Since social media is mostly about relationships, it’s wrong to try to measure success on such short-term measures as how many sales can be attributed to a single Tweet or Wall post.
 
It’s wiser to take a longer view. As a business owner, you’re really investing in the customer experience. So amortize the costs over time.  After all, customer experience should be part of any marketing program.
 
But too many social marketing pundits are trying to measure the wrong things. They mistake random metrics like Four Square “check-ins” for success, mistaking relationship-building tools for a direct response vehicle.
 
The real social media payoff is enlisting your customers as “sales soldiers”who spread the word to their own network of friends and contacts. And all that begins with a great online customer experience that leads to ever-increasing levels of affinity with your business.
 
A blogger recently made these points – with which we heartily agree.  He wrote that “measuring the long-term impact is what you need to look at” because trying to measure short term impact will get “a lot of noise, false signals and opinions.”
 
But he went on express doubt that “tool vendors would catch up” with his idea.
 
Here’s where we disagree. While TraffikWorks Media is much more than a tools vendor, our solutions are ready to go today.
 
Among them are enhanced analytics and Search Engine Optimization technology. Equally important is the way we deeply integrate Facebook and Twitter with the websites we build for clients. But the added value is the strategic advice and training we provide on how to best use our tools to grow your online community.
 
That’s how you develop the brand evangelists your business needs for growth.