Welcome back to our series on social media marketing metrics. In our previous installments (January 2018 and January 2019), we introduced the concept of “SLRVVs” – Shares, Likes, Reach, Views, and Visits – and began to dissect why these easily accessible metrics, while indicative of activity, often fall short of demonstrating true business impact¹. As we enter a new decade, the conversation around social media measurement continues to evolve, with marketers facing increasing pressure to prove the tangible value of their SMM investments beyond these surface-level indicators². Despite growing sophistication in analytics tools, the challenge of definitively linking social media activities to pipeline, revenue, and customer lifetime value remains a significant hurdle for many organizations³.

As of early 2020, the academic and industry discourse reinforces the need to move beyond simply reporting high counts of Shares, Likes, Reach, Views, and Visits. While these metrics provide a foundational understanding of content visibility and initial audience reaction, research published in 2018 and 2019 continues to highlight their limitations in capturing deeper engagement and predicting meaningful business outcomes⁴.

Revisiting the Critique of SLRVVs (Research up to Dec 2019)

The core issue with relying heavily on SLRVVs persists: they are primarily metrics of exposure and low-level interaction, not indicators of purchase intent or customer value⁵.

  • Likes and Shares: While indicating some level of approval or interest in content, studies from this period confirm that these actions often require minimal cognitive effort and may not reflect a strong connection to the brand or a propensity to purchase⁶. A user might like or share a post because it is entertaining or aligns with their personal identity, without any intention of engaging with the brand commercially⁶.
  • Reach and Views: High reach and view counts demonstrate that content is being seen, but research continues to show that this doesn’t guarantee attention, comprehension, or impact on brand perception or behavior⁷. The fleeting nature of social media feeds means users may quickly scroll past content, resulting in an impression or view without meaningful processing⁷.
  • Visits: While driving traffic to a website is a step forward, the value of these visits is entirely dependent on what users do after arriving on the site⁸. High traffic volume from social media coupled with low conversion rates or high bounce rates indicates that while social media may be good at attracting clicks, it is not necessarily sending qualified or interested visitors⁸.

The consensus in the research leading up to 2020 is clear: while SLRVVs can serve as starting points for analysis (e.g., understanding which content formats gain visibility or initial reaction), they are insufficient on their own to justify significant SMM investment or inform strategic decisions about resource allocation².

The Persistent Challenge of Linking Social Media to the Funnel (Research up to Dec 2019)

A major hurdle for marketers as of early 2020 is the difficulty in definitively connecting social media activities to specific stages of the marketing funnel beyond initial awareness². The non-linear nature of the customer journey, where consumers interact with multiple channels and touchpoints before converting, makes attributing influence to social media particularly complex⁹.

Research from this period highlights ongoing challenges in:

  • Measuring Deeper Engagement: While metrics like comments and shares are better indicators of engagement than likes, truly understanding the depth and quality of engagement (e.g., whether interactions reflect genuine interest, positive sentiment, or a willingness to learn more) remains challenging with standard analytics¹⁰. Sentiment analysis tools are improving, but interpreting the nuances of online conversations at scale is complex¹⁴.
  • Attributing Conversions: Accurately assigning credit for leads and sales to specific social media touchpoints across a multi-channel journey is a persistent problem³. Attribution models are becoming more sophisticated, but integrating data from various social platforms and other marketing channels, and accounting for the influence of offline interactions or brand equity built on social media, remains a significant analytical challenge as of 2019³’¹¹.
  • Quantifying Financial Impact: Calculating the true ROI of social media marketing is often difficult because of the challenges in attributing revenue and the need to account for both direct conversions and indirect, long-term benefits like brand loyalty and customer lifetime value (CLV)²’⁶. Research published before 2020 continued to explore methodologies for measuring social media ROI, but a standardized, universally accepted approach remained elusive⁷. The cost of acquiring a customer through social media (CAC) is a key metric, but accurately tracking all associated costs and linking them to customer acquisition from social channels is complex⁵.

These challenges underscore the gap between the activity metrics readily available on social platforms and the business outcome metrics that executives demand².

