Why Social Media?

Over the past decade, social media has become a cornerstone of any digital marketing strategy. However, while Social Media Managers (SMMs) intuitively grasp the value of social media, quantifying that value in financial terms can be challenging.

According to Hubspot, 44% of CMOs report difficulty measuring social media’s impact on their business.

Despite the abundance of likes, shares, comments, retweets, and followers, C-Level executives still ask, “How does this impact the bottom line?”

To answer this, SMMs need to adopt a Return-On-Investment (ROI) mindset. By calculating ROI, you can demonstrate—using clear, numeric data—how social channels contribute to the overall business. This approach not only provides strategic insights but also secures executive buy-in and highlights your team’s value within the organization. But first…

What is Social Media ROI?

Social media ROI is a ratio that calculates the net profit from your social media efforts. Essentially, it’s the end result of everything you do on social platforms. Like any other business activity, you need to weigh the time and money invested against the tangible benefits received. While traditional ROI focuses solely on monetary sums (e.g., profit), depending on your business objectives, you might also consider other metrics to gauge your return from social media. More on this later.

Why Prove Social Media ROI?

The existence of a social media team hinges on the assumption that it generates positive ROI. Vague reasoning such as “every business needs social media marketing” is insufficient. The C-Suite demands measurable results. If your social media ROI is unclear, then your team’s contributions are also unclear.

If you feel overlooked by the C-Suite or have difficulties securing a budget, proving your ROI could be the remedy. Additionally, calculating social media ROI can uncover key performance insights that guide strategy, budgeting, and resource allocation.

Benefits of Tracking Social Media ROI

Having a system in place to track social media ROI is crucial because it:

• Demonstrates the value of social media marketing to your company
• Proves the effectiveness of your social media marketing strategies
• Supports social media budget requirements
• Identifies successful areas of your strategy
• Pinpoint areas that need improvement

Conducting a Social Media Audit

Before others can understand the value of your social media efforts, you must understand them yourself. This section explains how to use social media auditing to gain a deeper knowledge of your situation and performance. Though it may be tempting to jump straight into ROI calculations, laying the groundwork first is essential.

What is a Social Media Audit?

A social media audit is a thorough assessment of your organization’s social media presence and performance. By compiling all your data, you can identify both strong and weak areas, enabling you to improve your strategy and maximize ROI.

Steps to Perform a Social Media Audit

1. List Your Owned ChannelsBegin by listing all your company’s social profiles, including handles, hashtags, and follower counts. Note the internal owners for each channel and any password/governance considerations. Describe each channel’s primary purpose and audience, and ensure consistency in tone, imagery, and branding across channels.
2. Review Channel PerformanceAssess each channel’s performance, including traffic, follower count, growth rate, mentions, shares, and engagement metrics. Pay special attention to community engagement metrics and posting frequency.
3. Review Content PerformanceAnalyze individual posts to determine which are performing best and why. Consider metrics like engagement, audience demographics, publish time, posting frequency, CTR, reach, impressions, sentiment, and video views.
4. Review Ad CampaignsEvaluate ad performance separately, focusing on metrics like ad spend, a/b test results, CPC, CPA, and CPM. Keep your campaign goals in mind when analyzing metrics.
5. Competitor AnalysisExamine your competitors’ social media profiles to understand how they use social media, their follower count, engagement, and how they interact with their audience. This can reveal how you stack up and provide inspiration for new initiatives.

Ready to harness the power of social media analytics? Read the full guide to learn how data-driven insights can elevate your pitches, enhance your campaigns, and prove ROI to your clients. Download now!

The Table of Contents of “How to Measure Your Social Media ROI” Guide:

• Introduction
• Why social media?
• What is social media ROI?
• Why do you need to prove social media ROI?
• Conducting a social media audit
• Calculating your social media ROI
  • Assigning values to micro-conversions
• Business goals and metrics
• Choosing the right metrics
• Benchmarking: What should you be aiming for?
• Experience the social suite of the future

Pricing: 

• Free