It’s impossible to communicate the value of social media efforts when you’re using a metric like follower count. It’s easy to measure, but it doesn’t mean anything. You’ve got to put in the work to measure the right things so that you can determine whether your efforts are actually making a difference.

1. bullshit
Why follower count is
@MACKFOGELSON
and a whole lot of reasons why you should be
measuring social media success differently.
Ω
Ω

2. For the last two years I’ve been building
a following on Twitter.
@MACKFOGELSON
alright

3. That’s a total of
24 months
104 weeks
728 days
17,472 hours
not including leap year.
@MACKFOGELSON

4. It has not been easy.
@MACKFOGELSON

5. Allow me to share a few of
the things I’ve been doing.!
This is just some of the stuff that has
helped me to build an audience.
@MACKFOGELSON

6. @MACKFOGELSON
I wrote 14 blog posts on .

7. @MACKFOGELSON
At 3,500 words per post,
that’s like an encyclopedia.
(Remember those?)
!

8. P.S. has one of the largest and most
respected search marketing communities
in the world.
!
Millions of people visit their blog each month.
@MACKFOGELSON

9. @MACKFOGELSON
I wrote 25 blog posts on the
Mack Web blog .

10. @MACKFOGELSON
I also wrote 5 more posts on
other respected blogs.
(I know. I get around.)
!

11. There’s more than the writing of
the blog posts.
@MACKFOGELSON
hang on

12. @MACKFOGELSON
I read, curated, and shared
more than 3,000 posts.
(On social media that is.)
!

13. I attended 7 conferences.
I spoke at 5 of them.
That’s one solid week of work
per conference once you’ve researched,
written, slide-decked, and practiced your talk.
@MACKFOGELSON

14. @MACKFOGELSON
Plus all of the live-tweeting
and in person stuff, too.
(The online really doesn’t work without the offline.)
!

15. @MACKFOGELSON
We also did some other stuff
as a company.
(We wrote a book on community building. There’s llamas in there.)
!

16. After doing all of that work,
guess how many followers I earned?
@MACKFOGELSON

17. @MACKFOGELSON
1582,

18. That’s right.
All of that work
and I only earned
2,851 followers.
(sigh)
!
@MACKFOGELSON

19. Thing is, if I used follower
count to calculate the ROI
of all my efforts over
the last two years,!!
I’d consider myself a failure.
@MACKFOGELSON

20. @MACKFOGELSON
And I’d probably be living in a
van down by the river.
(With Chris Farley, RIP.)
!

21. @MACKFOGELSON
But what my
follower count
doesn’t tell
you over there
is that there’s been
all kinds of crazy
success going on
over here.

22. @MACKFOGELSON
Each year for the last
two years, Mack Web
has experienced
40%
revenue
growth

23. The traffic to our
website has increased
by more than
1,300%
@MACKFOGELSON

24. @MACKFOGELSON
We are starting to become
recognized as industry leaders.
(It’s quite flattering.)
!

25. @MACKFOGELSON
This recognition has awarded
me speaking opportunities.
(All over the world.)
!

26. @MACKFOGELSON
This exposure sends more than
enough leads to our company.
(Makes us feel like we’re kind of a big deal.)
!

27. @MACKFOGELSON
Most valuable
to me are all of
the friends
and mentors
who have helped
me to grow the
business and stay
reasonably sane.

28. The sad thing is
that you can’t tell
any of this stuff if
you’re only looking
at follower count.
So quit doing that.
@MACKFOGELSON

29. You can still have numbers.
They’re just different ones.!!
What I want you to hear is, there’s a better
way to gauge your success on social media.
@MACKFOGELSON

30. to measure the right things.
@MACKFOGELSON
work

31. Follower count is easy to measure,
but it doesn't mean anything.
@MACKFOGELSON

32. @MACKFOGELSON
There are 3 metrics that you
should be measuring by now.
(But in case you missed the memo…)
!

33. Conversation
@MACKFOGELSON
Amplification Applause
1 2 3

34. @MACKFOGELSON
Conversation communicates
that you’re human.
(And that people want to talk to you.)
!

35. @MACKFOGELSON
Amplification communicates
that you’re interesting.
(And that people want to share you with their friends.)
!

36. @MACKFOGELSON
Applause communicates
that you’re likable.
(And people either like you or they don’t.)
!

37. You can calculate all of this stuff using
TrueSocialMetrics or Sprout Social.
@MACKFOGELSON

38. You can also calculate true engagement
based on your community size. Read this.
(http://bit.ly/true-engagement)
!
@MACKFOGELSON

39. will help you determine
whether you’re actually making a difference.
@MACKFOGELSON
engagement

40. Rather than just measuring
how many followers you’re adding.
@MACKFOGELSON

41. But if you want to experience
real growth on social media,
it can’t operate in a silo.!!
It takes more than social to build an audience.
@MACKFOGELSON

42. You also need to
embrace integrated
marketing and
employ channels
other than social.
Social likes help.
@MACKFOGELSON

43. @MACKFOGELSON
Channels like:
Content
Email
Search
Offline
(and stuff)

44. @MACKFOGELSON
That way you
can measure
how both social
media and
other channels
are working
together to help
you accomplish
the goals for your
whole business.

45. And then you can measure all kinds of stuff
that goes way beyond follower count.
@MACKFOGELSON

46. Like…
@MACKFOGELSON

47. @MACKFOGELSON
Once they get to your website
are they downloading stuff?
(Make sure you’re properly setting up goals in Google Analytics.)
!

48. @MACKFOGELSON
Are they signing up for your
email marketing?
(Measure your increase in subscriptions.)
!

49. @MACKFOGELSON
Are they staying longer and
coming back?
(Track bounce rate, time on page, page depth and return visits.)
!

50. @MACKFOGELSON
Are they remembering
your brand?
(Pay attention to increase in branded traffic and mentions.)
!

51. @MACKFOGELSON
Are unexpected opportunities
coming your way?
(Like speaking and blogging gigs that bring exposure.)
!

52. You’ve got to measure all of it.
@MACKFOGELSON

53. Because the thing is…
@MACKFOGELSON

54. Social media
may not be the
perfect match
for things like
direct conversions
if you’re a B2B company.
@MACKFOGELSON

55. But it may be the perfect
match for supporting and
increasing micro conversions.!
Like email signups, downloads, lead forms,
and other things (like reading your blog) that
you really want people to do on your site.
@MACKFOGELSON

56. All of these things lead to
business growth.
@MACKFOGELSON

57. (We’re living proof.)
@MACKFOGELSON

58. But none of these things can be
measured using follower count.
@MACKFOGELSON

59. So remember, kids…
@MACKFOGELSON

60. @MACKFOGELSON
Real growth on social media
will take some time.
(I started two years ago.)
!

61. @MACKFOGELSON
Measure social in context with
other integrated efforts.
(It’s fun. You’ll like it.)
!

62. @MACKFOGELSON
And don’t equate success with
follower count.
(You’ll be better for it.)
!

63. That’s all I have to say about that.
@MACKFOGELSON

64. @MACKFOGELSON
read the Mack Web blog
http://mackwebsolutions.com/blog
!
download our
community building guide
http://bit.ly/community-building-guide
!
connect with us
http://mackwebsolutions.com/connect