Google Analytics Helps Determine the Value of Social Media

The actual dollar value that Social Media efforts contribute to your business has always been a topic that sparks a lot of debate. While most internet marketers believe that social media contributes to brand recognition and valuable interaction with customers, a measurable value has been difficult to determine. Today, the Google Analytics discussed the addition of new reports that should help to make this process simpler.
Over the next few weeks, three new social reports will be available to users in the Google Analytics standard reporting tab. These new reports will help identify the value and conversion rates of traffic referred by social sites, what kind of social engagements are being made and which social media channels are driving the most traffic to your website.
With these new reporting enhancements, testing what drives the highest rates of engagement and conversions on social media will be easier than ever. The social reports are designed to work together to give you a comprehensive summary of your social media marketing efforts.
For example, if you want to test the effectiveness of sharing coupon codes on various social media sites, you can use the Social Sources report to can determine which social media outlets are most effective for your brand. You can use the Activity Stream report to see if people are sharing the coupon codes, and if it’s driving visitors to your site. Finally, with the Social Value report, you’ll be able to see the conversion value that has been generated by your coupon code initiative and if it’s worth continuing.
The ability to gather this valuable information helps outline what the most effective social media marketing directive is for individual brands and can help funnel both time and budget into the highest performing social outlets.