Most people understand that it’s important for a local business to have a social media presence. Case in point is a survey that found that 78% of U.S. consumers’ purchasing decisions are impacted by the posts made by businesses they follow on social media.
Do you still wonder how effective social media is and whether it’s worth putting a lot of time into it? You’re not alone. One critical way to determine success is by looking at the hard numbers. Here are some good places to start:
1. Within a social media platform.
For starters, look at the number of followers you have on each platform and whether that is growing or remaining stagnant. You should also look at the conversations happening on your page. What are people responding to and talking about? How many conversations are getting sparked in a day or a week? Of course, look at the number of likes you get for your posts and which ones are winners and which are losers. Try to see patterns.
2. Facebook metrics.
Facebook actually offers some useful information on your metrics page. There, you can pinpoint the times of day that your fans are most likely to be online, so you can actually schedule posts accordingly. You will also find an area to compare your page results to those of your competitors.
3. Google Analytics.
One of your biggest questions is probably whether people are reading your social media posts and clicking on your site to make purchases. Under the Traffic Sources tab in Google Analytics, you can learn about referring sites, those that are sending people to your Website. Search the social media platforms of choice and see where you stand.
4. Your web site traffic.
Hopefully, you’re already looking at page views and other data about your site. But look at it again through the lens of social media. Look at unique page views and how much time new users are spending on the site. You might be able to make connections between these numbers and the posts you’ve made on social media. Then, respond accordingly.
5. Metrics for pay.
Sites, such as KISSmetrics, offer lengthy reports that cover a range of topics including what URLs and pages brought people to your site and led to them making a purchase. You might already be using one of these to track overall site data. What is most important is to look at the data, no matter where it came from, and translate it. That means you determine what it really means to your business. It’s not enough to know that people aren’t sticking around on your site once they click on a link from Twitter. You have to try and figure out why they are leaving and how to get them to stay. The point is to use the data to maximize your social media strategies.
What metrics do you use when analyzing your social media marketing campaigns? Let us know in the comments below.
This article was syndicated from Business 2 Community: 5 Ways to Track Social Media Marketing Success
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