How To Measure The Effectiveness Of Your Social Media Campaign

Your first social media campaign is up and running, and you’re proud of all the work you've done. You can spend a little bit of time basking in your accomplishment, but you also need to be aware of the work you have ahead as the campaign continues.

Even a big company can fail to monitor its social media marketing. In a survey by Convince & Convert, 41% of companies said they had no idea whether or not their social media efforts were actually paying off. Get the most of your social media efforts by putting good habits into practice and having the right tools at your disposal.

What is the best way to measure the effectiveness of your social media campaign?

Define your goals and match them to metrics

To determine whether or not you've obtained a return on your social media investment, you'll need to first define the objectives and goals for a particular campaign. If you’re a marketing manager, you may have complete control over this; if you’re a social media marketer, you’ll probably define goals together with your marketing manager. Whatever your goals, have a clear understanding of what represents the most value to your brand and how you'll measure it.

There are many metrics you can track to see if your campaign is achieving its goals. Be specific and try focusing on just one or two to start so you can really hone in on the effectiveness of your campaign.

For example, the goal for a particular campaign might be conversions. In that case, your social campaign should include gated content that requires an email address for access. Measure its success by tracking lead generation, or, how many people give you their email in exchange for your content. In this example, the overall business goal is aligned with a clear and measurable action that you want your customers to take. Keep in mind the goals and metrics you define might not be tied directly to revenue.

Use an efficient measurement tool

You’ll need a means to measure your metrics. Sprout Social, recommends using a relatively small set of tools to avoid getting cluttered. You'll likely appreciate this, certainly if you have only a handful of channels you want to focus on and need specific programs to help you.

There are plenty of analytics tools out there for you to use, including social media channels themselves. Google Analytics is a well-known and often-used tool; it's probably a good place to start, with so many features included and the flexibility to help you define your campaign better. Remember the importance of matching your measurement with whatever your KPIs are. You’ll need to set up goals in Google Analytics to track the same metrics that you prioritized beforehand so your campaign is coordinated correctly.

Try different techniques (but be patient)

Try different strategies and keep looking at measurement options as your campaign continues, but you should still stick to your initial strategy. Over time, you’ll most likely reset your goals and add different metrics, but you'll need to invest some time in your initial campaign to start seeing real results about its effectiveness. Keep this in mind and have a realistic schedule for how long your effort will take you before you jump into a new strategy.

Learn from your results

The various avenues available to you and the tools out there can suggest ways to develop and improve your campaign. It's going to take trial and error and research to ultimately optimize your campaign. A report is often valuable in and of itself, but it's also a good way to get ideas for future campaigns. Digital marketing training courses, as well as online resources, can help teach you the best ways to structure and keep track of your campaigns.