Let’s get realistic about social media

Just last week, one of our clients asked me what the return on investment (ROI) on social media marketing was. My answer was not straightforward but in the end, I think I got my point across.

The problem is that with social media there is no clear-cut ROI on your investment. For example, if you have 500,000 Facebook Likes, what does that mean? How does that convert into dollars and cents?

I thought it timely to take a look at what you can expect from your social media campaigns over a 12 month period and hopefully help you gain some insight into how social media can work for your business.

3 months

After three months of actively blogging, tweeting and posting you can expect an increased brand awareness with people starting to Like your posts or tweets. Also, customer queries will be asked over your social media channels and by responding promptly, you begin to build a positive reputation for your brand.

6 months

At six months, you should notice a further increase in your Likes and more comments and sharing of your content. You might also start coming to the attention of online marketers or bloggers at this time.

12 months

This is when you should see a good result in brand awareness. You may even have found a completely new market for your services or products, and brand advocates appear and start to share their stories as well as promote your brand. With 12 months of feedback and customer contact under your belt, you are now able to make more refined and targeted marketing decisions, to further increase the market share of your business.

	3 months	6 months	12 months
Brand awareness	Expect that brand awareness will slowly increase and include current customers and people who already know you or your brand (family, friends, colleagues etc.)		You have attracted a new audience who hadn’t previously heard about your brand
Customer engagement	People will start Liking your posts	Likes, comments and shares will increase	Supporters emerge and help spread testimonials
Customer service	Customer service issues will be shared, so respond quickly and deal with problems promptly		A better understanding of customer concerns helps focus your marketing
Reputation	Listen to the market and share positive brand stories with your audience		Use brand feedback to hone your marketing campaigns
PR potential	Current audience will offer the most PR potential	Online media outlets and marketers start showing interest	Mainstream media and authority sites become interested

The take home message is that social media marketing works, but whilst its ROI is not easily measured, you will see a real benefit in around 12 months.

For more information on social media, search engine marketing or website design in Brisbane, call GO Creative on (07) 3333 2932 or request a free quote online.