Marketers often get preoccupied by trying to track their direct return on investment for social spend. How much does each "like" cost? How much in sales will each "like" bring in?

Those are the wrong questions to ask.

Social spend for marketers has ROI that far exceeds the number of "likes" a brand acquires.

Based on my experience with major national brands, trying to use social as a direct response channel or only to drive one specific action leaves a lot of business intelligence value on the table.

To really add value to your social brand, you should be asking yourself the following questions.

1. What am I trying to accomplish as a social brand?

It's time to realize that the number of fans or followers on a page has nothing to do with the value of that brand's page.

If a user likes your page and never looks at it again, it's a lose/lose for both the user and your brand.

Even worse, some pages purchase "likes" from users outside their market that are no better than fabricated numbers. Those users aren't interested in engaging with the brand, so they add nothing to the page.

Re-swizzle your thinking: Rather than grow the number, work to drive true engagement.

 An engaged user is a valuable user—so figure out how to interact with him or her. For instance, if you're presenting content that users frequently comment on and share on their personal networks, you increase your page and brand reach. You also gain valuable perspective on what people think about your brand. Do they hate your new logo? Do they love your new television ad? If you have a vibrant brand presence that fosters conversation, those users will let you know.

By pursing the quality of followers over the number of fans, you continue to have visibility into interactions that can add business intelligence value to your social spend. You're also adding value to the users who engage with your content, making them more loyal to your brand.

2. How can I use what I learn from social engagement?

If you're just using Facebook as a place to publish some text you already wrote for a brochure or to repurpose your display ad campaign, you're missing out on what the platform offers marketers.

How often do you get to talk to your customers without spending money on call centers and bothering the customer at home (when they're probably not too excited to talk to you)?

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Three Questions You Have to Ask Yourself About Your Social Brand

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Lance Neuhauser

Lance Neuhauser is CEO of 4C, a Big Data analytics and social intelligence company offering advertising and measurement platforms.

Twitter: Lance Neuhauser