How to Measure the Real-World Results of Social Media

The single largest complaint from business owners about Twitter and social networking sites like Facebook is that there’s no way to “measure” results. What does it mean in cash terms when 300 people “like” a status update or retweet a post on Twitter? The truth is that social media offers a tremendous amount of information that can be valuable to a company if it is both analyzed and used properly. Luckily, there are several software tools on the market that can quickly make sense of the seemingly endless amount of information that social media generates. Similarly, there are several social media techniques that companies can employ to foster better relationships with their customers and vendors.

On the analytical side, there are three major software tools that sort through all the incoming data and turn it into something that can be understood at a glance. Google Analytics, Twitalyzer and HootSuite provide comprehensive overviews of online user behavior. Google Analytics will explain how users interact with a company’s website based on what keywords or links drew them to the site, the amount of time they spend on a given page, and what features of the site are most popular with users overall. HootSuite monitors multiple social media sites for specific brand mentions, popular trends related to the company and other user behavior. It presents this information in a dashboard style layout. HootSuite also allows companies to maintain a particular image or message by updating multiple social networks simultaneously from the dashboard. Twitalyzer, meanwhile, gauges the success of a Twitter account based on its clout, engagement, velocity, impact, signal and influence. For those business owners who are too busy running a company to worry about learning the lingo and etiquette of Twitter, Twitalyzer breaks it all down into a format that makes it easier to form positive relationships with the public.

Of course, those companies that do manage to master Twitter will ultimately have the greatest success with interacting with their customers. Many companies use Twitter as a promotional tool, although the service is far more sophisticated than an infomercial. Crass advertisements or blatant promotions turn followers off. To be successful on Twitter, companies must create an online presence or “space.” Much as a tapestry is not woven from a single thread, a successful Twitter feed must incorporate different elements to be genuinely worth following. A company should offer a menu of posts, from new product launches to news stories that highlight a particular aspect of the industry to pictures and, if possible, the occasional light remark. A Twitter page can also act as a way to communicate rapidly with employees in the event of an emergency. In 2011, Proctor and Gamble used Twitter to communicate with its employees in Norway during a terrorist incident. The service’s 140-character limit is surprisingly effective in delivering a message, posting a link, or directing people to a resource. Twitter works best when the feed shows multiple replies and responses with other users, as opposed to being dominated solely by owner posts.

No matter what software suite or Twitter technique they use, business owners ultimately need to recognize that social media plays a vital role in maintaining a company’s image.