Harnessing Social Analytics Tracking

Social media campaigns are being implemented every minute of every day, yet companies continue to sink resources into social without a clear idea of where they are heading and where they came from. In this week’s SEM Tip, Verndale suggests a few quick, easy, actionable tips to make your social media campaigns more accountable and trackable.

• Implement URL Shorteners: URL Shortening services like ow.ly or goo.gl not only provide the user with a concise URL for social sharing, but also have analytics built into the link. For example, shortening your links with goo.gl will allow you to report sources of traffic, clicks by hour to clicks by month, browser type, and a variety of helpful information for understanding social patterns.
• Leverage Social Timing Information: From the initial information you gather from sharing shortened links, you can optimize your social media efforts based on when users engage with your content the most. Overall social media metrics show that early week days from 11-1pm can be prime times for sharing (maybe it’s the fact that people are already thinking about their lunch, or are killing a few minutes before they head out for it). Accommodate your audiences in other time zones by scheduling your social blasts.
• Utilize SEO Linkbait Content: If your website has any content that has naturally been popular and performing well for your SEO like a funny video, a demanded white paper, a useful infographic, or just a provocative top 10 list, these kinds of content should be prioritized for social sharing. Aside from shares and retweets, these kinds of content are regularly linked to from blogs, personal websites, and forums. 

Google, Bing and Yahoo! have all reported to have incorporated social metrics into their search algorithms, but people are still unclear as to what level of correlation there is between a retweet or Faceook share and organic rankings. Leverage these actionable SEM tips and find more information on sophisticated Social Media Reputation Management tactics from your SEM Team.