Five Reasons You Should Measure Social Media Return on Investment

01 October 2020By Michelle

Five Reasons You Should Measure Social Media Return on Investment

A great marketing strategy includes carefully measuring your return on investment (ROI). But can you really do that for social media? We say you can – and should.

Sure you can show your boss the hundreds of new followers, the hearts, the comments, the likes. But the fact is, bottom line figures are what truly count and nowadays a “spray and pray” approach just won’t cut the mustard.

Here we give a quick rundown of the top reasons why measuring your social media ROI is always a good idea. By the way, you might also find our recent blog How To Measure The Impact Of Social Media On Your Business useful too.

Reason #1 – Measuring ROI helps set your objectives

Your objectives are all about what your business is looking to achieve. Once they’re decided, goals need to be set in order to get there. These goals must be attainable, relevant and measurable.

So, instead of just vaguely announcing you want to speed up DM replies on Twitter, set a particular amount of time. So you might say all DMs must be answered within 60 minutes for instance. Likewise, don’t just say “I want more Facebook promotions”, say “I want two promotions per month”. Then you can measure the ROI on each one.

Reason #2 – Tracks employee time investment

Does the amount of staff time spent working on social media reflect good value for money? Without working out the ROI it’s impossible to say. From writing posts, managing ads and replying to messages, it all adds up. And is this actually the best use of their time anyway? Even if staff do have some spare capacity, do they have all the right social media skills and expertise?

The good news is, social media management experts like us can take this all on for you, freeing up staff time (and brain space). Simply pick a plan that fits around you then sit back and relax knowing you’ve got social media covered.

Reason #3 – Allows you to see if a social media campaign worked

Around 45 million people in the UK are active social media users. An incredible number, but how do you know if a campaign or promotion you ran actually had any effect on them? Did it actually translate into any sales?

Measuring the ROI can help you decide whether a campaign or promotion was successful and whether to run it again in future. It also means you can compare one social media channel with another. Again, this is something a social media management agency can take on for you.

Reason #4 – Supports budget requests (and business growth)

Examining your social media revenue in detail can make any budget requests more convincing because they provide the data to back them up. If however you find that the ROI is disappointing, you then have the chance to work out where the inefficiencies lie in your social media strategy. After all, only when you can spot these inefficiencies can you set about fixing them. Over time, this also translates into business growth and streamlines your social media provision too.

Reason #5 – Identifies value for money

Most social media platforms are free to use, but some offer premium add-ons that cost money. Over time this expenditure needs revisiting to make sure it’s still working for you. If you’re measuring the ROI of a campaign you can decide if the freebie version does the job fine, or whether the paid-for upgrade is still the way forward.

Not sure where to start or simply don’t have time? No worries. A professional social media agency like Lead Social can monitor and analyse advert engagement stats and report the findings back. This means you can make more informed decisions about your campaign whilst also making best use of your ad budget.

Looking to maximise your ROI on social media investment?

Our team are on hand to make it happen. We’re working as normal during the COVID-19 restrictions, so why not kick off the conversation.