By Adam Biddle, CEO & Co-Founder, GH05T
By 2026, global social media ad spend is set to exceed $300bn. We’re past convincing companies they need to be on social media. Wherever you look, brands are spending more. And for good reason.
But there’s a problem.
Because social has become omnipresent, it’s often assumed to be well understood. That ubiquity masks a critical lack of clarity around what social is actually delivering. How many senior marketers can confidently and accurately articulate what role social is playing in their business? How many can connect the dots between a reel and revenue?
In my experience, not many.
Most senior marketers are simply too far removed from the day-to-day of social execution to see how – or even if – it’s contributing to meaningful commercial outcomes. Social media remains a digital native’s domain, often delegated to junior team members who understand the platforms but may not be tuned into the financial mechanics of the business. They are focused on content and short-term metrics. Their careers not yet concerned with ROI.
This disconnect has created a blind spot. One where likes, views and shares are celebrated, but the real metrics – the ones tied to business impact – get overlooked. And at a time when every marketing pound is under the magnifying glass, that’s no longer good enough.
The World Federation of Advertisers recently found that 82% of CMOs and global policy leads say their budgets are under heavier scrutiny than just 12 months ago. In that climate, assumptions about performance won’t cut it. If you can’t prove how your content is driving business outcomes, someone else will be ruthless enough to redirect that spend.
So, how do we close the gap between content engagement and commercial impact?
Challenge your assumptions
Social media is riddled with misconceptions about the role it should play in marketing strategy and the metrics that matter.
Content is far too often judged by how well it performs on platform, not what it contributes off it. Engagement is the only goal. “Going viral” is the ultimate mark of success.
But going viral isn’t a business outcome. Ten thousand likes or one hundred thousand views from people who will never become customers isn’t a win. If anything, it’s wastage.
Engagement might be a useful indicator, but it shouldn’t be the ultimate goal. It’s a means to an end, and that end should be business growth.
There’s also a persistent belief that social is primarily a space for creative expression, rather than a serious channel for brand building and sales. This is especially true in regulated sectors like financial services or healthcare, where the path to purchase can’t be compressed into a single click.
But just because the conversion journey is more complex doesn’t mean social can’t play a vital role. And if we start measuring social’s impact properly, that role will reveal itself.
Redefining success
If social is going to earn its place in the marketing mix, it has to be treated with the same commercial rigour as any other channel. That means getting senior leaders closer to social strategy – not just delegating it downward – and aligning KPIs with broader business goals.
Creatively, that doesn’t mean stripping out the imagination. It means giving every post a purpose. Social teams should be able to answer three simple questions about any piece of content: Why are we posting this? What do we want it to achieve? How will we know if it worked?
Marketers also need to move beyond vanity metrics and focus on data that actually reflects commercial impact. Think
- Conversion rates (from view to sale, sign-up, or download)
- Customer acquisition costs via social channels
- Revenue attribution from social touchpoints
- Lead quality and volume
- Brand lift or sentiment over time
The key is understanding not just what happened on the platform, but what happened off it.
In a budget-conscious environment, marketing teams who lean too heavily on flashy numbers, while ignoring commercial substance, risk being seen as out of step with business priorities. That damages credibility at the top table and makes future investment harder to secure.
So it’s time to shift our mindset. Social isn’t a playground. It’s not a nice-to-have. It’s a powerful, measurable, necessary marketing channel. But only if you treat it like one.
The brands that thrive on social won’t be the ones chasing trends or chasing likes. They’ll be the ones that connect content to commercial impact and prove it.
In short, it’s time to take social seriously.
