How Social Media Really Measures Up

When it comes to measuring your social media strategy it can be difficult to know exactly on how hone in on the effectiveness of each network. This especially important to know in order to be aware of how to create engagement and influence.
Most of us think of Facebook and Twitter as the two most powerful tools for business. While these are a given in today’s online climate as part of our marketing practices, it’s also a good idea to take a look social behavior elsewhere online. Here are several key facts to help you understand your own social network activity.

1. Email marketing is a vital component to social media

A stunning statistic from the Direct Marketing Association shows us that the ROI on email marketing is a whopping 4,300 percent! This is way above how social media marketing performs, and is also growing in influence. Just take a look at the eCommerce chart on Custora and you will see the numbers climbing each year. The lesson learned here is that a large portion of your budget should be spent on email marketing – more so than on social media.

2. Video creates a high level of engagement

If your brand or business is not taking advantage of social networks like YouTube and Vimeo take a look at these statistics from Shareaholic, which places YouTube especially at the top of the list for click rates with a low number in bounce rates. Danny Wong writes in the article that “YouTube takes home the crown is because viewers are simply used to spending minutes — perhaps, hours — educating and entertaining themselves with awesome video and may have fewer qualms about taking extra time to discover more great content post-click.”

3. Get more referrals with Facebook

Shareaholic also did a study on this massive social network, and discovered that Facebook has been climbing steadily and has remained at the top of the list for referrals over the last couple of years. In just one year this grew by 38%, which makes this the place to be for business for driving traffic.

4. Amp up your social media referrals with Pinterest

While this social platform is not right for every business, it is a great place for many who would like to use social media to drive traffic to their website. According to a study by Piquora, a website can have two views per six Pin visits. This is in turn can be monetized, as their research shows that an average Pin generates 78 cents in sales. An important point to remember is that this type of activity occurs after two to three months of pinning. Pinterest is a great place to generate sales and traffic, but keep in mind that the process is slow growth.

5. Be sure to be quick to respond on Twitter

Customers and leads are looking for trusted businesses and brands on Twitter, and you could miss out on a golden opportunity by simply not staying in touch. Take a look at this powerful study by Lithium Technologies, which shows that 53 percent of users expect a reply with an hour, and that 72 percent expect a response when they have a complaint. This means that brands must act quickly and pay attention to the communication going on in their network in order to build a strong level of trust.
Marketing trends can change, but these facts speak for themselves. The takeaway here is to keep email marketing at the top of your list while staying in the game with the top social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Google Plus. Knowledge is power, and hopefully this data will help your business hone in on what is working (or not working) in your online strategy.
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