The worst thing about social media is not being unable to measure it – in fact there is arguably too much to measure.

Likes, retweets, favourites, new fans, members, comments, complaints… it’s a long list.

But on their own, or even taking a couple together – these measurements are a distraction from what really matters. Just like you can convince yourself that you’re doing important work when you are down a wormhole on Twitter – yet you know that when your crunch time comes around, that won’t wash at all. Read More »

Last year I sat on a few panels that dealt with issues the social media industry has been waxing lyrical about for years; ROI, standards and such. The first – that of measurement – is the Holy Grail for anyone working in this space. Still. Rolling out ‘it’s all about being human’ or ‘you can engage with your audience on a completely different level’ just doesn’t cut it anymore. Yes, these two points are relevant when you’re looking at the value of investment in social – but that’s totally different to working out the return. Read More »

Most brands have learnt how to reach consumers and build advocacy through social media, but to drive sales they need to set up the right online purchase routes relevant to their specific business. And digitally intelligent brands have realised that Likes, Followers, and +1s shouldn’t be the primary KPI for measuring social media campaign success.

Measurement is set to become more sophisticated in 2013, and the industry benchmark for measurement will shift from community growth to revenue and profit through social media.  Here, I predict five purchase routes brands will increasingly be looking to set up this year to drive sales. Read More »

Despite how far we have come in social media and its exponential growth ROI still remains one of, if not the biggest, challenge that marketers face when it comes to using social. This infographic takes a good stab at dispelling some of those myths that have over time become widely accepted truths.

First up it challenges the idea that measuring Facebook likes and Twitter followers equals social media ROI. Read More »

Three major misunderstandings about social media ROI are undermining the use of social media by brands, according to Walter Carl, chief research officer and founder of US-based research firm ChatThreads, who spoke last Friday at Social Media Matters Asia 2012.

A great infographic from elisaDBI offering a guide to tracking social media as part of your online marketing mix.

The ROI is always a hot topic and one of the key questions marketers are are asking before giving the go ahead for campaigns. Some of the topline numbers are surprising. For instacne 50% of companies are unsure of the value of being on LinkedIn and 53% are unsure of the Twitter’s ROI. This gives a step by step guide beginning with defining the key performance indicators (KPIs should be measureable) through to checking your strategy. Read More »

“If I spend £100,000 on setting up a customer community online, what will I get back?”

Sound familiar? These days, every marketing pound invested has to produce a demonstrable return, and often social media is the hardest return to prove. If you’ve set up a Facebook page and it doesn’t seem to be giving you anything back, you’re not alone. Some of the biggest brands in the world are struggling with how to make social media work. Read More »