Social media has never been easy to measure. Sure, there are near innumerable angles and metrics you can concentrate on. We're not short on data, that's never been the issue. We have so much data, in fact, that we're drowning in it, choking on it. But the solution to this data suffocation really isn't that difficult. Last week, I wrote about how we can and should view social media success in my ClickZ column, "Rethinking Social Media Success."
I explained a positive mind shift that I've noticed over the past year, and anticipate will continue into 2015 and beyond. The shift is a movement away from measuring social as a direct response medium, and learning where it fits into the consumer's journey. I believe this shift is caused by a few key factors: advancements in tracking across channels and devices; more paid social media platforms; a refocus on brand advocacy; and moving to email list generation as a key conversion. Check out the full article for more details.
Continuing to ponder this mind shift, I was reminded of fantastic presentation by the ever-insightful Gary Vaynerchuk. In his simple yet poignant manner, GaryVee shows just how ridiculous it is to ask "What's the ROI of social media?" and expect a single, concrete answer. The reality that so many people are unwilling or unable to accept is that it's subjective. And it's the responsibility of the person/brand/advertiser to define it's worth and make it successful. Here's the full presentation for your viewing pleasure:
