Seeing the Bigger Picture: Unlocking Social Media’s Hidden Value
Imagine you're running a business and need a tool to evaluate your marketing success. For most, Google Analytics (GA) is the go-to solution, offering a clear view of how marketing efforts drive traffic and conversions on a site. However, GA primarily attributes conversions to last-click interactions, often overlooking the influence of impressions and upper-funnel engagement
The Challenge
How do we demonstrate META’s true contribution to conversions, even when it doesn’t get the credit in GA4? Despite active META campaigns, the platform appeared to drive little to no conversions in GA reports. As a result, the client began to view META as a wasteful investment. But is it fair to judge a platform’s performance solely by click-based attribution? What happens when valuable touchpoints, like impressions, go uncredited?
Our Solution
A focused and measurable approach to validate META’s role.
Here’s How We Did It:
- Tracking with a Unique Coupon Code:
By assigning a dedicated coupon code to META campaigns, we were able to directly track purchases influenced by the platform. This method allowed us to show META’s impact even when GA4 attributed the final conversion to another source, like organic, direct, or branded campaigns. - Clear Reporting and Insights:
We delivered transparent data to show how META influenced purchase behavior, providing concrete evidence to challenge the initial assumptions about its performance.
The Results
- 587 Coupon Redemptions: Proving direct impact.
- Increased ROAS – META demonstrated a ROAS of 3370% over 6 months, compared to just 250% in direct campaigns without the use of coupon tracking.
- Attribution Insights: Many of these conversions were previously credited to other sources, like direct traffic or organic search
The Shift in Perspective
These results convinced the client to reevaluate META’s role in their marketing strategy. What once seemed like a wasted budget was now a proven driver of significant revenue.
This shift in mindset led to increased budgets for META campaigns, unlocking opportunities for scaling and refining creative approaches.