Increasing the ROI of Social Marketing

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You’re spending big on social. But is it actually working?

ROI. Everyone talks about it; few can prove it. Over 34% of marketers admit they rarely (or never)measure social ROI. And almost half don’t know how their results connect to business decisions. Wild.

But here’s the thing: in our world, ROI isn’t optional. It’s the heartbeat of smart social.

Without it, you’re just guessing. Pumping cash into posts, platforms, and paid ads that might look good but don’t perform.

Proving value isn’t easy. We get that. But while ROI might sound salesy, it’s the only way to see the full picture.

Master it with this guide, and you’ll be unstoppable.

Setting targets: how to track ROI on social?

ROI = Return on Investment. But the balance between return and investment only works when you can prove cause and effect.

For digital marketers, tracking social ROI is everything.

Without clear benchmarks and targets, you’ll struggle to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns or understand how social fits into your wider marketing mix.

Tracking gives you the social data to make smart decisions. It tells you where to focus your time and budget. And yes, it’s what keeps your leadership team happy.

The first step to improving your social ROI is getting your tracking set up right. Use tools like Google Analytics, GA4, or a social media strategy agency (hi!) to set up proper attribution and KPIs.

What to measure

Measuring ROI on social depends on your end goal:

Your end goal What to track
Build brand awareness Reach - impressions, new followers, web traffic.
Boost engagement Engagement rate - likes, comments, shares, mentions, saves.
Drive efficiency Cost efficiency - cost per result, cost per click, cost per acquisition.
Generate leads Leads - completed lead generation forms, sign-ups, downloads.
Increase sales Conversions - purchases, click-through rate (CTR), revenue.

Social ROI hits different for B2B marketers. Sales cycles are longer, but having a strong LinkedIn presence and thought leadership builds trust, authority, and high-intent leads. Focus on quality engagement and lead value, not just conversions.

Want a partner who can help you measure social ROI accurately? Our 360 social team can get your analytics and attribution working together seamlessly.

Boosting ROI isn’t pie in the sky

ROI isn’t luck. It’s logic. With the right approach, every post, ad, and partnership can pull its weight. It’s why we take a 360 approach to social: because every aspect of a strong social strategy feeds into the end results.

Here’s how to boost your social marketing ROI:

Know what it costs

You can’t measure return without knowing your spend. Factor in influencer fees, paid campaigns, content shoots, even the hours your team spends on community management. Only once you know your full investment can you clearly see what’s paying off, and what’s draining your budget.

Start with strategy

ROI starts with smart social strategies. Step one is knowing your audience: what they like, where they scroll, what makes them convert. Then, show up where it counts. Don’t waste time trying to be everywhere. If you need direction, partner with a 360 social agency that builds creative-first, data-driven campaigns. Like us.

Mix it up

Don’t rely on one tactic. Blend paid, organic, influencer, and creator strategies. Each one hits different goals. Want reach? Paid social is your friend. Want loyalty? Organic wins. Test, learn, and scale what works. With a multi-channel strategy in place, you’ll have less guesswork and more growth.

Pivot when you need to

Social doesn’t stand still, and neither should you. Keep an eye out for trends and cultural moments that make sense for your brand. Our Relevance Stack gives you trending moments direct to your inbox. If something’s not working, change direction. Shifting gears when needed is essential. Agility beats sticking to a stale plan every time.

Let data lead

Data is your best strategist. It shows what’s landing, what’s lagging, and where small tweaks could drive big returns. Using data to optimise your creative, timing, and spend, you’ll start truly measuring social ROI, instead of guessing it.

Think economies of scale

Work smarter, not harder. Shooting content? Capture enough for a month of campaigns. Turn one video into a reel, a story, a carousel, and an ad. Repurpose, resize, reuse. That’s how to spend less and boost your ROI.

Use your community

Remember your community isn’t just your audience. It’s your growth engine. Start by encouraging UGC, spotlighting positive mentions, and collaborating with loyal fans. It’s a low-cost, high-impact strategy that will boost ROI naturally and build trust faster than any paid campaign.

Make conversions easy

The shorter the journey, the higher the ROI. Use in-app shopping, lead forms, and checkout tools to reduce friction. Make it easy to go from scroll to sale, and your ROI will grow.

It’s a lot to take in, but we’ve got you

Boosting ROI isn’t about chasing every number, but about being intentional with your socials and knowing what matters, what moves the needle, and what to leave behind.

Good social sparks conversations, builds community, and drives results. When your strategy, creative, and data work together, ROI on social stops being a mystery and starts building momentum.

Ready to make your social marketing ROI skyrocket? Hi, we’re Spin. We can help you track spend, attribute performance, and set KPIs that actually matter.

