Everyone is trying to capitalize on social media for their business or organization. Sometimes, the results are immediate and easily discernible. Other times, it may seem like nothing is happening at all. Measuring success for a social media campaign can be tough since the primary goal (expanding brand recognition) is not tangible, and can be difficult to measure. Ultimately, it’s about using what can be measured to see the effectiveness of the outreach aspect, and focus on that growth, while waiting for long-term numbers to come in.

Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR, a public relations firm out of New York City, highlights six signs that you social media campaign is working.

Growth in Followers

The first, and most obvious sign, is a growth in the number of followers on Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, Facebook, and other social networking applications. It shows that people are actually coming to social media to find more about your product. Also, an increase in hits to YouTube videos distributed by social media shows that people both read the post, and clicked to learn more.

Increased Feedback

Being retweeted, getting comments on the Facebook fan page, YouTube comments, and other active feedback shows that people are interacting with your media, and that can increase your viral exposure through their contacts. Once your PR materials are being shared on Facebook by friends of friends of people on your fan page, it’s clear that your campaign has permeated and spread.

Increased Webhits

The goal of social media for businesses and organizations is to drive traffic to a main source; namely, a website where the goods and services can be purchased or accessed. A marked increase in hits to the page show that people aren’t just seeing your tweets and posts, but are following them back for more information.

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Trending Topics

So maybe your tweet doesn’t get retweeted much, but your unique hashtag catches on, and starts to trend. With the way Twitter and Facebook are built for the hashtag system, anyone exploring the hashtag will be lead back to the original post, which will lead them to your page. Remember, social media utilization is about building recognition of a brand, so #SyFy trending is as good for the SyFy channel as having their tweets retweeted.

Social Media Talking About Your Social Media

When the blogosphere responds to a social media campaign, it generally signifies the success of said campaign. As articles and reports on your activity increase, it shows that outreach project is working, and usually, those articles are good enough to link back to the same sources you are trying to link others to.

Pop-Culture Response

If your campaigns spawn spin-offs, parodies, memes, and other signs the internet has taken notice, then there is no question your campaign was effective.

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Ronn Torossian is the Founder & Chairman of 5W Public Relations, one of the largest independently owned PR firms in the United States. Since founding 5WPR in 2003, he has led the company's growth and vision, with the agency earning accolades including being named a Top 50 Global PR Agency by PRovoke Media, a top three NYC PR agency by O'Dwyers, one of Inc. Magazine's Best Workplaces and being awarded multiple American Business Awards, including a Stevie Award for PR Agency of the Year. With over 25 years of experience crafting and executing powerful narratives, Torossian is one of America's most prolific and well-respected public relations executives. Throughout his career he has advised leading and high-growth businesses, organizations, leaders and boards across corporate, technology and consumer industries. Torossian is known as one of the country's foremost experts on crisis communications. He has lectured on crisis PR at Harvard Business School, appears regularly in the media and has authored two editions of his book, "For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results With Game-Changing Public Relations," which is an industry best-seller. Torossian's strategic, resourceful approach has been recognized with numerous awards including being named the Stevie American Business Awards Entrepreneur of the Year, the American Business Awards PR Executive of the Year, twice over, an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year semi-finalist, a Top Crisis Communications Professional by Business Insider, Metropolitan Magazine's Most Influential New Yorker, and a recipient of Crain's New York Most Notable in Marketing & PR. Outside of 5W, Torossian serves as a business advisor to and investor in multiple early stage businesses across the media, B2B and B2C landscape. Torossian is the proud father of two daughters. He is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and a board member of multiple not for profit organizations.