Why is it so hard to measure your actions in currency in the social networks? Can you measure the online conversions? And when they convert into offline sales? You know that it is possible to measure social media ROI into your offline sales?

There are a number of techniques that can help you narrow in what you do offline sales in social networks. But how?

Do you turn fans into buyers?

Let me emphasise the importance of the sales funnel and how this concept is related to conversion. That is, if you know how your users react to your actions and activities of marketing and communication, you can maximise your investment and get better results. For example:

  • Is it better for you to focus on Facebook and forget about Twitter?
  • Is it worth you make a contest on Pinterest?
  • Can you afford to hire a Community Manager or is it better to invest that money in discounts and promotions?
  • Etc.

Where is the real problem?

Unfortunately, a number of problems that prevent conversion rates get measured exactly, or even not being able to be calculated in any way. This could happen, inter alia, by:

  • Online; multi-channel conversion. In an online business, are sales made ​​solely on the last click, or rather depend on a process that finishes with the last click? What if this process took place over several days, not only at the time of purchase?
  • Offline. A large percentage of sales could happen through offline channels (i.e. in the case of physical stores).

You need to identify all the actions to see how all the players react along the pipeline from becoming a lead to the final sale. And that is not an easy task.

So here I leave a number of strategies that will help your sales be effectively measured and you will be able to evaluate the profitability of your actions on the social networks:

1.Use affiliate marketing (remember that this type of marketing existed even before the internet!); affiliate programs, clicks on banners, coupon codes, cookies…

2.Use correlation techniques; search for statistical evidence of correlation between social indicators and financial and commercial indicators.

3.Ask your customers; how they decided to buy from you? through which channel?

Do you measure your conversions? Even offline?