Ok, I hear the question asked or wrote about all the time and I was curious myself how much ROI and/or clicks and results you can you get from Social Media. So a good friend of mine Keith that is the Social Media Manager of Castle Megastore (awesome company by the way) told me about Hootsuite.com at Phoenix WordCamp. Before this I used TweetDeck but I either overlooked it or wasn’t impressed as fast as I was with HootSuite to find any “stats” or tracking that HootSuite has.
Setting up Twitter, Facebook, and social media accounts was easy, the interface was user friendly and all the data they provide and track is an added value that I haven’t seen with other platforms. So I ran an experiment and sent out 35 tweets/posts to Facebook since Dec. 30th up until today Jan 23rd just to track the clicks back to whatever link I sent out. I know “clicks” are not the same as “conversion” however you need the clicks to a URL in the first place and with Social Media unless you run a CPC Facebook ad campaign it is completely free. Also, I think a click from someone that is “following” you on Twitter or a Fan/Friend on Facebook should be a higher conversion because most of the time they trust you, like your content, and it is like word of mouth online which word of mouth offline is the highest converting of all forms of marketing.
The results so far have been 355 clicks and these clicks were free other then my time for the 35 tweets (messages) to Twitter & Facebook but HootSuite also has a built in Feature that allows you to schedule tweets or posts to Facebook and other Social Media accounts.
The other benefit of something like this is that those links that I tweeted and posted to Facebook are out there forever so this number could grow over time and again it’s not limited by a budget I set. It just comes down to how often I want to send out my message, a client’s message and interact with the social communities I set up in my Hootsuite interface.
All in all, if you are not adding Social Media to your internet marketing portfolio you are missing out big time. This also helps with SEO and minisites that we set up and is part of a comprehensive online marketing and branding plan that we offer. We believe in all types of internet marketing for our clients and do not discount one over the other. The best thing to do is have a complete internet marketing plan covering all aspects from search engines and social media, to online classifieds, online directories and review sites.
Whether you are a celebrity, small business owner, or a Fortune 500 company if you want to beat the competition you better get in the Social Media game and get your internet marketing portfolio set up, transferred to DIAP Media like a 401k transfer, or get in the game!
As always, thanks for clicking and reading my thoughts on this and as Chuck Zito says, “see ya when I’m looking at you.”
[...] The video speaks for itself but I do battle back and forth between using Twitter and Social Media and using more results focused methods to get leads. However, if you are a business and use it correctly and even use tool to schedule tweets, use Twitter search to listen and engage, and have accounts to take a more holistic approach to SEO I do see value and if somewhat of a Social Media ROI. [...]