Newsletter

Measuring Social Media ROI

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Performance Marketing, the monthly newsletter for online marketers looking for results. This issue is about the pressure to produce results in a down economy, the latest news on social networks, and how to measure the ROI of social media.

We want to help you be successful in these interesting, and challenging, times.

It’s tempting to cut spending and wait out the downturn. Many companies are slashing marketing budgets. But cutting marketing costs is not a long-term solution to the economic downturn, and can lead to bigger problems later.

A better option is to rethink your marketing mix to focus on selective targets. Choosing the right balance can help generate sales and lead to future growth.

Here are three things you can do in the current economic climate to boost results:

1. Choose the right marketing mix that offers a blend of traditional and interactive/social marketing.
   
2. Measure and track the effectiveness of all marketing tactics and strategies to identify the optimum mix on an on-going basis.
   
3. Use a pay-for-performance model to generate traffic and achieve growth without a big upfront commitment.

Whether you are promoting your product or service through email marketing, search engine marketing, display advertising, social networks, mobile or affiliate networks, having the right mix is crucial.

An experienced Performance Marketing agency will create effective advertising campaigns and promotions to convert the maximum number of new leads or customers, ensuring your success during tough times.

All the Best,
Daniel Laury
Founder, President and CEO
LSF Interactive

Feature Article: 9 Steps to Analyzing Social Media ROI

A recent report by Razorfish reveals that companies ignore social media at their peril. The report states, "Marketers must still try to reach consumers through social media since that's where conversations about brands are increasingly taking place."

For the study, Razorfish surveyed 1,000 consumers split evenly between active social network users and a broader sample of the general population. Overall, 80% belonged to at least one social network and 40% were active in two.

The findings revealed that 62% say they don't seek out brand opinions via social media but 71% share recommendations on products and services on social sites at least once every few months. This suggests that people are influencing each others' purchase decisions even when they're not consciously asking for purchase advice.

But many marketers, under increasing pressure to produce results, might hesitate to pursue social media without being able to pinpoint ROI.

Actually, calculating the ROI of social media follows the same basic premise as it does for any other marketing initiative -- figure out what you're putting into it, what you expect to get out of it, define your metrics, measure, calculate, and voila!

Here are 9 steps to measuring social media ROI:

1. Define the expected results of your social media campaign.
   
2. Define the investment in terms of personnel, costs, and time.
   
3. Understand your audiences and what motivates them.
   
4. Define the metrics. What exactly will you measure?
   
5. Determine your benchmarks.
   
6. Pick a tool and conduct research.
   
7. Analyze results.
   
8. Apply insights, adjust efforts and remeasure.
   
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8.

A well-crafted social media presence is an essential part of doing business today. Feel free to email us if you have any questions about how to incorporate social media into your marketing efforts.

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