Cost effective social media measurement for SMB

1. Cost Effective Social Media Measurement
Sharp Search Technologies
Geoff Sharp
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2. Audience and Assumptions
• You are an SMB or a department of a larger business
• You have a growing investment in social media and web
• The ROI of Social Media Marketing (SMM) is imprecise but
you believe in the value of measuring social media usage
Is this you?
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3. Relevant Research on SMB Use of Social Media
It is useful to know what other companies are doing
U Mass conducts an annual survey of
the use of social media by the Inc 500
“The 2012 Inc. 500 Social Media Update” (Based on a survey of the Inc500 companies)
http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesandresearch/2012inc500socialmediaupdate/
What comparable companies are doing in
Social Media
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4. SMB Use of Social Media
• 91% use social media marketing (SMM)
• 71% will increase investment in 2013 by 20-50%+
• 65% use existing staff, 10% use consultants, 7% new hires
• But only 25% have a written SM policy
(UMass Study 2012)
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5. What’s Being Measured by SMB in SMM
Metric % Measuring
Fans / Followers 26%
Web Traffic 25%
Leads 16%
Customer Service Cost Savings 10%
Sales Value 7%
(UMass Study 2012)
Not a whole lot of
measurement
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6. SMB’s Biggest Challenges in Social Media
• Finding Budget and Resources
• Most have no dedicated social media teams
• Time spent creating content and updates
• Measuring effectiveness
(UMass Study 2012)
Resource constraint and lack
of measurement
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7. Biggest Benefits to SMB of Social Media
• Brand Awareness
• Networking Clearly SMM important for
growing the business
• Reputation
• Competitive Intelligence
(UMass Study 2012)
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8. Why Measure and Track Social Media Usage ?
• Know what is growing and how rapidly
• Keep track of expenses and editorial effort
• Be up to date and aware of reputation and competition
know where you stand
and where you are going!
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9. Current Problems in Measuring Social Media
• Large number of overlapping tools and social platforms
• Advanced tools are very expensive and require expertise
• Rapid changes in tools and platforms
• Multiple sources of data
You really can’t manage this
without some expertise!
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10. Categories of Measuring Tools
Free and Complex Expensive and Complex
• Google Analytics • Adobe Social
• Radian6, Sysomos
Free and Simple Expensive and Simple
• Linkedin Insights • Measuring nothing
• FB Insights
• Social Mention
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11. Measuring Tools – Free & Complex
Free and Complex
• Google Analytics
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12. Measuring Tools – Expensive & Complex
Expensive and Complex
• Adobe Social
• Radian6, Sysomos
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13. Measuring Tools - Free & Simple
Free and Simple
• Linkedin Insights
• FB Insights
• Social Mention
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14. Measuring Tools – Doing Nothing is Expensive
Expensive and Simple
• Measuring nothing
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15. Estimated Costs per Month
Free and Complex Expensive and Complex
• 3/4 STAFF = $6,000 • ½ STAFF = $4,000
• Tools = $7500
• Total = $11,500
Free and Simple Expensive and Simple
• ¼ STAFF = $2,000 • 20% op* cost = $10,000
• 10% op* cost = $5,000 (assumes $50K SMM budget)
• Total = $7,000
* = opportunity cost
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16. Expensive Alternatives for Measuring Social Media
• Pay big bucks for an expensive tool with support
• Dedicating existing staff
• Hire expensive agencies
It’s easy to waste a lot
of dollars needlessly!
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17. A Cost Effective Approach for Measuring Social Media
• Focus on relevant SMM & web measures
• Have a consistent quarterly SMM review
• Track SMM web usage monthly with a concise
management report
A smart approach is to
focus and leverage!
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18. For Example : The Sharp Track Report
• Focused on relevant social media & web measures
• Quarterly SM assessment & strategy report
• Monthly report tracking social media and web usage
As an example of a
cost effective
approach!
