Social media monitoring (SMM) is the process of tracking, measuring and evaluating an organization’s social media marketing initiatives. SMM began as a way of tracking harmful comments and avoiding PR disasters. Unmonitored, damaging remarks can have a negative impact on a brand’s reputation and future.

1. monitoring social media

2. social media monitoring
Social media monitoring (SMM) is the process of tracking,
measuring and evaluating an organization’s social media marketing
initiatives. SMM began as a way of tracking harmful comments and
avoiding PR disasters. Unmonitored, damaging remarks can have a
negative impact on a brand’s reputation and future.
As the social web grew rapidly, the importance of monitoring also
increased. Software has been developed to track trends and
measure standards. Eventually, social media monitoring evolved to
beyond basic listening into active interaction. Social media is now
used to instantly respond to and resolve consumer issues and build
relationships with customers while cultivating super fans. Marketers
can use SMM to track, measure, evaluate and tune their social
media activities to maximize their chances of success.

3. tracking
Social media tracking is the process of finding and following content on the
social web. You can keep your finger on the pulse of what is happening in
your field or with your customers by tracking. You find appropriate content
to monitor by utilizing search engines. Here is a five-step approach to
effectively find relevant content on the social web:

4. 1. choose focus areas
Define what you are looking for in detail. This will vary from
business to business, but there are some things all marketers should
be focusing on. For example, a marketer could determine whether
his or her brand is the sole focus of the search or if the search
extends to competitor’s brands also. In reality, you should monitor
both to see how well your brand is doing compared to others.

5. 2. select target-rich platforms
Choose specific social media platforms in which your intended
audience is participating to monitor. For the best data, focus on the
sites your audience engage on most.

6. 3. identify the appropriate
keywords & phrases
Study how people actually search or describe your
brand or other brands and topics. You can then
search phrases and terms using common language,
which will give you the best results.
Google AdWords Keyword Tool is a good web site to
research keywords. The tool shows the number of
monthly searches on Google using variously related
keyword phrases.
Remember, do not use industry jargon or technical terms in your posts or when
searching keywords. Keep it conversational.
You can access Keyword Tool, a free alternative to Google Keyword Planner, by clicking
on the following link, http://keywordtool.io.

7. 4. search smart
Restrict or widen the search by using Boolean operators (AND, OR and NOT) when
using almost any search engine.
A. Boolean AND operator – Represented by a plus sign (+). Constricts a search by
specifying that the results must include all the keywords in a query. For
example, the search history + books would retrieve only content that contained
both keywords.
B. Boolean NOT operator – Represented by a minus sign (-). Excludes results
containing keywords. For example, the search history - books would retrieve
only the content that has the keyword history but not the keyword books.
C. Phrase Searching – Narrows result by only returning content that exactly
matches a phrase or keywords inside quotation marks. For example, the search
“history war books” would retrieve results that contain that exact phrase.
D. Boolean OR operator – Including OR, widens your search to include content
that has either of the keywords connected by the operator. For example, the
search history OR books would retrieve results that have either of the keywords
in the content. This operator usually generates a larger number of results.

8. 5. adjust searches
Refine your searches. For example, your small
start-up business may have little presence on
the web. You may not get a lot of results for a
generic brand search. Instead, search for the
brands of competitors and look for potential
customers based on target information, such
as interests, tastes, behaviors and
demographics.
Once you find these key sources of
information, you should follow them on a
regular basis. Set up Google alerts, follow RSS
feeds or use more sophisticated tools if time
and resources allow.

9. measuring social media results
Social media measuring is the determination of the volume of
content and the sentiment toward a brand or topic. The volume of
content is a quantitative measurement. Quantitative measurements
are those which involve the collection of numbers. It is the opposite
of qualitative data which are observations. Judging sentiment is a
qualitative measurement.
Examples of quantitative data are the number of posts, comments,
tweets, retweets, likes and follows.
Examples of qualitative date are the actual mentions, comments,
conversations and feedback.

10. Quantitative and qualitative metrics are referred to as Key Performance Indicators (KPI). A KPI is
a social media metric that indicates progress of strategies and achievement of goals.
Quantitative KPIs are used to measure return on investment, and qualitative KPIs can shed light
on the impact of your social media activities on goals, such as brand awareness, influence and
engagement.
A baseline (or benchmark) can act as a standard against which KPIs are measured. Benchmarks
provide a starting point when developing strategies toward achieving goals. It is valuable to
benchmark an organization’s social media metrics against the competitions. For example,
discovering you have 5,000 Twitter followers becomes more meaningful when you know your
competitor only has 3,000 followers.
It is important to compare your KPIs to your benchmarks over a period of time to assess and the
pace and degree of progress. Record measurements weekly for the best results. Pay attention to
massive shifts and general trends over time.

11. quantitative social media measuring
Quantitative social media measuring focuses on counting the volume of specific types of content on the
social web. The most common social media quantitative measurements directly measure the number of
interactions between fans/consumers and social media sites. Many marketers count and record the
number of visitors/page views, fans/followers, comments posted and links shared. Others also measure
the number of leads generated from social media and new customer conversions. Quantitative social
media measuring is most successful when metrics are tied to goals. Make your goals specific,
measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.
Here are some examples of smart goals mentioned in Social Media Marketing a Strategic Approach:
Twitter
o 20% growth in the number of followers within 30 days
o 30% growth in the number of retweets within 30 days
o 5% increase in website conversions (sales) from tweet links within 30 days
Facebook
o 20% growth in the number of fans within five months
o 30% growth in the number of comments within five months
o 40% increase in the number of check-ins within six months
These are just brief examples that may or may not work for your business, but you could modify these
goals to meet your marketing needs. Notice how the quantitative metrics are tied with a specific goal
within a certain timeline while being tailored to each platform.

