It probably doesn't come as a surprise, but social media is big. Really big. Staggeringly big. Many companies have already realized this and are already onboard, others just starting. As an organization begins to gain more experience within the various platforms, they begin to ask more and more questions. First it was, "Should we be using social media?" Then it was, "Which platforms should we be communicating on?" And now these questions have changed; now they are asking, "How can we get more from social?" And like any other marketing effort, the answer to this comes down to one thing; metrics. You have to measure before you can grow.
Naturally, the next question is, "What is the best way to begin measuring social?" There are a lot of ways to answer this question, but the real answer is, measuring social starts with people, not tools.
It's a tragic irony that happens in the measurement space. An innocent business owner will ask "How do we measure social media?" And marketing will enthusiastically respond with, "It's easy! There are so many tools, even free ones! Facebook gives you their 'Insights' system to measure reach and fan engagement, Twitter has a new analytics system. And then there are tools such as Radian6, which can help monitor activity..."
One problem, however.
Think about it this way, a saw will not build you a house by itself, a vacuum will not clean your floors by on its own (unless, it's a Roomba), a microwave is not cooking, a hammer is not a construction and so on. And when an organization is looking to get more out of their social media efforts, tools alone will never get the job done. Don't get me wrong, we love tools. Tools such as Facebook 'Insights,' Google Analytics and Radian6 help us do more, but ultimately, it's up to people; not the tools.
The bottom line is that the data generated from these tools has to be put in context and it has to be interpreted. It takes people to make sure collection systems are working properly, it takes people to analyze the data, and ultimately, it takes people to make the recommendations that will help you get the most out of social. Don't mistake the tools for solution.
