“Yes, we can measure social media” and other useful info from Mesh Marketing
from Katie D. Paine's blog
Still winding down from an exciting day at #Meshmarketing in Toronto yesterday (huge thanks to the organizers for a great event). I sat in on four fabulous presentations, but the highlight for me was Katie D. Paine‘s “Social Media Analytics – What, Why and How.”
All day, there were lots of questions about social media ROI and what to measure, both in the presentations, and in talking with other attendees. Katie’s presentation at the end of the day wrapped it up perfectly: The main point was “yes, you CAN measure social media ROI”
She explained the seven steps to social media ROI, you can find all this and more in her presentation, but in short they are:
- Define the “R” – What are the expected results?
- Define the “I” – What’s the investment? (She also points out that social media is not, in fact, free–”Do you work for free?” she asked)
- Understand your audience and what motivates them
- Define the metrics (what you want to become)
- Determine what you are benchmarking against
- Pick a tool and undergo research
- Analysis – because research without insight is just trivia
The best part about these steps is that they don’t *just* apply to social media, but any type of measurement. The challenge with social media is it’s not yet widely adopted, but now you’re equipped to go out and lead the way, so what are you waiting for?
If you missed Mesh Marketing, but were in Ottawa, I hope you were able to catch Katie at Third Tuesday Ottawa. If not, I encourage you to check out the slide presentation or follow her blog.
