media?
    • Brand awareness
    • Revenue generation (can you get them to spend more money more often?)
    • Customer service (look for cost deflection – more customers for less money)
  • How do you align social media with sales funnels?
    • If you do a good job, people will come and sales will result
    • If so, then track it!
    • Develop information content: ebooks, blog posts
    • Decision making content: made to tell if someone is making a decision at a specific point. Helps identify who to follow up with with more sales info.
  • How do you develop a listening station for social media?
    • Start with Google Alerts then go to more powerful tools.
    • Use HootSuite or Sprout Social (free or inexpensive)
    • NetBase, Sysomos, Radian6 (more expensive, enterprise level)
  • How do you measure social media leads?
    • Determine hard vs. soft leads
    • Soft leads: give contact info for information content. Follow up in different way – send more content but with decision making content. If they follow through, they become a hard lead.
    • Hard leads: downloads decision making content. Pass off to sales or direct follow-up.
  • How do you optimize the path to conversion?
    • Make it “stupid easy” to buy on social media. – custom tab or custom form.
    • When you arrive at a blog, how hard is it to buy? Is info capture method obvious?
    • A blog can be a customized landing page for sales.
  • How do you deal with negative feedback/comments?
    • Apologize. “So sorry for your experience.”
    • Acknowledge their complaint. It diffuses tension.
    • Act: how to resolve issue for client/customer
    • Be personally accountable for next steps.
    • Two types of negative customer:
      • Complain and then can be pacified.
      • Complain and keep on complaining.

Juicy Links:

Rich Brooks
Always Be Measuring