{"id":923,"date":"2009-12-11T07:51:08","date_gmt":"2009-12-11T07:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/?p=923"},"modified":"2009-12-11T07:51:08","modified_gmt":"2009-12-11T07:51:08","slug":"the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Key Performance Indicator that Measures Engagement from Social Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image\"Cash-Flow. The number one KPI for social media’s results is cash-flow.\u00a0 Does it increase or decrease when you use social media?<\/p>\n

Your company is in the business of offering products and services. For money. Your money to produce and deliver.\u00a0 Your customers\u2019 money to purchase.<\/p>\n

That dynamic, the inflow and outflow of cash, tells a company\u2019s story and foreshadows its destiny.\u00a0 Any company survives and remains master of its destiny based on how much positive cash-flow it generates from that dynamic.<\/p>\n

Learn more: Social Media Survey + Sample Questionnaire Template<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re fans\/members\/followers are not buying then be honest with yourself: They are not customers of your company. Not being customers, they are not engaged with your company.\u00a0 No, seriously. It is cash-flow.<\/p>\n

They may be customers of your marketing department or your social media agency\u2019s efforts (community forum, widgets, cartoons\/videos, profile personalization options). but they are not your customers. They may be fans of your community manager\u2019s wit, each other\u2019s wit and knowledge. But they are not your customers. They remain merely…fans\/members\/followers of someone\u2019s social media expertise.<\/p>\n

They are only your customers if they become fully engaged with your company. Fully engaged means they open their pocketbook\/creditcard\/checkbook to you, for your products and services.\u00a0 The checkbook meets the hand is the equivalent of the rubber meets the road. It is the reality check in every conversation in the marketplace.<\/p>\n

A customer\u2019s purchase is the most meaningful KPI reciprocates your trust in them. That trust was first signaled by you when you invested your cash and knowledge and time and energy in creating a product or service to meet their needs. Their purchase reciprocates that trust. It shows they are fully engaged, truly believe, your message.<\/p>\n

I am as big a fan of social media\u2019s potential in creating community, exchanging ideas, building connections, conversation….as anyone. I love meaning and purpose as much as the next person. And, social media may be the most efficient means to communicate, evangelize, globalize, meaning and purpose.<\/p>\n

But even altruistic purposes need cash-flows in the form of donations to survive, mature and translate that passion into meaningful action.<\/p>\n

There are businesses who design, create and host cocktail parties.\u00a0 Caterers, cooks, DJs, beverage vending companies, facilities where everyone can gather. Their business is creating fun events. But no one confuses badges worn, hands stamped or\u00a0 dances danced as meaningful to anyone but the party vendor and the attendees. If the party doesn\u2019t translate into deals, purchases and cash-flowed…back to the company, ultimately that cocktail party is irrelevant. Fun, sure. Just like the next one.<\/p>\n

But, the KPIs of conversations and friends\/followers\/fans offer a business the meaningful equivalent of a \u201cLet\u2019s do lunch…\u201d farewell at a cocktail party. And social media is the globe\u2019s always open digital cocktail party.<\/p>\n

There are many other KPIs for social media\u2019s performance. Here is a list of\u00a035 KPIs that measure engagement<\/a> by\u00a0Chris Lake<\/a>. I like the list. I like the post, a lot. I like that he started the conversation off with a courteous\u00a0 nod to the importance of revenues. And he acknowledges with one sentence that you want people to buy your products….But, then he quickly rushes past it to the really important stuff….like widgets and settings, followers, friends and settings. To show their relative importance he bolded their itemized listings. And if Casey and I were to sit down and talk together, have a conversation, we\u2019d be on the same page with differences amounting to tiny shades of grey.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, they are relevant only with a positive impact on an organization\u2019s cash-flow. The power of social media is done a disservice when lists of KPIs omit cash-flow.\u00a0 The irony is obvious. The resource that allows transparent conversation, to speak and listen, to your customers in their language, is touted with metrics that fail to speak the language of their ultimate customer: the CEO and CFO. These are the decision-makers for social media\u2019s use.<\/p>\n

Maybe this is harsh. Maybe. Whatever. Get over it. Here\u2019s why. It is a disservice to the business community, especially the small business community. Social media has the power to level the playing field for small business.\u00a0 It offers an incredibly cost-efficient means to communicate the advantages of an unique brand to a global audience. Its cost-effectiveness comes from the company\u2019s customers supplanting traditional, and often ineffective, but always expensive forms of advertising. They supplant them with their word-of-mouth accelerated with the tools of social media.\u00a0 Their conversations translate into higher sales, lower marketing costs, more referrals and lower customer churn, higher conversion rates and lower sales cycles.<\/p>\n

And it is a disservice to your own agency or department. You have found and mastered a powerful resource for your client or company.\u00a0 It is a resource that can help them reach their goals and in doing so help you reach your goals.<\/p>\n

