Just like with any other form of interacting with potential clients or customers, the goal of using social media to enhance your business is simple – to create and grow relationships that will last far into the future.
When you share something that gets a response, no matter if it’s in the form of a “Like,” share, comment, +1, RT, etc., it is very important to return the attention and, thus, connect with the person who is interacting with you either with an acknowledgement, a response, or even an obligatory follow. Engagement becomes contagious on any social media platform, and before you know it, more and more people will be participating. This domino effect creates “reach” which is by far the most important phenomenon that you will measure.
Sound complicated? Give it a try! Then reconvene with your team to see if sales have gone up (they will) and your customers feel like they know you better (they will) and if you, in turn, know more about who is shopping for you (you will).
No matter what the numbers say today or what phase of this marketing campaign you are entering, it’s all about relationships and engagement. If you have done what it takes to make sure your customers have the opportunity to get to know you, then your business will have a successful Social Media Campaign.
If you have been utilizing Social Media for your business, you have most likely established a method for measuring the success of these efforts, and it no doubt includes a comparison of statistics with actual interaction in the form of graphs, charts, or some other eye-catching collection of data. But what are you measuring, really? Is it the number of “Likes” or how many times you can get a retweet on a post? In a word, no.