That may put them beyond the reach of some SME’s, depending on their commitment to social media marketing. But as you say, their are a range of rawer measures SME’s can still use (subscribers, comments, followers etc).

They key really is to be crystal clear on what the marketing objectives are, and then determine exactly how success can be measured.

i think the problem as u have eluded to, is that marketers are used to measurable concepts from traditional media like frequency, reach, and lately in the online world with clicks, impressions, conversions, etc…

so now along comes a slightly different medium, social media, and so the objectives and the metrics must change. we need to be measuring things such as engagement, depth of engagement, online discussion, video uploads / forum comments / twitter mentions, etc… depending on the specific campaign.

and can SME’s access these tools, at reasonable costs?

Most think it’s not for them simply because they can’t measure it, which is a necessary thing when trying to justify it at the end of your month when looking at where your $ is spent.

What they don’t realize is that it is free exposure and a great chance to connect on a more personal level with your customers (current & potential) and industry peers.

The only thing you have to spend is time…and the potential ROI is unlimited!