As more and more people get swept up in the tools of social media, business owners and marketers need to know how to measure the results or their time is wasted. Here are 6 things to measure in social media campaigns and suggested tools for measuring them.

1. Russell | Roering How Can Businesses Measure Social Media?

2. Many professionals agree that social media is the new “shiny tool” that businesses can use to obtain and retain customers.

3. Especially when spending too much time and money in the wrong place puts you out of business. But, when it comes to these tools, how do you measure what’s working and what’s not?

5. Business Metrics This is current sales leads, subscribers, current customers, etc. Measured with a Customer Relationship Management system like Alterian SM2, Radian6, or Argyle Social.

6. Share of the Web’s Voice & Sentiment This is the context in which your brand is being talked about, and the sentiment being used to talk about it. Measured with a sentiment measurement application like Alterian SM2 or Radian6.

7. Awareness This is the traffic that is directed to your website from social channels on the web. Measured with an analytics tool like Google Analytics, Alexa, or other website statistical tools.

8. Engagement This is current and future customers reaching out and “touching” your brand. Facebook likes, shares, Twitter mentions, blog post comments, rates on review sites, Twitter retweets, and email opens/clicks/opt-outs. Measured with many pro tools like Omniture or Radian6, but can also be measured with free tools like Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or on the sites themselves.

9. Influence This is the “reach” of your brand and its ability to change the thinking of others. Your brand is seen as a thought leader, and your site is referenced via inbound links and shared. Measured with tools like Share This! Can display shares. Inbound links measured with tools like Alexa and Google Analytics.

10. Popularity This is the amount of followers, fans, subscribers, group members, likes your brand has on social sites. Measured with an email management system like Constant Contact as well as on the social networking sites themselves.