Social Media Marketing Strategy as a Parameter for Performance Measurement

Most organisations have performance measures. Some make use of various systems to manage their performance indicators. I once worked for an organisation that was obsessed with figures. Statistical analysis was the most revered performance indicator. The actual activities of the various departments which had a positive influence on statistics were not paid much attention to. The data that we collected was pregnant with information that unfortunately was not utilized to its maximum advantage. Each department operated independent of the other. When customer complaints overwhelmed us; we hired a Public Relations Officer to spin around the bad word about us from dissatisfied clients. Customer complaints would be channeled to the PRO department and the offending department carried on with life as usual. A Social Media Strategy in this scenario, could have helped us with customer engagement.

Social Media Marketing is premised on Inbound Marketing where we attract customers through sharing valuable content about us. The scenario described above, would have been better managed if we had a way of listening to our clients. Actually, it turned out that one of the issues refereed to the PRO department involved serious fraudulent activities that were affecting both our clients and the company. The information that is shared in Social Media activities is so vital and can be useful throughout the organisation and not only in Marketing. It is critical for any Social Media Strategy to be able to communicate relevant information about us but at the same time listen to what stakeholders say. A Social Media Strategy worth its salt should be a mine of data for all aspects of the organization.

It is very challenging to come up with performance measures that satisfy the needs of all stakeholders. Through the desire to share relevant content with our customers, we will have to set standards meet them. If we share content about our products or our processes and customers prove this not to be true, they will never come back to us. If we are found to honor our word, the content about us will become the best advertisement that will buy us loyalty. In some organisations, departments are viewed independent of each other with some actually having bad faith on others. With an astute Social Media Strategy, departmental activities form the core of the content that we share with clients. Each department has to play a part that will attract potential customers. Performance measurement can then be attached to the communication gathered from customers and potential customers.

Inbound marketing says, look at us, look at what we are doing, what do you think about it. How else can we measure ourselves if not by how our market thinks about us? If you were wondering where Social Media Strategy belongs in your organisation; it belongs in the boardroom where strategies are formulated.