When discussing the ROI of social media – there is only one metric that is of real concern : sales. At recent Measurement Camps while working through case studies, an increase in real-world sales was frequently cited as an indicator of success. But how do you isloate this success and attribute it to social media efforts? Simple – make it as easy as possible to track it!

Issuing specific discount or voucher codes to your social media community is a great way to reward a loyal following, but it also helps you measure the success of your social media efforts. It allows you to encourage social media into a sales channel and generate valuable traffic to your site.

Blacknight regularly issue coupon codes through their Twitter account @blacknight as well as run promotions primarily through their blog. I caught up with Michele Neylon, MD of Blacknight to ask how effective the strategy was and how easy it was to trace incremental sales. He said “Our backend is able to track how many signups we get per coupon code, so it’s pretty transparent. Most shopping carts can track coupons so it’s not that hard to do realistically.

We do it as it’s yet another sales channel which we might as well tap into. Our target market and existing users are already on Twitter etc., so it only makes sense to interact with them there while also giving them something of use”

A simple way to offer exclusive discounts to your social media following is through TwtQpons , which allows you to create coupons through Twitter and Facebook etc.. and distribute to your social media following. Rewarding your following with exclusive offers is a good way to demonstrate your recognise their value and commitment to maintaining loyalty.

As social media marketers, it is a way for us to track the ROI of social media, thought it is important to remember that this does not demonstrate the sum of all efforts. While it is an attempt to turn social media into a sales channel,  the user is still not there to buy what you’re selling. We just have to try our hardest to make them want to.

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