5 Tools to Track Conversions from Social Media to In-Store Traffic

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targetForty-three percent of small businesses spent at least six hours a week managing their social media accounts last year, and nearly half are increasing the time they spend on social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. Unfortunately, the vast majority of SMBs have no idea whether the “fans” and “likes” they’ve generated online are actually translating into real-world sales.

A number of hyperlocal vendors are stepping in to help solve this mystery. These companies have created digital platforms with tools that help business owners track the number of online fans they’ve managed to convert into actual customers. Here are five of those platforms.

1. Circl: Track how many online fans show up in person.
Circl is a tool that small businesses can use to launch centralized promotions (like “free appetizer with lunch,” for example) across email, Twitter, and Facebook. Once a promotion has been launched, the business owner can track its performance across different channels, easily comparing the number of clicks, claims, and visits that have come from Facebook, Twitter, and email. Circl then provides its users with custom recommendations based on the behavior of their customers. Circl charges local businesses $99 per month to create and track an unlimited number of campaigns.

2. Privy: Convert more social media fans into customers.
The goal of Privy is to help local businesses understand the ROI they’re getting from the time they’ve invested in social media and online marketing. The platform provides users with tools to create and distribute promotional offers across social media and email. Businesses can then collect email addresses from each customer who claims an offer, and track where those customers are coming from. Based on these results, businesses can get a better handle on which channels are driving the highest returns, and where they should continue focusing their social media efforts in the future. Privy offers monthly subscriptions for businesses.

3. Offerpop: Unlock social data from online fans.
Businesses can use Offerpop to quickly launch campaigns on Facebook and Twitter that drive click-throughs to websites or purchase pages. Using Offerpop’s tools, businesses can create individual profiles of fans who interact on their Facebook pages, and segment fans based on interests, influence, and loyalty scores. These real-time insights can then be used to influence future marketing efforts, providing insight into which demographics are under represented and where there’s room for growth. Monthly Offerpop subscriptions range from free to $750 per month, depending on the number of fans or followers.

4. Fanminder: See how offers perform in real-time.
Fanminder is a mobile marketing platform that aims to “connect online and offline marketing capabilities.” The company provides businesses with tools to create digital offers that they can send to fans via Facebook, Twitter, email, or mobile phone. SMBs can publish offers on their own websites, and then automatically track clicks and redemptions in real-time through Fanminder’s digital dashboard. Businesses can also track all new revenue coming in as a direct result of their social media fans. Fanminder charges $30 per month for an unlimited number of offers.

5. Swipely: See the results social marketing in the context of campaign sales.
The payments processing and analytics platform gives businesses a way to engage customers with targeted campaigns through social media and email, and measure the effects that those online campaigns are having on actual in-store sales. Using the “Campaign Insights” tool, businesses can view the results of their Twitter and Facebook marketing in the context of actualized sales. They can also see whether a particular campaign is driving reviews on Yelp or Google, along with the names of their best customers during any given period. Swipely does not disclose its pricing specifics.

Know of other platforms that businesses can use to track conversions from social media? Leave a description in the comments.

Stephanie Miles is an associate editor at Street Fight.

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Stephanie Miles is a journalist who covers personal finance, technology, and real estate. As Street Fight’s senior editor, she is particularly interested in how local merchants and national brands are utilizing hyperlocal technology to reach consumers. She has written for FHM, the Daily News, Working World, Gawker, Cityfile, and Recessionwire.