At SocialToaster, we pride ourselves in turning our clients into social media bosses, teaching them the ultimate boss move: proving a return on a marketing investment. For SocialToaster clients, this success indicator is typically tied to Earned Media Value (EMV), and we’re proud to be able to help our clients generate up to an 8x – 10x return on earned social media ROI when they manage a fan advocacy program. So, what is earned media anyway? And why is it helpful for proving success? Essentially, there are three types of media (though some argue four):
– Paid: Media you pay for – including: advertisements, billboards, remarketing campaigns, etc.
– Owned: Media you own like your website, blog, storefront, etc.
– Earned: 3rd party media you earn through, PR stories, social sharing, Word of Mouth marketing, etc.
As a use case, consider whenever someone shares your blog post or latest video to their Facebook feed. The impressions, clicks, and conversions of that share would fall under Earned Media. You can start to see how quickly these social actions can add up, especially if your brand is utilizing a fan advocacy program that focuses on driving those earned social interactions.
For our clients, the SocialToaster platform calculates and tabulates the running lifetime earned media value. Every click, share, and email open is quantified using industry standard rates and then tallied on our analytics dashboard, allowing you to easily quantify the program and share its success with stakeholders within your organization.
How To Increase Your Social Media ROI
So how do you go from a 2x or 3x EMV to an 8x or even 10x return? Check out some best practices from our clients below.
#1 – Discover High Yield Actions Values
Start by exploring the SocialToaster dashboard to discover what actions are worth the most to your business. These actions are typically Facebook follows/shares and Instagram follows/posts. They are also usually tied to the macro-goals of your fan advocacy program.
Pro tip: In addition to using our default media valuations, customers can also set their own value for specific KPIs. For example, if your company has already qualified that an email address is worth $5, but an email open is worth $15 due to the conversion rate, you can plug those values into your program-specific EMV calculations!
#2 – Generate Content That Serves Your High Value Actions
Once you have a solid understanding of the actions you want to see taken in your program, the next step is to guide your audience towards taking those actions. After all, content without strategy is just noise.
For example, if you’re goal is to drive more Instagram followers, you should be creating content that showcases how awesome your Instagram feed is and how everyone in the history of ever should be following it. Likewise, if there’s a particular channel that you’re seeing strong engagement (and strong ROI) on, tailor the content to fit that channel! Ensure the images are the right size, hashtags are being used effectively and character counts are being attended too.
#3 – Scale
Once you have the content and the strategy set, it’s time to implement. The surest way to increase earned media value is to increase your earned media opportunities! Post, and post often. All things equal, a brand that posts twice as often as its competitor is going to earn twice as much EMV!
Pro Tip: Hidden EMV treasures that are often overlooked are Linkedin and YouTube. Including these networks in your content mix can help bolster your program EMV and take your ROI to the next level.
Invest In Your Social Media ROI
Marketing efforts are an investment. The ROI from the channels you roll into your overall plan go a long way towards building a successful marketing program. Increase your ROI and earn that 8x return. Questions about how to get started? Send us an email, request a free demo, or give us a call at 855.62.TOAST today!
