3 Things to Keep in Mind When Measuring Social Media Marketing Success – by Shama Kabani

1.) Measure Quantitatively and Qualitatively: The quantitative is the numbers part of the game. Website visitors, Twitter Followers, Facebook fans, etc. This makes for very pretty charts, and cool case studies. The qualitative is what can’t be measured by numbers. It is essentially what is being said about you and your brand. Reputation management, anyone?
2.) Keep in Mind the Non-Linear Benefits of Social Media Marketing: Small and medium sized businesses alike have the same power afforded to bigger businesses. How? R&D.  Research and Development was never this quick or streamlined. The feedback you can get from an online community when done correctly can be comparable to millions of dollars worth of “focus groups.”
3.) Build it Before You Need it: Social media marketing is akin to storing a box of band-aids in your medicine cabinet. You don’t think about it all the time, but when you have a cut, they sure come in handy! Let’s say you run a restaurant, and one customer has a bad experience and blogs about it. That can really hurt! Unless, you have 10 other customers who also blogged about their great experience. Build the networks and invest in social media marketing BEFORE you need it.
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