Get your social media ROI

What is social media ROI?

Simply put, social media return on investment (ROI) is the measure of what you get out of the effort you put into social media marketing. It helps you understand the effectiveness of your social media strategy by tracking the results and impact it has on your business goals.

For example, let's say you invested $100 in a social media ad campaign and it resulted in 50 new leads. Your ROI would be calculated by dividing the total revenue generated from those 50 leads by the cost of the campaign ($100). In this case, if each lead brought in $10, your ROI would be $400.

By tracking your social media ROI, you can determine which strategies are most effective and make informed decisions for future campaigns.

How to measure social media ROI

So, you've invested time and resources into your social media efforts. But how do you know if it's really paying off? How do you measure ROI?

Measuring social ROI is crucial for understanding the effectiveness of your campaigns. And luckily, it doesn't have to be a guessing game. 

Here are some tips to help you accurately measure and prove your social media ROI:

• Define your objectives

• Track the metrics that align with these objectives

• Calculate your social media costs

• Create a social ROI report to prove value to your organization

• Regularly monitor and adjust your social media strategy based on results

How to use this social media ROI calculator

Use this free social media ROI tool to track and measure the success of your social media efforts.

Simply input your data for things like social media ad spend, content creation costs, landing page conversion rates, and more, using the provided sliders. 

The tool will then calculate your ROI and provide you with a breakdown of the results. 

You can also use this calculator to compare the ROI of different social media campaigns and determine which ones are delivering the best results for your business.

If you want to take things even further, Hootsuite's new social media ROI tracker allows you to track and measure the worth generated from your social media efforts. This advanced tool provides a more detailed and accurate understanding of your social media ROI, helping you make data-driven decisions for your business. 

You can use this data-driven proof of your social media ROI to:

• Impress your boss

• Show the value of your efforts

• Make informed decisions for future campaigns

Plus, with Hootsuite's advanced tools and features, you can easily track and measure your impact on various business goals such as lead generation, brand awareness, customer satisfaction, and of course, revenue.

Get access to the Hootsuite ROI tracker within your existing Hootsuite Analytics dashboard. Here, you can set up custom ROI metrics profiles, to measure and report your social media ROI for individual posts, accounts, and more. 

How to prove social media ROI

Everyone's looking for proof of performance. The proof that says, yes, those hours spent curating perfect posts and engaging with followers were worth it.

Here are a few tips to help prove your social media ROI.

1. Tie ROI back to business goals

Remember, social media ROI isn't just about dollars and cents. It's also about reaching your long-term business goals. 

When presenting your social media ROI, make sure to tie it back to the goals you set for your campaigns. How did your efforts impact who knows about your brand, how often they engage online, and how many new customers you won? 

Consider the ways your investments creates value to your business, including:

• Building a loyal audience

• Increasing customer engagement and satisfaction

• Driving website traffic and leads

• Driving email signups and subscriptions

• Boosting brand awareness and recognition

• Improving relationships with suppliers

• Creating better customer service experiences

• Minimizing brand crises

While your social media investments won't solve all your business’s problems, understanding how and when they do create value can help you make informed decisions for future campaigns.

2. Track ROI metrics that align with your objectives

Metrics are great and all, but you can't just throw some numbers in a report and call it a day. When measuring your social media ROI, make sure the metrics you track align with your objectives. For example, if one of your goals is to drive website traffic, then tracking clicks and conversions from social media posts is important.

Here are some of the best metrics to track for proving ROI:

• Audience sentiment

• Conversions

• Social media page visits

• Website traffic

• Form submissions

• Newsletter signups

• Sales

• Event registrations

Don't forget to check up on your metrics regularly to understand how your social media efforts are impacting these areas.

3. Use visual aids to show ROI

Even the most data-driven marketers can benefit from a visual representation of their social media ROI.

Charts, graphs, and even screenshots of your analytics can help to paint a clear picture for those in your organization who may not be as familiar with social media metrics. Plus, it makes your presentation more engaging and easier to understand.

If you're still finding it difficult to prove your social media ROI, consider using Hootsuite's customizable templates and analytics reports to showcase your results. With visual aids built-in, you can easily present the data that matters most to your organization in a professional and comprehensive way.

4. Know your social media costs

One of the key components of calculating ROI for social media is understanding your costs. This includes not only the monetary investment but also the time and resources dedicated to managing and creating content for your social media accounts.

Make sure to track all costs associated with your social media efforts, including:

• Ad spend

• Content creation (copywriting, graphics, etc.)

• Social media management tools

• Paid analytics tools

• Content creation costs

• Labor costs

• Time spent on strategy and execution

By understanding your costs, you can better determine which campaigns are delivering the highest ROI and make adjustments for future campaigns.

5. Track your competitors’ performance

Social media success doesn't exist in a vacuum, so it's important to also track your competitors' social media efforts. This can help you understand how your social media ROI compares to others in your industry and identify areas where you may need to improve.

Hootsuite's industry benchmarking tool allows you to track and measure the performance of your competitors' social media accounts, giving you valuable insights into their strategies and successes. Use this information to make data-driven decisions for your own social media campaigns and stay ahead of the competition.

6. Run test campaigns

Sometimes the best way to prove your social media ROI is by disproving your social ROI. Get it?

Basically, running test campaigns and experiments can help you determine which tactics and strategies are delivering the best results. And which aren’t.

For example, you could create two versions of a social media ad with different visuals or copy to see which one generates more engagement. Or, try posting at different times of day to see which gets more clicks or conversions. 

By testing and experimenting, you can gather valuable data to prove the effectiveness of different tactics and strategies in driving social media ROI.

7. Personalize your reporting

Instead of just sharing overall numbers and percentages, try personalizing your ROI results by breaking them down for different aspects of your organization.

Show how social media efforts have directly impacted the sales team by providing them with a specific number of leads or conversions. Or, how customer service has improved due to adding support links in your social media bio.

A personalized approach can help different departments within your organization see the direct value and impact of social media on their own goals and objectives. It also allows for more targeted decision-making moving forward.

Wave goodbye to guesswork

Leverage Hootsuite's full suite of social media analytics tools to accurately track, calculate, and report on your social media ROI. With customizable metrics profiles, in-depth reporting, and visual aids, you can easily prove the value of your social media efforts and make informed decisions for future campaigns.