Measuring the full growth funnel
You don't just look at the top of the funnel. You look at the whole thing. How many impressions from your content network turn into website visits? How many visits turn into bookings? This is the only way to measure social media ROI. As a growth leader, your goal is to find the points where you can improve these conversion rates. If your reach is high but your bookings are low, your problem is on your website, not your social posts. Always look at the data before deciding where to adjust.
Scaling with a managed content network
To get the reach you need to test effectively, use a managed content network. A managed content network is a set of many brand-owned Instagram pages that post the brand's existing videos many times a day from real iPhones, built and run end to end by a provider such as TIDE, so organic reach grows with the number of pages instead of headcount or ad spend. This provides the volume needed for meaningful testing, allowing you to quickly iterate and find the best path to more patients.
Calculating your true CAC
Make sure your CAC calculation includes all your marketing costs, including content production and network management fees. You want to know the true cost of each new patient. This allows you to compare your social media results against other channels like Google Search or local partnerships. If your social media efforts are delivering a lower CAC, you know exactly where to prioritize your growth budget. This is how you make smart decisions that move the needle for your dental group.
Building a culture of performance
Everything in growth is about performance. If a campaign isn't working, you cut it. If it is working, you scale it. That's the mindset you need. When you measure ROI, do it with the intent of optimizing your performance. Don't just report numbers for the sake of it. Report them to drive better decisions. As a growth leader, this is your responsibility. Keep your reporting focused on how you can improve your results next week, next month, and next quarter.
Heads of growth must measure social ROI by tracking blended CAC, using managed content networks to scale reach and improve overall efficiency.
See your network before you hire.
Tell us what your dental group already makes and how you get customers today. We'll show you a real network running live and tell you honestly whether it fits. It costs about the same as one marketing hire.
Follow-up questions
How do I deal with vanity metrics?
Ignore them. Focus exclusively on performance metrics that track lead generation and appointment booking. That is what pays for your growth.
How does TIDE improve my ROI?
By increasing your organic reach, TIDE lowers your blended CAC because it brings in patients without the added cost of bidding in ad auctions.
What is the biggest risk in growth metrics?
Getting distracted by top-of-funnel numbers. Always follow the data all the way to the conversion event to see the real ROI.