Get in touch.

If you'd like to know how Spin can help you, hit the button below to arrange a chat or set us a brief.
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The Relevance Stack

Social relevance isn't about posting more. (Though everyone seems to think it is.)

It's about building real bonds with your audience. The kind of connections that earn attention, drive brand love, and get people to engage and act.

The Relevance Stack is how we measure and build that relevance. It's three parts that work together to give you a clear picture of where you stand, what's working, and how to create content that truly makes an impact for your brand.

Let's break it down.

The R-Score

Think of this as your social report card. One number that shows exactly where your brand stands and where it needs to go next.

This isn't some vanity metric. It's a proper measurement that combines the stuff that actually matters:

  • Social channel data: Your follower growth, engagement rates, all the performance basics 
  • AI content scoring: How good your content really is (and whether your audience cares) 
  • Audience relevance surveys: The real test - what your ideal customers think

It's like a fitness tracker for your brand. Shows you your current health, tracks progress over time, and tells you exactly where to push harder. Think a WHOOP but for brands. 

Relevance Hub

Let's be honest: no one wants to engage with brands that just don't get it or feel tone-deaf.

Understanding your audience properly is everything. The Relevance Hub is your weekly brief on what actually matters right now:

  • The trends that count (not just the ones everyone's talking about)
  • Global culture tracking
  • Cross-sector industry moves
  • Social listening analysis that goes deeper than keyword mentions
  • Platform updates that will actually affect your strategy

If the R-Score is your fitness tracker, the Relevance Hub is your personal trainer: keeping you sharp on the latest moves each week.

Creative Relevance Framework

Shouting into the void with content nobody cares about? Definitely not a strategy.

The Creative Relevance Framework organizes your content into three pillars, combining their efforts into real results:

1. Showcasing the brand: Brand-led messaging, but made for social (not adapted for it)

2. Joining existing conversations: Meeting your audience where they already are, through trends, moments, and cultural references that make sense specifically to them

3. Making new moments: Creating original content that sparks fresh conversations and gets people talking

These three pillars help brands deliver content that feels authentic, timely, and impactful. To finish the fitness analogy: this is your workout plan, making sure every rep you do really counts for the broader goal.

Why The Relevance Stack Matters

Here's the truth: Relevance drives attention. Attention builds trust. Trust fuels growth.

The Relevance Stack is your three-part plan to nail all of that:

  1. A clear benchmark of where you stand right now
  2. Real-time insights into what your audience genuinely cares about
  3. A strategic framework for content that resonates instead of just existing

What this will give you is a social presence that stops people from scrolling, building genuine attachment to the brand, and delivering business results you can point to directly. 

Ready to Get Relevant?

We've built the tools. We'd love to help your brand build something that matters to your audience and to you.

Want to see how relevant your brand really is? Let's talk.

social posting frequency
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Social Media Posting Frequency: A Guide

If your brand’s not showing up on social, someone else is stealing your screen time. And by now we should all know that attention is everything.

With 32% of consumers now spending over three hours on social media per day, showing up is now a non-negotiable. But there’s a big difference between creating content and posting it at the right time.

When talking about planned content, the magic happens when the two work together: bulk-create, schedule strategically, and keep your feed flowing without the daily scramble.

Here's how to nail the what, when, and how often.

Why Social Media Posting Frequency Matters

Social media posting frequency doesn’t guarantee you’ll go viral. It means you’ll stay relevant. And in our book, that’s actually more important.

Posting consistently gets you 5x more engagement. It’s all about visibility. And visibility drives conversions.

All your favourite social platforms want a consistent stream of creative content. Don’t keep up, and you’ll soon be forgotten by the algorithm. Even worse, your audience will forget you exist.

Here’s what the algorithm loves to see:

·         Recency: Fresh, relevant posts tend to rank higher.

·         Engagement Velocity: How quickly people engage. A fast reaction rate equals more feed visibility. 

·         Content Variety: Mix it up. It shows you’re active and agile, not a one-trick pony. Think carousels, stories, reels, and lives.

But we’re not just trying to please the machine. You’ve got to train your audience. Let them know when you’re going to show up. This way they’re more likely to tune in and come back for more.

What to Post and When

On Instagram reels generate 1.36x more reach than carousels. On TikTok, 60% say they want funny content. Why does this matter? Understand the platform’s needs and you’ll soon see those engagement stats start to shoot up.

Take TikTok and LinkedIn. As audiences go, they’re pretty much on different ends of the scale.

TikTok thrives on raw, spontaneous, fast-paced video content. Trending sounds, viral challenges, quick edits are what users crave. Less planning, more reaction.

