With the internet becoming bigger than life, chances are that if you’re a business owner you know the significant role that social media plays nowadays in the success of your operation. This, in turn, means that you also know the importance of social media reporting tools.
Social media and the internet, in general, can be quite complex, which means that this could be a curse if you don’t know how to use them to your advantage, or a blessing since it offers your small business to have a voice even against the biggest of corporations.
Choosing The Right Tools
Before you dive in and start trying any social media reporting tool, it’s important to have a few key elements in place. First of all, you need to know what you’re looking to get out of social media. This can vary, depending on the type of business you have – for example, you could be looking to drive traffic to your website, increase downloads for your piece of software, or improve the image and perception of your brand.
Second of all, you need to assess your budget and your expertise. The level of experience you have with social media will help you decide which social media reporting tool is the right one for you. If you’re not very experienced, complex dashboards with too many analytical reports could end up being confusing, which means that paying for that option is not ideal for you at that moment.
On the other hand, a dashboard that is too simplistic might not be enough for your needs and the limited amount of information and options might not help you make the most of your social media campaigns.
Why is it Important?
Whether we’re talking about a brand analysis report, an influencer analysis report, a crisis management report, or a competitive analysis report, it’s important to know how to use the information that social media reporting tools offer you to your advantage. While your business might be selling a high-quality product, you need to get it out there in order for people to know that it exists.
A brand analysis report helps you assess your current situation. This plays a big role when it comes to upcoming business plans. It will help you understand which areas you’re excelling in and which areas you need to work on (for example: while past social media campaigns hit the mark, perhaps social engagement is currently down).
Meanwhile, a crisis management report can help you monitor the health of your brand and gauge customer sentiment. If certain keywords are mentioned next to your brand or consumer sentiment is currently trending negative then you’re going to want to know about it in order to take the right measures.
The good news is that there is a wide range of tools on the internet which are free to use and which can get you a long way. However, most platforms offer upgrade plans, and even then they might not get you the information that you require. Once you have your goals set, your best bet is to use a paid-platform in order to make sure that your investment pays off and you get all the information necessary to help your business grow.
About NetBase:
NetBase is an award-winning social media analytics platform which is used by companies around the world in order to run their brands, connect with consumers and build businesses. The NetBase platform is responsible with processing millions of social media posts every day in order to provide actionable business insight designed for PR, marketing research, product innovation, customer service, and sales.
