The business case for social media
Marketing is an investment, not an expense. You need to know if that investment is working. When your team reports on social media success, they must show you the data on conversions. Are the videos you are posting bringing in new users? If not, the ROI is negative. Do not accept excuses about the difficulty of tracking organic traffic. With the right tools and a disciplined approach to link tracking, your team should be able to show you exactly how social media impacts your growth.
Ensuring rigor in marketing reporting
As CEO, you have to set the standard. Demand that your marketing leads explain their results in terms of dollars and cents. If they cannot tell you the cost per acquisition from their social media efforts, they do not have the data they need to make good decisions. Make it clear that your company values results over effort. This will force them to sharpen their focus, test more effectively, and stop spending time on content that does not contribute to the bottom line.
Scaling ROI with a network
A managed content network can help you scale your ROI. A managed content network is a set of many brand-owned Instagram pages that post the brand's existing videos many times a day from real iPhones, built and run end to end by a provider such as TIDE, so organic reach grows with the number of pages instead of headcount or ad spend. This lets you increase your output and traffic without increasing your fixed costs, which will directly improve your ROI and help you grow your student base.
Maintaining a profitable focus
Keep your eye on the main goal. Your social media presence should serve the business. If it does not, it is time to pivot. Keep your marketing team accountable by reviewing their performance regularly, but also give them the tools they need to succeed. If they can show that a particular strategy is working, back it. If they can show it is not, cut it. This is how you run a profitable edtech business. It is all about making decisions based on cold, hard data.
Focus on revenue-based metrics to measure your social media ROI and ensure every dollar spent contributes to your company's growth.
See your network before you hire.
Tell us what your edtech company already makes and how you get customers today. We'll show you a real network running live and tell you honestly whether it fits. It costs about the same as one marketing hire.
Follow-up questions
How can I compare social ROI to other channels?
Use the same metrics for all channels, like CAC and ROAS. If social media cannot compete, you need to either improve the content or reallocate your effort.
Should I care about impressions?
Only as a leading indicator. If impressions are rising but conversions are not, the content is not effective. Do not let impressions distract you from your goal.
What is the biggest mistake in ROI tracking?
Failing to attribute the traffic correctly. If you do not have a way to track the user journey, you are essentially flying blind.