On LinkedIn, we’re talking thoughtful, well-crafted expert insights. Content that builds trust, educates, and drives conversation. More planning, more insights.

Usually, repurposing reactive TikTok videos on LinkedIn will fall flat. Likewise, that insightful post you’ve been planning for weeks on LinkedIn won’t gain TikTok traction.

Social Posting Frequency by Platform

Here’s your no-fluff breakdown. What to post. Where to post. And how often to do it without losing your mind.

  • Instagram: 3 to 4 mixed media posts a week and 2 stories per day. Think a heady mix of carousels, reels, and static posts.
  • TikTok: 3 to 5 times per week… or more if you have capacity. Monitor trends, be reactive, stay current. The more you post, the more likely you engage.
  • Facebook: Once per day. Stay relevant but don’t overwhelm. 
  • LinkedIn: 2 to 3 times a week. Weekly posting gets you 2x more engagement, so what are you waiting for?
  • Twitter/X: 2 to 3 times per day. Twitter moves quickly and so should you.

Why One Size Doesn’t Fit All

We’ve got the “how often” part down, now let’s dig into the why. Why do different posting frequencies work for different platforms - or even sectors - and how can we stay on top of it?

You and your audience

If you’re fashion-focused and trend aware you probably want to be all over socials with daily content across channels. But targeting niche audiences in B2B markets? Pick a channel and work it well.

Got a bigger audience already? Keep the beast fed with regular posts. Your followers small but perfectly formed? Less and more focussed works for them.

Differences in Content Lifespan

What disappears in 24 hours on one platform can live (and drive traffic) for months on another. Instagram Stories vanish after a day. Pinterest Pins can surface in search results for months.

Pinterest and YouTube reward evergreen content. Instagram Stories and TikTok demand a more regular drumbeat to stay visible.

Quality vs Quantity

TikTok embraces volume. Want to post 3-4 times a day? That’s no problem. It’s actually encouraged, especially when using trending sounds and formats.

Over at LinkedIn and Instagram, quality always trumps quantity. Audiences want purposeful posting, not repetition.

Content That Lasts vs. Content That Moves

Not all content serves the same purpose. Campaign launches, seasonal trends and reactive posts need a short, fast push to stay relevant. Evergreen content (your tutorials, FAQs, or educational posts) have long-term value. Share these at a slower pace and repurposed over time.

Have a mix of content to stay exciting in the eyes of your audience. 

Reuse, Recycle, Remix

Content creation requires a lot of input. Smart brands make posting frequency consistent by repurposing content.

TikTok        Instagram Reel

Blog Post          LinkedIn Carousel

Instagram Stories         Refreshed with new covers and captions

Remixing across platforms and formats ensures consistency without burnout; for you and your audience.

How Often Should Your Brand Post?

We’d love to give you a magic number. One that fits every brand. Unfortunately though, the truth is social posting frequency depends on you, your unique mix of resources, your KPIs and even your audience.

Have a think about these:

·         What can you actually manage? Can you consistently roll out high-quality, relevant socials without burning out? Or is it better to post less and post well?

·         Dig into the data: Are your posts engaging? Are you gaining followers? Keep an eye on the metrics. Find when it’s time to scale up or down.

·         Posting frequency that feeds into goals: Looking to build brand visibility? Post daily. Want meaningful relationships, post less often but with content that sparks conversation. Each social schedule should be unique to your brand.

Signs of TMI

Before you hit “post”, consider this: when brands moved from 0.5 to 1.5 posts per day, they suffered a 19% reduction in engagement per post.

More is not always better. And it might be turning your audience off. Push too hard and your audience tunes out. Too little, and they forget you exist. It’s about striking the sweet spot.

Posting Too Much Looks Like:

·         Engagement Fatigue: Likes and comments dip even though you’re posting daily. Audience is likely overwhelmed or bored by repetition.

·         Follower Churn: A steady stream of unfollows means you’re becoming noise, not value.

Posting Too Little Looks Like:

·         Stagnant Growth: Stuck with the same followers for months, inconsistent posting could be to blame.

·         Low Impressions: Algorithms favour fresh content. You don’t post, you aren’t surfaced.

The Spin Angle

Frequency is a powerful lever, but it’s not a social strategy. More only works when there’s a reason. Every post should offer something to your audience. Insight or entertainment, it should strike a chord and leave them coming back for more.

That’s where Spin comes in: we build tailored, culture-first strategies that balance consistency with creativity, making sure every post has a purpose and every brand moment lands.

Need a posting plan that actually performs? Let’s build one together.

balancing trends with brand consistency
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Balancing Trends With Brand Consistency

Brand consistency is your social superpower. It’s how people recognise you, trust you, and come back for more.

