Social media marketing can either be an extremely worthwhile investment for your business or a massive time sink that brings little or no benefit. Unfortunately, in the short term, telling those two extremes apart is not always easy. How much is a Twitter follower worth? Can you put a value on the number of times your business is mentioned on Facebook?

First, you need to understand the social media strategy-development process. How can you start measuring return on investment (ROI) if you do not know the steps you need to take to create a campaign? Knowing the process allows you to look at each step from an ROI perspective.

The clickable image to the left leads to an interactive visualization (courtesy of Simply Business) that provides a step-by-step guide to developing a social media plan. (For further reading, check out the resources noted in each section of the interactive version of the graphic.) Once you understand those steps, you need to start thinking about ROI.

Initial Steps

Here are three initial steps to take that'll ensure your social media strategy is set up to measure ROI.

1. Have a clear motive

Before you kick off any kind of social media strategy, you need a clear idea of what you're trying to achieve. Diving in without a set of objectives (e.g., improving customer service, increasing online sales) means you won't be able to identify social success.

2. Establish what success looks like

Unless you assign some hard numbers to your objectives, you'll never be able to establish how successful your social media efforts are. If you are unsure what the social sphere looks like in your industry, look into market research companies or conduct analysis independently to better understand what the social landscape in your niche can provide. (Because this step is so crucial to attaining social media ROI, I've included more guidance on it below.)

3. Learn how to measure

From goal conversions to inbound links, pairing measurements with your social media objectives is how you'll begin to understand your ROI. At Salesforce, we've put together a comprehensive guide to social media analytics, but the remainder of this article also offers a robust summary of how to get measuring.

What Success Looks Like

With a few business objectives for your social media strategy in place, working out what your success looks like will be much easier.

Here are three quick tips to get you thinking along the right lines:

1. Traffic vs. conversions. A lot of traffic looks great in your analytics, but it doesn't always deliver value. You shouldn't forget the fringe benefits of having lots of eyes on your site, but 500 visitors with a high conversion rate are more valuable to your business than 20,000 visitors who never bring you a dime.
   
2. What is a "conversion"? In social media marketing terms, a conversion can be anything from a sale to a newsletter sign-up. Look at the various steps in your sales funnel, and consider what your earliest possible conversion could be.
   
3. Followers vs. fans. Don't set your sights on gaining thousands of followers on social networks. They can be bought very cheaply, and they bring little value. Instead, identify what a fan looks like for your business, and set incentive targets for acquiring those types of fans.

Determine How to Measure Results

Once you know what social media success looks like for your business, figure out which direction you'll take and how you'll determine that you've arrived at success.

You will measure the effectiveness of your social media efforts by collecting data from various sources, including the social sites you're marketing on and external analytical tools.