Hooray for Stats!

When I first got into Social Media - the return was all very speculative. No one had really found a decent way to feedback to customers about how it was actually benefiting them.

It's all very well and good telling Clients that a brilliant Social campaign allows you to hug your customers and share knitting patterns - what they want to know is why this sharing of knitting benefits their company.

Why shouldn't they expect a decent answer to this question?  They haven't put blood, sweat, tears and the development of a severe caffeine addiction into this brand for no reason - they want it to succeed goshdarnit!

Good News!

Thanks to the shed-load of analytical tools available nowadays, you can show your Clients exactly what they need to know.

Trouble is, when you don't work towards a goal that has been specified at the start of the project - how can you measure it?

Don't mistake Social Media for something that doesn't require a strategy; it's a truly lucrative part of your Digital Marketing.

The easiest thing to do when telling your clients how awesome Social is, is to ask them what they would like to see an increase of

(steering clear of this approach:

because, let's face it, that just misses the point...)

Instead!

Work with your Clients to specify their goals for Social. For example-able:

All of these are measurable and have a return that benefits your Client's business.

Social Media ROI

If footfall to your website increases from your Social Network presence that means increased business; customer acquisition, increased sales, increased brand awareness, brand trust - and so on.

There are two lessons here: 1) Don't lump Social Strategy in with the Christmas tree at the back of your stationery cupboard, only to be brought out once a year and 2) Don't expect your strategy to be taken seriously without measurable results.