Social Media: Make the investment

A. When considering hiring a social media professional to help your business there are a few questions you may need answered. How do I justify this person's salary? How is this going to help my business? What is my business going to gain from using social media as a marketing tactic? To help answer these questions, keep these objectives in mind:

Consider the customer journey. ROI in social doesn't always have to mean a sale. What are your business objectives? Align your social media goals accordingly. It could mean that potential customers clicked through to your website, you were able to obtain their email address or simply that they now know about your business.

Connect the dots. Link people who are regularly commenting or liking content to customers. Did you just gain a new customer? Check your social media pages and see if you can make a connection. Do you have social media followers who are already customers? Remember that you are consistently maintaining your relationship with them. Next time they need your product or service, you will be remembered.

Track ROI. This depends on your goals. For some, goals are more concrete, while for others, goals might be email list sign-ups, contact form submissions, clicks to your website, purchases or downloads. By measuring clicks, impressions and engagement you can prove the increase over time, which will show if your strategy is working. By adding trackable links you can demonstrate what drove traffic to your website and the actions they are taking.

In social media, return on investment might not always be black and white, but you will get your customer one step closer to making a purchasing decision. Social media is no longer an option for businesses, it's a necessity.