But we’re also in the age of speed. Blink and there’s a new meme, sound, or format dominating the feed.

React too slowly and you miss your moment. React too fast and risk sounding like a try-hard.

How do brands stay consistent and culturally relevant? We break it down for you.

Consistency vs responsiveness: the best of both

In the world of memes and viral trends where algorithms rule all, staying consistent can feel like a losing battle, chasing a rainbow, running in circles… You get it.

Your grid’s looking clean, your tone is on point, then boom, a competitor drops a viral trend-jack and runs off with your engagement.

Responsiveness is within reach. We can show you how to flex when it matters, hold the line when it doesn’t.

Why brand consistency still rules

Before we reveal our hard-won consistency insights, you need to know why it's so important.

Being consistent isn’t about being boring, but about being memorable, trustworthy, and instantly recognisable in a busy feed.

Brand consistency on socials means…

  • Recognition: Easier for people to know it’s you
  • Trust: Consistency equals credibility
  • Better ROI: The stats back it up 
  • Time Saved: Guesswork is gone, approvals flow fast
  • Creativity clarity: Fewer boundaries to better ideas

How to do build your brand

As social media strategy experts we're familiar with how the brand sausage is made. These top tips will lay the solid groundwork for consistency:

  • Use your tone of voice: Too many companies have beautiful (and expensive) TOV docs languishing in some long-forgotten folder. Use them!
  • Embrace a visual identity: Colours, fonts, layouts and overall style. Be consistent
  • Build repeatable themes: Recurring content types lay the groundwork for spontaneous variety.
  • Be predictable (but not boring): Don't post at the same time every day; don't ghost your audience for months at a time.
  • Platform-specific, on-brand behaviour: Stay true to your brand’s through-line.

Flex the Brand When it Matters

Consistency isn’t rigidity. It’s control. It’s knowing the guardrails so you can intentionally break them.

Responding to trends is about acting spontaneously within strategic parameters.

Understand the trends, how you’ll respond, and what the process for responding is.

The first step: looking for trends that matter.

Which Trends Matter?

The best brands don’t jump on every trend. Just the right ones.

Here’s how to tell if a trend is worth your time or whether to just keep on scrolling:

  • It aligns with your tone of voice and values: much easier if they're clearly defined!
  • It fits the platform where you’re active: a TikTok trend won’t be a good fit if you’re only active on LinkedIn - don’t shoehorn trends onto bad-fit platforms
  • It speaks to your audience’s interests: make sure you know what they are in advance so you can effectively gauge this
  • You can add something meaningful to the conversation: responding to trends is a way to showcase your brand voice and ethos in a new, interesting way
  • You can react fast enough to still be relevant

This last point taps into a real common pain point: sign-off. If it takes 5 layers of approval to post a trending meme... you’re already too late.

That said, there are legit reasons to pass trends by…

When to sit this one out

Some trends are more trouble than they’re worth, regardless of the audience size. 

Watch out for:

  • Outrage bait: if it’s built on controversy, skip it. 
  • Hijacked moments: if it’s been co-opted by extreme or fringe groups, skip it.
  • Off-brand energy: if you need to explain the connection, skip it. This is the online version of having to explain a joke because no one laughed.
  • Overexposure: if a million brands are on it already, it’s just noise. 
  • The wrong format: if your product doesn’t fit the trend’s format, trying to shoehorn it in will look clumsy and awkward.
  • You weren’t fast enough: we’re going to say this again: if your sign-off process moves too slowly, you’re better off sitting it out than being late to the party.

Brands that nail social know when to lean in. They move fast, but stay true to their core values. It takes skill, cultural awareness, a feel for timing, and - you know it already - strategy.

All the things that Spin has in spades, incidentally.

Spot your bandwagon and jump on it gracefully

Speed. Timing. Cultural fluency. That’s the real game. And even with luck, without strategy it just won’t land.

And to do that you need:

  • Clear parameters: what’s on-brand, what’s borderline, what’s off-limits
  • Pre-approved guidance: the formats, tone, and visuals that can be adapted fast
  • A trusted team:–whether in-house or agency-side, you need a core of social natives who know your brand inside out that you trust to post when they think the time is right

Enter: Spin. Trend fluency is at the heart of what we do. We’ve helped tons of brands to tune in to the right trends, filter out the noise, and move fast without going off-brand.

The result is a perfect balance of consistency and trend-awareness. 

Need help with the balancing act?

Nailing the sweet spot between brand consistency and cultural relevance is easier when you know how. 

With a team of social-natives with fingers ever on the pulse, and a proven track record of delivering social success for global brands, we can help you stay solid and spontaneous.

Want to flex your brand without losing your edge? Let’s talk

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