Measuring.

Measuring Social Media ROI: 3 Things to Consider
1.) Social Media is not the vehicle, it's the destination. Social Media should be measured by specific activities that we engage in. The A ROI is the Return on Investment and it is a preformance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare a single investment to others.  Marketers have to take action on their prospects and have to take their fans and turn them from passive fans to transacting customers.
2.) Listening and Applying Learnings to Every Department. When using Facebook as a platform for Media Marketing, you must observe what your viewers respond most to. When they "like" something on a page more than other things, then that is a topic that you should try to stick to or incorporate in your sales. It benefits the seller because they find out what the viewers respond to most with negative or positive feedback. It is an indirect way to see what they like and what they are going to buy. A chef learned that a post about a chicken recipe may get more likes than a fish recipe, therefor, he should try to have more chicken recipes in a cook book.
3.) Performance Metrics Are Media Agnostics. To measure social media success, a business must first understand how social media is being used. It is important to understand which departments are using social media. Then measure success based on performance metrics that are relevant to the departments.

Building Effective Social Media Channels
Part of measuring the effectiveness of a channel is deciding whether the organization is able to integrate what's happening in social media with their marketing automation system. They do this so that they can track the usage of the different social media channels. Then they can see how people are progressing through the buying process.There's a lack of integration. The other missing piece is the integration of social media with the larger marketing strategy. Social media has to support and be supported. A lot of companies are in the early stages and just getting started with the social networks that exist. They are not creating social media platforms. Other companies are building social media platforms. They are not just monitoring engagement, they are managing social media. That's what makes a good Network.

Many Marketers Don't Measure
Marketers are spending millions of dollars annually on social marketing programs. However, roughly 30% are not tracking the impact of social media programs on lead generation and sales, according to a survey conducted earlier this month. 95% said they use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube. However, despite the increased use of these networks, only 70% are monitoring and measuring the viewers/hits and money spent on these channels. The 42% of marketers that do monitor said that zero or an uncertain number of sales leads resulted from social media programs. The gap between cost and return for social marketing may have something to do with social media protocols.

Summary:
Measuring Social Media is important because it shows us what is beneficial and what is not. When there are a lot of hits/likes/interaction on a site, this is a good things and helps the corporation make positive business choices. When the site isn't very active and not that many people really look at it, this can be bad for a company and something needs to be fixed in order to make the site helpful. If no one is monitoring the success or downfall, how will a corporation know whether or not Social Media is helping them. It could be hurting them and by them not keeping an eye on what is going on, they won't eve know. Monitoring allows you to observe front row and find out what works best.

#2

St. Jude Research Hospital.

The St, Jude Research Hospital uses Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube to connect with the world in more ways than 1. They allow you to Donate Now, leading you to their website where you can make monetary donations and become a partner in hope. They provide many photos of children at St. Judes and fundraisers and events.

 The goal of this website is to be able to send the message out, virtually, that St. Jude is out there and help is avaiable to children in need of it. Another goal is to help raise money for the facility and the children who are there receiving treatment. The website is upbeat and used as a positive goal to spread the news about great things happening at St. Jude and the children there. You can view the Patient of the Month, Shop at their stores, and Give thanks. All of the money spennt goes to St. Jude directly and helps the patients there.

The viewers goals are to see how St. Jude is progressing and events that are going on to help benefit. They get these goals met very well with the photos, posts, and videos that are shared through St. Jude. Viewers are allowed to post on the walls expressing gratitude and share upcoming events in other places that help benefit St. Jude. Their mission is to find cures and save children. By them using Social Media to spread their goals and achievments, people can see what St. Jude is all about. This helps the donation process very well because it can all be done through the website.

St. Jude uses their Social Medias very well by meeting all of the goals by the viewers and by handling their websites in a positive way shedding light on the situations remaining positive that with the help by the viewers, we can make a cancer free world. They have over 485 thousand likes, over 5 thousand people talking about it, and 7 thousand people checked in there. Many people participate in the donation process and charities. They use their Social Media Networks very well and are quite helpful towards all.

Case Study.

Little River Pet Resort

I work at a boarding kennel called Little River Pet Resort. We just began using Facebook as a Social Media Channel and it has been a big success! We have a Youtube channel as well where we have a few videos of our facility, including one from being on the news! I believe LRPR’s goals with the social media channel that they use are basic. They are a locally owned business that is very tight knit with the surrounding communities. They want to hold a strong bond with their clients by providing them with an up-close look at what their pets are doing while they are away from home. They have over a dozen photo albums currently where they continuously update photos each day of the guests at the resort so families can feel more at ease knowing what their pets are doing rather than picturing them sitting alone in a kennel building all day, bored and neglected.  Not only do they frequently upload photos, but videos as well while interacting with clients who post on the walls asking about how their pets are doing. They have done a great job at keeping their clients up to date with the current expansion project that is going on and their nomination on Fox 8’s Engers Hot List where they are currently in 1^st place out of 30 boarding kennels! LRPR gets back to posts and messages very fast which makes clients feel even more welcome and at home with their pets.

 The customers’ goals are to be able to see their pets on the website, stay up to date with what is going on at the facility, and to find information that they are looking for such as directions, location, testimonials, etc. The use of Facebook has benefitted the facility in many ways. Clients love to see photos of their pets while they are away. It makes them feel more at ease being able to see their pet enjoying themselves. Many kennels do not offer this, and if they do, they charge a price. The photos are displayed on Facebook and we offer them a link to go to even if they do not have a Facebook to log into. LRPR’s Facebook page makes it very easy for others to interact with other pet owners and clients as well as the staff.

They do a very good job at achieving the goals that the clients have by viewing the page. Everything is very easy to read and their news feed is filled with things that pertain to the facility and information that benefits dog owners. Anyone can view it and there is no negativity. I believe that LRPR makes good use of their Social Media Channel because they make it so much easier for families to contact them and view photos of their pet. We used to do “photo report cards” which cost money. However, now we use Facebook and pictures are available for free, even to print out at your own will. It’s more convenient for pet owners and easy to access. It only takes seconds to get to and always brings a smile to clients’ faces. Not only can they gain useful information about boarding, but they can see it for themselves!