Forrest Gump famously compared life to a box of chocolates, in that "you never know what you're going to get." Social media can be a little like that, but fortunately you can measure its effectiveness and fine-tune your approach to, ahem, sweeten the results.
At a recent Social Media Breakfast in Seattle Katie Paine, from KD Paine & Partners, outlined to a packed house a 7-step program to determine the ROI on social media.
As reported on the University of Washington "Web Tools for the Digital World" site, measuring social media effectiveness isn't all that different from measuring other media.
As with other media, you need to define your goals, your audiences, your benchmarks and your metrics. Make your messages credible and closely track responses. Encourage word of mouth. Learn from mistakes and adapt - social media will tell you much more quickly than other forms whether you're on track.
Above all, remember that social media is not a magical cure for deeper problems with a brand or business. If you choose to use it, you must see it as part of a suite of tactics to help fulfill your long-term strategy.
