How Do I Make Sure Our Social Media Isn’t Wasting Money?

By Kelsey Weaver

It’s the question every marketing leader eventually asks: “Is this actually working?”

Social media can be one of the most cost-effective ways to grow a brand — or one of the fastest ways to burn through budget without much to show for it. The difference comes down to intentionality, alignment, and measurement.

When your social channels are driven by strategy and tied directly to business objectives, every dollar and every post has a job to do. Here’s how to make sure your investment pays off.

1. Connect Every Post to a Clear Outcome

The most expensive mistake you can make on social media is posting without purpose. Before anything goes live, whether paid or organic, ask: “What do we want this to accomplish?”

That answer can vary. Maybe the goal is brand awareness in a new market, a boost in qualified leads, or building thought leadership in your industry. But if the goal isn’t clear, you can’t measure success and you can’t justify the investment.

When content is tied to specific objectives, it’s easier to evaluate its value. A carousel post introducing a new product should drive measurable traffic to your product page. A LinkedIn thought leadership article should result in growth in profile views, connection requests, and inbound inquiries. The clearer the goal, the clearer the return.

2. Measure What Actually Matters

It’s tempting to focus on the numbers that look good in a report — like impressions, reach, follower growth — but if those metrics don’t connect to tangible business results, they’re just vanity data.

In addition, track progress against outcomes that move the business forward, such as: 

• Conversions, like sales, demo signups, and form-fills

• Website traffic and time on site from social referrals

• Engagement quality, like comments and shares from the right audience

• Shifts in sentiment and brand perception over time

High engagement from people who will never buy from you isn’t a win; it’s a distraction. Make sure you’re tracking the right KPIs and connecting them to outcomes that matter for the business.

3. Audit Ruthlessly, Then Act

One of the fastest ways to stop wasting money on social media is to stop investing in what isn’t working. That requires regular audits of both organic content and paid social.

Review your platforms quarterly. Which channels are delivering results? Which formats consistently underperform? Are your paid social campaigns bringing in leads that convert, or just traffic that bounces?

Cut what’s not working and reinvest in what is. That might mean shifting budget to a different platform, reallocating ad spend toward high-performing creative, or retiring certain content types altogether.

4. Integrate Social with the Rest of Your Business

Social should never operate in isolation. The most impactful programs are tightly connected to sales, customer success, operations, and your SEO — and now AIO!

Your social listening might surface a pain point that sales can address in pitches. A viral post might spark the creative concept for a programmatic ad campaign. Customer service feedback could inspire a new video series answering FAQs. Your AIO plan should inform the types of social posts and blog content you create.

When social is integrated across the business, you’re not just tracking clicks and likes. You’re using insights to shape products, improve the customer experience, be found when customers need you, and accelerate growth.

5. Build for Consistency, Not Just Campaigns

Big campaigns can deliver big wins, but they’re short-lived without a consistent foundation. A steady flow of relevant, value-driven content keeps your audience engaged between major launches.

That consistency compounds over time. It builds trust, keeps your brand top-of-mind, and ensures you’re not starting from zero every time you launch something new. We’ve seen this play out across campaigns, where consistent posting created long-term returns that campaigns alone couldn’t achieve. And now, with AI tools indexing authoritative content from social media, post consistency could be the difference between showing up in search and being invisible.

The bottom line: Social media isn’t a gamble when it’s intentional, measured, and connected to the bigger business picture. When you can clearly point to the role social plays in your growth, it stops being an expense and starts being an engine.

Kelsey Weaver is a strategic community manager recognized for her creative instincts and thoughtful execution. With over five years of experience managing content for brands across industries, she brings clarity, consistency, and confidence to even the most complex social media landscapes.