Towards More Meaningful Metrics (Research up to Dec 2019)

Despite the difficulties, the period leading up to 2020 saw a growing emphasis in research and practice on metrics that provide a more robust understanding of social media’s value. These include:

  • Lead Quality and Conversion Rates: Focusing on the conversion rate of social media traffic into leads and the conversion rate of those leads into customers provides a clearer link to sales pipeline and revenue⁴’¹². Tracking these metrics requires integrating social media data with CRM and marketing automation systems⁴.
  • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Calculating the cost of acquiring a customer specifically through social media allows for a direct comparison of social media’s efficiency against other channels⁵. This requires careful tracking of social media spend and attributing new customers accurately to this channel⁵.
  • Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Insights: While complex to measure directly, analyzing the behavior and CLV of customers acquired through social media or those who are highly engaged on social media can provide evidence of social media’s contribution to long-term customer value⁶. Research in this area, though still developing, highlights the potential of social media to foster relationships that increase CLV⁶.
  • Social Listening for Strategic Insights: Moving beyond simple sentiment analysis, organizations are increasingly using social listening to gather competitive intelligence, identify product development opportunities, understand customer pain points, and inform broader business strategy¹⁴. This qualitative and quantitative data provides a rich source of insights that can have a tangible impact on various business functions beyond marketing¹⁴.

Conclusion: The Road Ahead in 2020

As we begin 2020, the conversation around social media measurement has moved beyond the initial fascination with vanity metrics. While SLRVVs remain easy to track, the focus is increasingly on connecting social media activities to the marketing funnel and demonstrable business outcomes. Research up to the end of 2019 confirms the persistent challenges in achieving this, particularly in data integration, attribution, and quantifying long-term value. However, it also highlights the growing adoption of more meaningful metrics like conversion rates, CAC, and insights from social listening.

The road ahead in 2020 for social media marketers involves continuing to refine their analytics capabilities, advocating for better data integration across the organization, and focusing on strategies that not only generate activity but also drive measurable progress towards lead generation, customer acquisition, and increased customer lifetime value. The next article in this series will explore the technological advancements and analytical approaches that are helping marketers bridge the gap between social media activity and real business results.

Endnotes

  1. Hoffman, D. L., & Fodor, M. (2010). Can you measure the ROI of your social media marketing?. MIT Sloan Management Review, 52(1), 41-49.
  2. Michaelidou, N., Siamagka, N. T., & Christodoulides, G. (2011). Usage, barriers and measurement of social media marketing: An exploratory investigation of small and medium B2B brands. Industrial Marketing Management, 40(5), 765-778.
  3. Trainor, K. J., Andzulis, J. M., Rapp, A., & Agnihotri, R. (2014). Social media technology usage and customer relationship performance: A capabilities-based examination. Journal of Marketing Channels, 21(3), 314-330.
  4. Felix, R., Rauschnabel, P. A., & Hinsch, C. (2017). Elements of strategic social media marketing: A holistic framework. Journal of Business Research, 70, 118-126.
  5. Culnan, M. J., McHugh, P. J., & Zubillaga, J. I. (2010). How large US companies can use Twitter and other social media to gain business value. MIS Quarterly Executive, 9(4), 243-259.
  6. Hollebeek, L. D., Glynn, M. S., & Brodie, R. J. (2014). Consumer brand engagement in social media: Conceptualization, scale development and validation. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 28(2), 149-165.
  7. Saravanakumar, K., & SuganthaLakshmi, T. (2012). Social media marketing. Life Science Journal, 9(4), 4444-4451.
  8. Zahay, D., & Griffin, A. (2004). Data-driven marketing in the age of the internet. Business Horizons, 47(4), 33-40.
  9. Court, D., Elzinga, D., Mulder, S., & Vetvik, O. J. (2009). The consumer decision journey. McKinsey Quarterly, 3(3), 1-11.
  10. Dessart, L., Veloutsou, C., & Morgan‐Thomas, A. (2015). Consumer engagement in social media: Conceptualization, drivers, and managerial implications. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 34, 9-23.
  11. Marketing Attribution. (n.d.). Marketing attribution explained. Google. (Accessed prior to Jan 2020).
  12. Social Media Metrics. (n.d.). 13 Metrics to Track for Social Media Success. (Accessed prior to Jan 2020).
  13. Engagement Rate. (n.d.). Engagement Rate. Socialinsider. (Accessed prior to Jan 2020).
  14. Social Listening. (n.d.). Social Listening. EBSCOhost Research Starters. (Accessed prior to Jan 2020).