Best Practices When Measuring Your Business’ Social Media Impact

Does your organization use social media as part of its overall business development strategy? Not too long ago, simply being active on social media by making connections and engaging with followers seemed sufficient for online growth. The tide has turned though and more organizations are currently using social media in their marketing plans than ever before.

In order to ensure you continue to stand above your competition, you need to learn to both measure and understand your business’ social media impact. These are a few general best practices to consider when measuring your business’ social media impact.

Be consistent when measuring your business’ social media impact

It is important to stay consistent with your social media activity in order to determine its true impact. For example, if you want to measure the impact of your Facebook posts on a daily basis then you need to ensure you are posting daily. Facebook provides built-in page metrics and insights which show the number of people who see your posts, along with the optimal times for you to post in order to reach more of them. Since Facebook gathers and reports data based on your and your followers’ activity, consistency is key for driving reliable and relevant metrics.

Make it easy for yourself when measuring your business’ social media impact

The mere thought of measuring data from multiple social media platforms overwhelms many marketers. You may want to check into using a single tool which collects data from each of the social media channels in which your business is active. Most of these tools bring your data together into a single interface which makes analyzing it much easier. Even better? It gives you more time to determine how to convert that data into information you can use to maximize your social media activities.

Now that you’re collecting data, remember to use it the best way for your business

What good is having all the data and information in the world if you don’t or can’t use it? As Lior Degani states in his article for Social Media Examiner, “4 Social Analytics Tips to Improve Your Social Media Marketing,”

Track the right metrics for your community and you’ll better understand how and when to share information, as well as what type of content drives the most traffic to your website.

First, focus on collecting the data which is most specific to your business’ social media usage and your audience’s needs. Then you should be able to put it to work in the best ways for your business. For example, the data you collect can help you decide what type of content resonates with your audience as well as the best time(s) to post it. Making the most of measuring your social media impact will help drive more positive results and create less frustration for you.

So, are you ready to start making an impact with your business’ social media? I would love to hear what you’re measuring and how it makes a difference for your business.

Related Resources: 

Online Marketing Institute http://www.onlinemarketinginstitute.org/blog/2013/08/how-to-measure-the-true-value-of-social-media-marketing-for-your-business/

Small Business Trends http://smallbiztrends.com/2014/01/rules-results-from-social-media.html