Harnessing the Power of Social Media Metrics: A Must for CEOs

Harnessing the Power of Social Media Metrics: A Must for CEOs

In the corporate world, CEOs rely on metrics such as stock prices, profit margins and revenue growth to measure the health of their businesses. However, in today's digital age, overlooking the wealth of meaningful social media data can lead to missed opportunities and crucial insights.

The availability of vast amounts of social media data has piqued the interest of businesses looking to tap into its potential. 

Nearly nine out of ten business leaders anticipate using social data more extensively in their decision-making processes in the next three years. Moreover, a staggering 95% of them agree that social data should play a more prominent role in informing business decisions beyond marketing.

However, the challenge lies in the fact that raw data points or lengthy, data-heavy reports alone don't convey a compelling story, often resulting in the underutilisation of valuable data. To make informed decisions, executives need contextualised social media metrics, such as sentiment analysis, customer satisfaction scores and competitive benchmarks.

With access to this impactful data, businesses can enhance their brand reputation, predict trends, differentiate themselves from competitors and carve out a niche in the market. However, it all begins with CEOs proactively requesting a social media scorecard for regular review.

The Significance of a Social Media Scorecard for Leadership

Most CEOs are already involved in their brand's external social media strategy, serving as spokespeople to boost brand awareness and public relations. 

To fully capitalise on social media investments, CEO engagement should go beyond being mere spokespeople. Executives need to reassess how social data is shared and acted upon within their organisations.

By routinely leveraging social media intelligence, C-suite leaders gain the ability to:

1.    Assess Brand Perception

Social media provides more than just likes and comments; it serves as a 24/7 focus group offering unfiltered feedback on how the brand and products are perceived. Social listening allows for the analysis of customer conversations at scale, uncovering emerging trends that can be capitalised on or addressed proactively.

For instance, businesses can detect and address negative sentiment before it escalates into issues like declining stock values or plummeting sales. Conversely, they can amplify positive sentiment and consumer-generated trends, akin to McDonald's leveraging the viral Grimace Shake trend to boost quarterly earnings by nearly 12%.

2.    Identify Growth Opportunities

Social insights from the voice of the customer equip companies with feedback necessary for growth, from developing new products to expanding into new markets or forming brand partnerships. These insights help tailor marketing campaigns, prioritise product development and drive sales.

For example, Airbnb's partnership with Barbie™ the Movie, featuring the Barbie DreamHouse, created significant buzz on social media and bolstered the brand's profitable brand awareness strategy.

3.    Enhance the Customer Experience

A negative customer experience shared on social media can have severe repercussions. By regularly reviewing customer care metrics like response times and customer satisfaction scores, CEOs can ensure that their teams have the necessary resources and training to exceed customer expectations, particularly during peak periods.

Hudl's transition from Social Studio to Sprout Social led to a 97% resolution rate for customer interactions within one business day, enhancing their responsiveness and overall customer experience.

4.    Monitor Competitor Performance

In today's fast-paced business landscape, competition can emerge rapidly, including from legacy companies and direct-to-consumer players. To make sense of it all, weaving your brand's performance metrics with competitor data and industry benchmarks creates a more comprehensive view of social media's impact, offering context for social data across your organisation.

Tools like Sprout Social enable brands to visualise their share of voice, engagement, sentiment and impressions data relative to competitors, helping them stay attuned to resonating messages and strategies within their industry.

What to Include in Your Social Media Scorecard

When requesting a social media scorecard, it's crucial to focus on metrics that are applicable to your business and industry. 

Here are some essential social metrics to consider:
•    Brand Health/Audience Sentiment
This metric gauges consumer perception of your products, services or brands, typically categorised as positive, negative or neutral.
•    Earned Media Value
This reflects the financial value of organic social media efforts, i.e., how much you're saving compared to paid promotion.
•    Key Social Listening Findings
These metrics indicate the volume and sentiment of keywords related to your brand and products, offering insights into the success of campaigns, launches, or industry news.
•    Competitor Insights and Analytics
A comprehensive view of competitors' performance across channels and data points, encompassing both quantity metrics (e.g., followers and views) and quality metrics (e.g., engagement rate and sentiment).
•    Customer Service Efficiency
Metrics related to response time, message volume, and customer satisfaction, indicating the effectiveness of your customer care team.

Is your business harnessing the power of social media metrics?

The wealth of social data available today presents a unique opportunity for business leaders to make data-driven decisions and align with key company priorities.

To unlock the insights hidden in social data, CEOs should proactively request a regular social media scorecard. This is essential for CEOs who aspire to stay ahead of the competition and harness the power of social media for their businesses.

Need support with your social media strategy? Get in touch with the team at EWM for the most empowering social media solutions.