Social media has the unfortunate side effect of making us focus on metrics that don’t matter. Metrics like:
- Follower count
- Number of “Likes”
- Number of retweets
- Number of comments
- Traffic volume in a specific time period
Of course, whatever you measure tends to improve (The Hawthorne Effect). So if you want more followers, then by all means, measure your follower count daily! But here’s the problem:
All the metrics listed above are only loosely correlated with the metrics that really matter to a successful business. Metrics like:
- Number of new opt-ins per day.
- Cost to acquire a new client or customer.
- Number of sales in a specific time period.
- Total revenue in a specific time period.
- Net profit in a specific time period.
- Number of new products created and launched.
- The conversion rate of your key landing pages.
And so forth.
Unfortunately, this second set of metrics gets far less attention because it requires that four-letter word called work. Once you know your business’s “mission critical” numbers, you’ve got to give them the attention they deserve.
You’ve got to improve your sources of traffic, your advertising costs, your conversion mechanisms, your fulfillment processes, and a whole lot more.
It’s a never-ending process.
But it’s this second set of metrics that ALSO puts money in your bank account, and food on the table. You can’t afford to ignore these numbers.
Which metrics are you focusing on? If you’re confusing social media metrics with business success—and you’ve neglected the metrics that really matter—don’t you think it’s time to get your priorities straight?
This article was originally published by Ryan Healy
Published: September 18, 2013
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