How do you Measure Social Media ROI for Your Business?
I am taking my own advice, and am away on vacation! I am therefore so thrilled to introduce my guest blogger – Ingrid Riley!
Ingrid is an award-wining tech blogger at SiliconCaribe.com and speaks on Social Media, Digital Culture and Digital Business. She has addressed audiences in North America, Europe, Africa and of course the Caribbean. The founder and Chief Digital Strategist at getConnectid.com, she is the only Digital Strategist in Jamaica and in the top 5 in the Caribbean who has developed and executed on Digital Strategies for an entire country. I met Ingrid about 10 years ago at a Social Media workshop. I was blown away then by the depth and breadth of her knowledge and expertise in this area, and still am! She’s my “go to” person whenever I need digital strategy advice!
In this blog, Ingrid debunks one of the biggest myths that businesses have about social media:
Did you know that a restaurant can drive traffic through its doors with a single and focused Instagram strategy that has content focused on stunning food photos, short video testimonials by customers and behind the scene chef secret videos? Oh yes! It would be pointless for them to spread themselves so thinly trying to be everywhere.
No one can argue that with the growth of Social media networks, they have become central to the way we live and do business locally, regionally and globally. Social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and Twitter all have seen a significant increase, which means they’ve become even more vital tools for businesses to find and build relationships with their current and potential customers. Added to that, social networks are an excellent funnel for traffic that’s relevant and can lead to enormous conversions, once you are implementing a clear strategy blueprint for your business or personal brand.
But do you have to be on every single social media network to win with your current and potential customers? No. This is why I say, you have to know before you go. Do you know what it is your business wants to achieve; where online are your current and potential customers and how do they want to engage with you? Other influencing factors that determine where your business sets up shop online are the nature of your business, size of your company and also the competitive landscape of your industry.
You see, it’s never a matter of merely being present. There is a very solid argument for having a clear and informed digital strategy or it will be like throwing mud at a wall and will plateau or worse, burn out.
Remember that social media networks are for creating and building relationships with your customers in a way that generates trust and that eventually drives consistent business through your digital and brick and mortar doors. You do this by listening and sharing who and what your brand is about through storytelling based on the context of the network that you are on.
You should avoid this “have to be everywhere“ mentality or you’ll go bust putting effort WITHOUT significant return. You have to know which networks provide optimal returns on your investment through time and effort. Having knowledge on networks which drive traffic to your website, your email sign ups, your app downloads and other business objectives, will allow you to narrow your focus, and optimize your campaigns going forward.
For more on Ingrid, go to: getconnectid.com
Hi Marguerite
This is really great information. Will be sharing with my friends and business partners.