Social Media Metrics – hmmm

I came across an article by Tom Johansmeyer in Social Times, which I think only comes online. In any event, the article was titled “The only 3 Social Media Metrics that Really Matter” and Tom makes some good points.

Tom states that the three big issues all impact your company’s business model. Conversions, Pageviews in your website and or blog, and Opt-ins.

Certainly worth a read. Tom pays lip service to “brand visibility, sharing and brand strength”, however, I want to be frank and clear on a few additional points.

Business only survives on conversion, so I think it’s reasonable to assume that we are converting. It goes without saying that visibility, sharing and brand strength are cornerstones of the conversion process. Advertisers have been throwing money against this wall forever; newspaper, radio, flyers, unaddressed admail and direct mail have been the basic way business communicated to its customers and prospects. Why would social media and Internet marketing be any different? Truly, if you’re new to this space, the basics are the basics. The part of attracting and interacting with your market is the same. It has to be.

It’s imperative to be online and using social media in order to build a following, or likes and opt-in email addresses. So, get out there and do it … the term ROI (return on investment) has been overused and misstated in many ways over the last few years. The fact that we can now measure, doesn’t mean everything has to be measured … you’ve got years and years of history to prove this fact!

The article is in agreement with my thinking regarding a few things. Number one, you need social media, followers and LIKES to build your following. You can measure this simply by page views, blogs read etc. Makes sense, it’s easy, and you don’t need a computer program to track.

I’ve written (again and again) that email is KING of communication right now, so building your opt-in email list is critical, and don’t forget it. You’ve cut back your media budgets, so use some of that money to build content, relevant content in order to drive customers to your website and have them opt-in for more info. So, Tom and I agree and disagree. The fact remains, there are many ways to look at Social Media and it’s not all about conversion. Advertising has never been all about conversions and that is certainly just as true today.

Michael Bickerton, Raven5 Ltd, Toronto, March 2011

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