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19. The Sharp Track Quarterly Assessment Report
• Based on 14 relevant metrics with a benchmark
• Relevant overview of social media and web presence
• Relevant assessment of social engagement and sentiment
• Survey of the competitive environment
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20. Sharp Track Assessment Report
Relevant Comprehensive Quarterly Assessment
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21. Sharp Track Assessment Report
Pragmatic Use of 14 Relevant Metrics
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22. Sharp Track Assessment Report
Benchmark Score for Reality Check
METRIC YOURCOMPANY BENCHMARK
W1 Hubspot Web Grade 71.0 98.0
W2 Traffic 51.3 90.0
W3 SEO 35.0 90.0
W4 Linkbacks 90.0 90.0
W5 Web Page Visual 37.5 90.0
W6 Blog 0.0 90.0
W7 Mobile Friendly 0.0 70.0
S1 LinkedIn 43.3 80.0
S2 Facebook 76.7 60.0
S3 Twitter 90.0 90.0
S4 Youtube 36.7 80.0
S5 Social Measure 35.0 90.0
S6 Organization Effort 30.0 95.0
S7 Social Links 50.0 90.0
SHARP REPORT Score 47.4 87.3
0-19 = failing ; 10-39 = poor ; 40-69 = moderate ; 70-89 = good ;90-100 = excellent
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23. Sharp Track Assessment Report
Simple Visual Presentation
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
W1 Hubspot Web Grade
W2 Traffic
W3 SEO
W4 Linkbacks
W5 Web Page Visual
W6 Blog
W7 Mobile
S1 LinkedIn
S2 Facebook
S3 Twitter
S4 Youtube
S5 Social Measure
S6 Organization
S7 Social Links
SHARP REPORT Score
LAUNCHSQUAD BENCHMARK
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24. Sharp Track Assessment Report
Sample Recommendations
• Create a site-map to improve SEO
• Re-design home page – obvious problems are:
– Page too large and long
– Too many very large images
– Change to mobile friendly design
– Improve navigation to relevant content
• Consider adding a blog for building community
• Be active on LinkedIn and Facebook with more CTA and sharing
• Encourage company-wide social media participation and contribution
• Strategize and organize your social marketing
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25. Why a Monthly Tracking Report
• It’s important to track usage on a regular monthly
basis in a manner that is easy and straight-forward
for management review
• A report should be designed to provide meaningful
trending information in under 10 minutes.
• The report should support management decisions or
further deep-dive
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26. Example - The Sharp Track Report
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27. The Sharp Track Report
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28. The Sharp Track Report
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29. The Sharp Track Report
12000
WEB & BLOG TRAFFIC
10000
8000
6000 Web Unique Visitors
Web Page Views
4000
Blog Visitors
2000 Blog Views
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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30. The Sharp Track Report
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31. The Sharp Track Report
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32. The Sharp Track Report
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33. Sharp Track Report
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34. CloudBurst – Hypothetical Analytics of Social Media
• CloudBurst is a SaaS company with 500 employees and an
annual budget of $1 million for web and social media
• Staff dedicated to web site and community management but
no analytics staff
• Management wants analytics to improve their investment
This is a typical example
based on real experience
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35. CloudBurst – Assumed Traffic and Engagement
• Web site has 2,000 monthly visitors, 3,500 page views and a
bounce rate of 76%
• Blog has 400 subscribers and 500 page views
• Linkedin page has 700 subscribers, Facebook page 300 fans
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36. CloudBurst – Action Impact from Analytics Reporting
• Trend reporting justifies investment in SEM for growth of
10% per month to 3,000 users
• Editorial efforts re-focused on topics of highest interest
reducing bounce rate from 76% to 53% and staff time by
15%
• Increased engagement in Linkedin and Facebook results in
20% increase in subscribers and comments
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37. BloudBurst Management Use of Reporting
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38. Hypothetical ROI from Measurement
• $1 million budget for web and social with historic 20% ROI.
20% improvement in ROI from measurement (20% * 20%
$100,000) = $20,000 net gain
• 30% of budget is editorial = $300,000. 10% cost savings in
editorial from measurement = $30,000 savings
• Total savings = $50,000. Cost of measurement is $12,000
resulting in 5:1 return
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39. Next Steps
• Decide if you need focused measurement and usage tracking
• Assign responsibility to appropriate staff
• Complete a Social Media Assessment and strategy
• Determine relevant metrics, tools and reporting
• Implement consistent monthly measuring and reporting
internally or with outside assistance
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40. A Word About Sharp Track Services
• We can provide the Sharp Track Report with minimum
impact on your staff and resources
• You will start receiving monthly Sharp Track reports and the
quarterly Sharp Track Assessment Report with strategic
advice
• We can work with your staff to produce enhanced
customized reporting to meet your needs
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41. Contact
Geoff Sharp
2geoffsharp@gmail.com
650 922-5644
www.sharpst.com Sharp Search Technologies
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