Social Media ROI: How to Measure, Track, Tie It to Move-Ins

If social media isn’t driving inquiries, tours, or move-ins, it’s not earning its keep. That’s the reality for most senior living teams. Posts go up. Engagement looks decent. But when you try to tie it back to occupancy? The data falls flat.

Social media ROI is one of the hardest things to pin down. Shares, comments, new followers — they all look good on the dashboard. But if none of it leads to move-ins, the value stays unclear. Measuring social media ROI means putting a number to it. How much revenue is your content actually generating? Which posts are driving action? And which platforms are pulling their weight?

We’ll show you how to track ROI from the first click to the final move-in—across every channel you use. You’ll get the tools, metrics, and strategies to prove what’s working, cut what’s not, and present results stakeholders can act on.

What Is Social Media ROI — and How Do You Calculate It?

Social media ROI tells you what your content brings back. Not in likes or reach, but in actual revenue-driving results — leads, tours, move-ins, or even long-term contracts in the case of referral partners or health systems.

The formula is simple:

Social Media ROI = (Value Generated – Cost of Social) ÷ Cost of Social

In practice, it’s messier — especially in senior living. Families rarely convert on the first click. An adult child might see a post on Instagram, visit your website two weeks later, and call after talking with a care manager. The return is there, but it often plays out over multiple channels and several weeks.

That’s why social media ROI only becomes clear when you track it as part of a larger multi-channel lead response. You need to know which clicks, calls, and content are leading to actual decisions and which ones fall short.

So what counts as “value generated”? In senior living, that includes:

• tour requests that originate from social posts or ads
• form fills or call clicks from Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn
• event registrations tied to a social campaign
• email signups or resource downloads that lead to a qualified lead
• direct move-ins with social as first touch or last touch

Engagement doesn’t mean ROI unless it leads somewhere. You’re not tracking social media for awareness alone. You’re tracking it to grow occupancy. And when you calculate ROI with that goal in mind, the numbers finally start telling you something useful.

What Metrics Show ROI Progress?

You prove it by showing movement — what actions people take after they see your content. That might mean a lead who fills out a form after watching a video, or a family member who registers for an event after clicking through a testimonial post.

The goal is always the same: connect the social activity to something your sales team can actually work with.

Start with the metrics that tie directly to occupancy:

• Tour requests that start from social ads, organic posts, or boosted event promos
• Lead form submissions tied to social landing pages or click-throughs
• Call clicks from mobile users on Facebook or Instagram
• Event registrations tied to campaigns (e.g. “Join our Memory Care Q&A”)
• Email signups from gated guides, virtual tour requests, or newsletter CTAs
• Brochure downloads or resource interactions that feed into your CRM

Each of these signals marks real progress through your sales funnel. They indicate that someone is interested enough to take a step toward it. Every form submission, registration, or call click creates a chance for your team to respond, qualify, and move the lead forward.

Then layer in cost and efficiency:

• Cost per lead (CPL)
• Cost per move-in
• Click-through rate (CTR) on conversion-focused posts
• Return on ad spend (ROAS)
• Optional: customer lifetime value (CLV) if you have solid CRM data

The key is to match each metric to a real step in the funnel. A campaign might generate 50 leads, but if only three tour, and one moves in at a $6,000 acquisition cost — that’s the number that matters.

Once you start tracking real actions tied to the sales funnel, the numbers start showing you where the business is actually coming from.

How Do You Track Social Media ROI?

You track social media ROI by tagging every campaign, monitoring what people do after they click, and tying those actions back to your CRM. Follow the path from content to conversion so your team knows which platforms and posts actually drive revenue.

Once that system’s in place, every lead has a clear source and a measurable outcome.

1. Set UTM tracking for every post and campaign

Use Google’s Campaign URL Builder to create custom UTM parameters for each ad or social post. This lets you see which platform, content type, and call-to-action drove the traffic and which ones led to form fills, downloads, or tour bookings.

2. Add Facebook Pixel to your website

Pixel tracks what users do after they click on a social post or ad. It shows you which actions they take, like viewing your tour page, downloading pricing, or abandoning mid-form. It also powers retargeting campaigns that keep your community top-of-mind during long decision cycles.

3. Use campaign-specific phone numbers

Assign a unique phone number to each social campaign. This gives you call attribution, which is essential in senior living, where many families pick up the phone instead of filling out a form. Tools like CallRail or HubSpot’s call tracking can handle this.

4. Build platform-specific landing pages

Create landing pages that match the platform’s audience and content. Instagram visitors may want quick visual walkthroughs. Facebook audiences may respond better to events or testimonials. Platform-level segmentation makes tracking and conversion easier to manage.

5. Connect everything to your CRM

Your CRM should receive data from every form, call, and landing page. Make sure source tags carry over, so your team can see the full path from first click to move-in. This also lets you measure CPL and cost per move-in by platform or campaign.

What Tools Actually Help?

Google Analytics, Meta Business Suite, and HubSpot all play a role in tracking ROI from social media. Each one covers a different part of the funnel. What matters is how you use them to connect social activity to real outcomes, like qualified leads, scheduled tours, or signed contracts.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics shows how traffic from social media behaves once it hits your website. You can track what campaign brought someone in, how long they stayed, and whether they completed an action like downloading a brochure or filling out a contact form.