Your shared success will be translated and reported in the ultimate KPI that measures engagement from a company\u2019s employees and customers: cash-flow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cash-Flow. The number one KPI for social media’s results is cash-flow.\u00a0 Does it increase or decrease when you use social […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[341,210],"tags":[935],"yoast_head":"\nThe Ultimate Key Performance Indicator that Measures Engagement from Social Media | QuestionPro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cash-Flow. The number one KPI for social media's results is cash-flow.\u00a0 Does it increase or decrease when you use social media? Your company is in the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Ultimate Key Performance Indicator that Measures Engagement from Social Media | QuestionPro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cash-Flow. The number one KPI for social media's results is cash-flow.\u00a0 Does it increase or decrease when you use social media? Your company is in the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"QuestionPro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/questionpro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-12-11T07:51:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/money-spigot-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ivana Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@questionpro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@questionpro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ivana Taylor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ivana Taylor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a547e9ba0ad62a9ffa6f12466a7a244\"},\"headline\":\"The Ultimate Key Performance Indicator that Measures Engagement from Social Media\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-12-11T07:51:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-12-11T07:51:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/\"},\"wordCount\":872,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Social Media Marketing\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Marketing\",\"Trending\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/\",\"name\":\"The Ultimate Key Performance Indicator that Measures Engagement from Social Media | QuestionPro\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-12-11T07:51:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-12-11T07:51:08+00:00\",\"description\":\"Cash-Flow. The number one KPI for social media's results is cash-flow.\u00a0 Does it increase or decrease when you use social media? Your company is in the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"QuestionPro\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/category\/questionpro\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Marketing\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/category\/questionpro\/marketing\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"The Ultimate Key Performance Indicator that Measures Engagement from Social Media\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"QuestionPro\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"QuestionPro\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/questionpro-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/questionpro-logo.svg\",\"caption\":\"QuestionPro\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/questionpro\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/questionpro\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/questionpro\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a547e9ba0ad62a9ffa6f12466a7a244\",\"name\":\"Ivana Taylor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d23fe73ba92b9a95ce057e280755df6b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d23fe73ba92b9a95ce057e280755df6b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ivana Taylor\"},\"description\":\"Ivana Taylor provides DIY Marketing advice, marketing trends and marketing how-to tips and strategies for small business owners and CEOs.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/author\/thirdforce\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Ultimate Key Performance Indicator that Measures Engagement from Social Media | QuestionPro","description":"Cash-Flow. The number one KPI for social media's results is cash-flow.\u00a0 Does it increase or decrease when you use social media? Your company is in the","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Ultimate Key Performance Indicator that Measures Engagement from Social Media | QuestionPro","og_description":"Cash-Flow. The number one KPI for social media's results is cash-flow.\u00a0 Does it increase or decrease when you use social media? Your company is in the","og_url":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/","og_site_name":"QuestionPro","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/questionpro","article_published_time":"2009-12-11T07:51:08+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/money-spigot-150x150.jpg"}],"author":"Ivana Taylor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@questionpro","twitter_site":"@questionpro","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ivana Taylor","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/"},"author":{"name":"Ivana Taylor","@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a547e9ba0ad62a9ffa6f12466a7a244"},"headline":"The Ultimate Key Performance Indicator that Measures Engagement from Social Media","datePublished":"2009-12-11T07:51:08+00:00","dateModified":"2009-12-11T07:51:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/"},"wordCount":872,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Social Media Marketing"],"articleSection":["Marketing","Trending"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/","url":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/","name":"The Ultimate Key Performance Indicator that Measures Engagement from Social Media | QuestionPro","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-12-11T07:51:08+00:00","dateModified":"2009-12-11T07:51:08+00:00","description":"Cash-Flow. The number one KPI for social media's results is cash-flow.\u00a0 Does it increase or decrease when you use social media? Your company is in the","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-key-performance-indicator-that-measures-engagement-from-social-media\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"QuestionPro","item":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/category\/questionpro\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Marketing","item":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/category\/questionpro\/marketing\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The Ultimate Key Performance Indicator that Measures Engagement from Social Media"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/","name":"QuestionPro","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"QuestionPro","url":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/questionpro-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/questionpro-logo.svg","caption":"QuestionPro"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/questionpro","https:\/\/twitter.com\/questionpro","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/questionpro\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a547e9ba0ad62a9ffa6f12466a7a244","name":"Ivana Taylor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d23fe73ba92b9a95ce057e280755df6b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d23fe73ba92b9a95ce057e280755df6b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ivana Taylor"},"description":"Ivana Taylor provides DIY Marketing advice, marketing trends and marketing how-to tips and strategies for small business owners and CEOs.","url":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/author\/thirdforce\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Ivana Taylor","author_link":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/author\/thirdforce\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/128"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.questionpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}