Key Performance Indicators in Social Media

In social media advertising, key performance indicators is a measurement of the campaigns performance to judge social media campaign success or failure. As a digital agency on record it’s our job to identify social media measurement indicators, measure them, and show results to the client. We select indicators to follow based on the goals of the campaign. This post concentrates on the use of “influence” in understanding  key performance indicators of social media efforts. If you’re interested in sentiment you can read more from a previous post. Moreover, as a continuation of the last blog post, which was about Content Marketing we will show you how to better analyze content marketing using influence performance indicators hopefully giving you a better understanding on your social media shortfalls and/or opportunities.

Influence as part of Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

Influence is one of the aspects of KPIs that could actually lead to sales. Its value is very important. You can measure influence by the following factors:

Share of Conversation vs. Competitors

Share of conversation is the percentage of conversation concerning your brand and your competitors. How many people are specifically talking about your brand? You need to keep track of this across all social media platforms and this includes blogs. Keeping track of shares includes keeping track of shares about your competitors. This is important because if your competitor over performs you have to find out why and see what it is they are doing different. You need to track your shares over time. Do not limit your tracking, track for positive and negative conversations. Also, if the results you are getting are not what you want then you can try to find out the problem and see what others in the industry are doing.

Net Promoter

Another factor in influence concerning key performance indicators is net promoter. Wikipedia defines the net promoter as a management tool that helps gauge the “loyalty of the firm’s consumer relationships”. In other words, a net promoter as an aspect of key performance indicators is a way of asking consumers how likely they are to recommend you. Net promoters can be divided into three categories: altruistic activators, advocates and detractors. Altruistic activators are those consumers who jump at every chance to promote your brand. They love your brand and are very vocal about it. Implementing the net promoter method can make it easier to find these types of consumers. You can reward altruistic activators by giving them access first to product so they can review and give good word of mouth. Advocates are fans of the brand but are not very vocal about it. They use the product but do not really care about promoting it. Your job is to make them altruistic activators. These two groups should be the majority in your consumer base. Do not ignore the detractors, as we all know negative things also spread fast. Your job is to turn them into fans but you cannot turn them all.

Satisfaction and Key Performance Indicators

The key to satisfaction is responding to negative feedback not only quickly but efficiently. This means having a good customer service policy specifically for social media. Provide multiple contact options so it is easier for customers to voice their opinions. Also, give them a reason to want to shop or use your product again. Satisfaction does not just end with resolving the issue, give them incentive.

To sum up, influence along-with sentiment are few important variables you want to keep your eye on when monitoring your social media efforts. There are many social media measure programs out there that can help you analyze social media performance indicators. But, be forewarned some of these apps come with a hefty price tag, and will require an ongoing commitment by a social media pro to monitor and evaluate on an ongoing basis. Always consult with a professional before jumping into an annual enterprise social media solution. It will save you time and money.