Social media measurement

The nitty gritty.

ROI.

Measure twice, cut once.

I think it can pretty much go without saying that measurements are critical to any social media strategy. I mean, how else will you know, objectively and for certain, that the darn stuff is working?

I think we all cede to that.

I submit that measurements are more than just a component of a strategy, I say that measurements make it more likely that the strategy is a successful one that generates serious results.

Why? Because:

1. People are more apt to do what they’re supposed to be doing if they know someone is watching. Although the measure of someone’s character is how they act when they think no one is looking, the truth is many people will only do what they are supposed to (e.g., start the campaign, post a comment on an influencer’s blog, send the press release, make a phone call, etc.) when they think someone is watching or measuring the results of their work.

2. What we focus on expands. So, if you’re spending a fair amount of time running the numbers and examining metrics, you’ll naturally get more to measure simply because you’re paying attention to it. Kinda like when you figure out where your money is going (e.g., making a spending plan), you naturally save more money because you’re paying attention to where your money goes.

3. What doesn’t get measured gets forgotten. If you’re not remembering — or don’t care — to check the metrics of your social media efforts, eventually you’ll forget about the whole initiative. Examining the numbers ensures that the task is on your radar and you’re more likely to attend to other aspects of the task as well.

The next question is, which metrics should you measure?

I’ll answer that in my next post.