Ok, so you’ve started to research and engage your audience online. Now what? How do you know if it’s working?

This is a very important question to answer, because it will tell you what platforms/tactics/audiences are giving you the best ROI. Then you can adjust your social media strategy to become more effective.

There are several ways to track your social media presence and effectiveness, and a good social media campaign will involve a combination of tracking metrics, based on your goals.

Here are some of our favorite tools:

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a must-have for any campaign that involves a website. Key statistics such as average time spent on pages, entrance sources (which sites your audience is coming from), and pageviews help you look at what is working and what isn’t.

Cheap (sometimes free) Tracking Sites

Recently there have been a rash of new or significantly updated tracking sites (notably Trendrr and Viral Heat) that have upped the ante in terms of tracking on a budget. Trendrr’s trial option lets you try the service on a limited basis indefinitely, and ViralHeat lets you do some pretty neat stuff, and cost is based on volume of tracking.

Proprietary Social Media Tracking Tools

You didn’t think we’d give away ALL our secrets, did you? Although the tools mentioned above can be helpful, sometimes they don’t offer the customization or complete coverage of specialized industry tools. These tools are more complex to use, but can offer higher-quality tracking because they can be tailored to each client’s needs.

Interns

Interns can provide cheap labor, and are really fun to throw things at. Just kidding! Seriously though, sometimes you need the eyes of a real human being researching your online presence. The obvious downside is that labor costs money, but if you have a good intern, you can catch potentially dangerous situations before they explode, or find a timely opportunity of which to take advantage.