The Measurement of Success

A recap of the May 2015 Sunrise Scrambler Todd Ramsey It seems like more often than not, the world of social media is changing , thus requiring businesses to change their social media practices to keep up. And with the plethora of tools and tactics to choose from, it can be overwhelming to determine whether or not your social media efforts are effective. Todd Ramsey, Chief Strategist at Apples & Arrows, broke down social media measurement at our May Sunrise Scrambler when he presented “Measuring the Effects of Your Social Media.” Below is a short recap of his many great tips. To Formulate a Social Media Strategy:

1. Start with your objective. Do you want to sell more product, increase event attendance, increase brand awareness, protect brand reputation, build community, etc.? You cannot form a plan to achieve a goal unless you are clear on what your goal is.
2. Know your audience. Todd used the example of selling running shoes. If you are targeting 65-year-old men, your plan will be different than if you are targeting 18-year-old women.
3. Understand your resources. The thought that “social media is free” is a myth. Executing a social media strategy requires people, technology and time – none of which are free.
4. Your objective, audience and resources will inform the tactics (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, SnapChat, etc.) you choose.

Five Things to Measure:

1. Awareness – How many people saw the content?
2. Engagement – Did people share, comment or like?
3. Consideration* – How many responses were generated?
4. Conversion* – Did we generate a sale/goal?
5. Advocacy – Did we get people talking?

*Two most important factors to note because they can impact a company’s bottom line and create ROI. Suggested Measurement Tools:

• Use the analytics tools that are built in to each social media platform.
• Google Analytics
• Buffer
• Sumall
• Rival IQ
• Raven

Questions from the Audience: Q: With Facebook’s algorithm, is it almost necessary to pay to promote your posts? A: Yes, Facebook’s shareholders want to make money. Therefore, an organic post (one that has not been paid to be boosted) will typically only reach 1-3% of a business page’s followers. So if your page has 100,000 likes, only 1,000-3,000 of those people will see your post. Even businesses with small budgets can benefit from paying to boost their posts. One attendee indicated that her business page sees a drastic difference when devoting $10-20 to boosting a post. Q: How often should a business revisit their social media strategy? A: Todd suggests developing plans on a quarterly timeline. This ensure agility in the changing social media world, but is also a long enough timeframe to capture trends. See photos from the event on Facebook, view conversation from the event on Twitter using #ChamberICT, and check out Todd’s presentation here. You can also follow Todd and Apples & Arrows on Twitter @ToddRamsey and @ApplesArrows. Thank you to our sponsors for making programming like this possible: Emprise Bank, Friends University and Davis-Moore Autogroup. Next month’s Sunrise Scrambler will be held on June 17 at Eberly Farm, where Maurice W. Evans with iGROWyourBiz, Inc. will discuss “Becoming a Person of Influence.” Register here.