12. qualitative social media measuring
Qualitative Social media measuring is the process of accessing the opinions and beliefs about a brand.
The most popular qualitative metrics among marketers are those that assess the impact of social media
activities on customer relations. For example, some marketers measure dialogue with prospects and
customers, while others measure the strength of existing customer relationships. You can also measure
customer retention rates and calculate the ratio of negative to positive relationships with consumers.
Quantitative data seldom reveals the entire story. Qualitative data plays a key role in identifying
consumer satisfaction. For example, if a lot of people tweet “iPhones suck” or “iPhones rock,”
quantitative metrics will simply count the number of tweets, not the feelings or opinions contained
within them. Feelings and opinions can reveal much about how your brand is perceived.
Combining these two types of metrics provides a more realistic and accurate picture of an organization’s
progress in achieving goals. Social media measurement should bring both of these metrics together to
characterize the performance and the value of your social media marketing efforts.

13. qualitative KPIs
The most influential qualitative KPI is sentiment analysis, which is also known as opinion mining.
Sentiment analysis uses computer algorithms to automatically detect the basic mood, attitudes or
emotions of your followers /fans and other creating content on social media sites. Typically, sentiment
analysis classifies social media opinions about a brand or topic as positive, neutral or negative.
Remember, KPIs should be used based on the marketing goals of an organization.
KPIs for measuring dialog – You must produce relevant, meaningful content in order to engage an
audience and encourage interaction, thus beginning a dialog.
We are going to study two metrics for achieving the business objective of fostering a dialog:
Share of Voice and Audience Engagement.

14. share of voice
Indicates how a brand stacks up to its competitors. It is calculated by dividing the company’s
brand mentions by the total mentions of the industry in social channels (like blogs, comments,
Tweets, videos, ect.) as shown in the diagram below.
When Share of Voice deviates beyond a reasonable desired threshold, you should look at the
content you are producing. If the content is stale or waning, then your Share of Voice will
probably be declining as well. And, if your competitor is beating you out of your Share of Voice, it
is time to take notice and see what that competitor is doing right.

15. audience engagement
Shows the level of a company’s engagement in comparison with its viewership. It is calculated by
dividing the proportion of visitors who participate in a specific marketing initiative by contributing
comments, sharing or linking back by the total number of views as shown in the diagram below.
A benchmark should be established for this KPI in order to show improvements or declines.
Audience engagement is a leading indicator of dialog about a specific topic or product. Variations
of audience engagement can be used to identify hot topics and issues of lesser interest.

16. the net promoter score
The score is obtained by asking customers one question: On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely is it that you
would recommend [your brand or company] to a friend or colleague?
The NPS assumes that every company’s customer can be divided into three classes:
1. Promoters - loyal enthusiasts – score = 9-10
2. Passives - satisfied but unenthusiastic customers – score = 7-8
3. Detractors - unhappy customers – score = 6-0
NPS is calculated by taking the percentage of customers who are Promoters and subtracting the
percentage who are Detractors. However the NPS itself is not a percentage but rather a plus or minus.
An NPS that is above zero (has a plus sign) indicates a good customer relation’s rating. For example, a
company with a +50 NPS is considered excellent at customer relations.

17. return on investment
Return on Investment (ROI) is a ratio arrived at by subtracting expenses from sales and then
dividing the result by the expenses as shown in the diagram below:
In terms of qualitative social media marketing efforts, the argument is made that impact should
be the primary goal of social media marketing, not ROI, but building brand awareness, perception
and loyalty, as well as improving customer relationships, will have a long-term effect and
increased ROI. The following questions can also be used to judge how well an organization is
reaching its qualitative goals:
• Is your organization reaching new social media audiences?
• Is your company viewed more in a positive than negative light by social media users?
• Is your organization engaged in meaningful conversation with social media users?

18. don’t forget to evaluate
Evaluation is the process of interpreting data once it has been measured with the
intention to derive insights and understanding from it. Measurement only gains
meaning through analysis. Such analysis enables you to determine whether social
media strategies are achieving your goals. Evaluation is where many organizations
fall short by failing to connect the dots between social media metrics, strategies
and business goals.
The reasons for this failure are threefold. First, sound analysis of social media
measurements relies on collection of the relevant data in the first place, and
sometimes the gathered data does not accurately illustrate the performance of
social media strategies in attaining goals. Secondly, it takes a significant
commitment of time and resources by an organization to evaluate social media
measurements, and that commitment requires a financial investment that some
organizations are simply not willing to make. And, last of all, social media
measurement is still in the experimental stage. Sometimes marketers lack the
necessary tools to identify the connection between social media marketing and
business outcomes.

19. selecting social media monitoring tools
In May 2011 there were 213 paid and free social media monitoring tools available. The
process of selecting one for an organization to use can be aided by determining:
• which metrics to measure
• which social media platforms to cover
• which price range an organization can afford
Tool vendors continue to improve their offerings, and marketers continue to rely on them
to measure performance and justify expenditures on social media marketing activities.
But, ideally, you will have the time and skills to monitor your own sites.
Social Mention is a site that gives real-time social media search and analysis for free. You
can access the site by clicking on the following link, http://www.socialmention.com. It
allows for the basic tracking and measurement of any term (or phrase) in social media. The
cons are that it is only a report so engagement will have to be done manually, and non-
relevant items may be included in your report. Be sure to use quotation marks around
your initial searches. Overall, it is a good free tool for tracking key terms in social media. I
encourage you to search your organization or industry and explore the results. Use phrase
searching and include quotation marks around the keywords you are searching.

20. source
Barker, M. S., Barker, D. I., Bormann, N. F., & Neher, K. E. (2013). Social
Media Marketing: A Strategic Approach. Mason, OH: Cengage
Learning. Latest edition.