Analytics of Social Media

The readings for this week focused on the analytics of social media.  Let’s take an in-depth look at the Social Media Examiner article entitled ‘3 Tools to Improve Your Social Media Performance’, and the 60 Second Marketer article called ‘In-Depth Guide to Calculating Social Media ROI’. 

One of the suggested items to contemplate was to reflect on where we started and where we ended up in regards to a social media plan.  Professor Stevens offered this wisdom from Yogi Berra, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there” (Yogi Berra, GoodReads.com). 

Professor Stevens also noted, “You need to measure the outcome of your work, determine how to calculate your return on the effort and resources you invest in social media, and optimize your results”.  (Stevens, 2015). 

In the 60 Second Marketer article, we read that there are three stages to the social media return on investment (ROI) cycle; the launch stage, the management stage, and the optimization stage.  We learned that only 10% of the businesses asked in a survey by Oracle are aware of whether or not their social media efforts equated to an increase in revenue (60 Second Marketer). 

1.        Think of a company or organization that has excelled at their social media performance. 

2.       Research the units of measurement linked to the success of that company or organization’s social media efforts (i.e. Facebook likes, Twitter followers, YouTube hits, Instagram followers, etc.). 

3.       Are there any other units of measurement that you can identify that should be considered in determining the success of their social media efforts? 

In the Social Media Examiner article, we read that there are three tools to improve your social media performance; monitor your brand anywhere on the web through the site Mention, improve your Facebook page performance through the site LikeAlyzer, identify competitors’ most shared content through the site Social Crawlytics (Cleary, 2013). 

1.        Research the social media performance of your chosen company or organization through one of the three tools listed in the Social Media Examiner article. 

2.       Is there room for improvement with your chosen company or organization in regards to their social media performance?  If so, what recommendations would you lend to your chosen company or organization for them to optimize their social media performance?

3.       Compare your chosen company or organization’s performance with that of a competitor and report your findings in your blog post. 

There are varying views on the impact that social media has on revenue and how to measure that impact.  As PracticalEcommerce notes in an article regarding the measurement of social media’s impact on revenue, “The only way to capture and quantify how often social media influenced purchases…is to ask visitors and customers” (Wilson, 2012).  The article suggests using online surveys, feedback surveys from customers after their purchase, or questions asked to customers through a call center. 

1.        Do you agree or disagree with the point of view that the only way to quantify whether social media is directly linked to revenue is by asking customers directly? 

2.      Can you think of a more effective way to obtain this information? 

In addition to the Yogi Berra quote that Professor Stevens offered, I also like the Yogi Berra quote “It’s not too far; it just seems like it is” (Yogi Berra, GoodReads.com). 

(Yogi Berra with Whitey Ford from cliff1066)

Make it a great week!

References:

Cleary, Ian. (January 9, 2013). Social Media Examiner. “3 Analytic Tools to Improve Your Social Media Performance”. Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/3-analytic-tools-to-improve-your-social-media-performance/

Stevens, Bernice. Marist College. “Lesson >> Week Seven: Unit Three – Social Media Analytics” Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from https://ilearn.marist.edu/portal/site/c29cf665-5ca7-4c1d-9962-744d54975780/page/e42451f1-28db-42ee-852b-7564539759a5

The 60 Second Marketer. “An In-Depth Guide on How to Calculate the ROI of a Social Media Campaign”.  Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from http://60secondmarketer.com/blog/2013/11/17/in-depth-guide-calculating-social-media-roi/

Wilson, Tim. (June 15, 2012). PracticalEcommerce. “Measuring Social Media’s Impact on Revenue”. Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/3600-Measuring-Social-Media-s-Impact-on-Revenue#comments

Yogi Berra image. EveryStockPhoto.com. Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=7990165&searchId=255ed1f6890c69083c99148441b642ab-3&npos=16

Yogi Berra quotes. GoodReads.com. Retrieved on March 3, 2015 from http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/79014.Yogi_Berra?page=2