To get that level of detail, you need UTM tagging. A UTM is a short code you add to the end of a URL to identify where the click came from, like Facebook, Instagram, or a specific post. Without it, social traffic shows up as “direct” or “unattributed,” and you lose the ability to connect performance to a source.

Meta Business Suite

Meta Business Suite tracks performance across Facebook and Instagram, including both organic and paid content.
You’ll see cost per lead, click-through rates, and return on ad spend for each campaign. It’s also where you monitor which posts generate engagement that leads to conversions—not just visibility.

Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Agorapulse, Rival IQ

Social media management platforms with different specialties:

• Hootsuite ($99/month): Best for basic publishing and analytics across platforms
• Sprout ($299/month per user): Offers deeper reporting, engagement history, and competitive benchmarking
• Agorapulse ($49/month): Built for ROI tracking and inbox management
• Rival IQ ($239/month): Great for head-to-head content comparisons and engagement rate tracking

HubSpot or GoHighLevel

CRMs connect your campaigns to actual sales outcomes. When a lead fills out a form from a Facebook ad, the CRM logs the source and tracks what happens next. You can see whether that lead booked a tour, who followed up, and if it turned into a move-in.

What Content Actually Drives ROI?

Content drives ROI when it gives people a reason to act. That might mean filling out a form after watching a tour video, clicking through to a landing page after a testimonial, or registering for an event after seeing real community life on display.

A strong content strategy for senior living focuses on formats that create those moments:

Short-form video

Virtual tours, testimonials, and day-in-the-life clips give families a fast, real view of your community. These work especially well on Instagram Reels and Facebook. Video tends to increase time on page and link clicks — both strong signals of intent.

Live Q&As

Live sessions create space for direct questions about care levels, staff, or lifestyle. Families are more likely to book a tour or follow up after a session that gives them clarity. Topics that perform well: what to expect from memory care, how dining works, or staff spotlights with real team members.

Weekly campaign themes

Simple recurring formats give you structure and consistency and make it easier to plan posts tied to conversions.

For example:

• Throwback Thursday: Resident photos, past events, and stories from new move-ins
• Wellness Wednesday: Tips from fitness instructors, dining updates, or mental health support offerings

These posts often lead to questions in comments or direct messages, which your team can then route into the sales funnel.

Resident-driven content

User-generated posts get the most shares and reach. Examples that have worked:

• Optima Living posted videos of residents cheering for the Oilers — picked up by local TV and reshared by fans.
• LifeStar Living leaned into Taylor Swift buzz with a resident Super Bowl Q&A — boosting engagement and clicks to their event page.
• Northbridge Cos. ran a senior Olympics challenge that drew in family shares, newsletter signups, and local press.

When residents and families get involved, the content becomes more credible and more likely to spark action.

How Do You Use Data to Improve Campaigns?

Data matters when it drives a decision — what to post more of, where to spend less, or who to target next. And social platforms give you a constant stream of metrics.

• Find the content that converts: Start with conversion, not reach. Look at which posts led to form fills, event signups, or tour requests. Break it down by format, topic, and platform. If testimonials outperform dining posts, shift the balance. If Reels drive more traffic than link posts, adjust accordingly.
• Compare paid and organic side by side: Organic reach still works, but not evenly. Compare how your best organic posts perform against similar paid campaigns. Use the gap to decide where your budget goes. Sometimes boosting a high-performing post beats starting a new campaign from scratch.
• Use retargeting data to shape follow-ups: Retargeting campaigns tell you who’s lingering. If someone watched 80% of a tour video or clicked through to your pricing page but didn’t convert, that’s a signal. Use that data to tailor the next offer, like a live Q&A or a one-on-one consultation invite.
• Target by role and behavior: Adult children and seniors engage differently. Use platform data to separate who’s interacting with what. If Facebook skews toward adult children and Instagram toward seniors, tailor your messages accordingly. Adjust timing and format based on when each group is most active.

Water’s Edge reviewed 90 days of content performance, then shifted budget toward what converted — testimonial clips and post-tour follow-ups. The result: a 295% lift in conversions and a 95% increase in organic traffic.

What Should You Do Next to Improve ROI?

Improving ROI starts with getting your system in place. That means tracking the right actions, routing leads cleanly, and reviewing what actually drives conversions.

This checklist gives you a way to start without overcomplicating the process:

1. Set a conversion-based goal: Define what success looks like. That could mean increasing tour bookings, generating more qualified leads, or cutting acquisition costs on Facebook campaigns. Keep the goal specific and measurable.
2. Add proper tracking: Make sure every link includes UTM parameters, every form routes through your CRM, and your Facebook Pixel is installed and firing. Without this, attribution falls apart before the lead hits your funnel.
3. Route leads into your CRM: Every form fill, call click, or Messenger lead should land in one place—with source tags attached. This gives your sales team full visibility and ensures you can measure conversion by platform.
4. Review metrics monthly, adjust quarterly: Use monthly check-ins to catch performance shifts early. Use quarterly reviews to shift budget, rework underperforming content, and double down on what’s driving move-ins.
5. Focus content on lead actions, not visibility: Posts should drive a next step—register, watch, download, book. Engagement is only useful if it moves someone further into the funnel.
6. Start small, then scale: Pick one platform to master. Build your tracking, refine your messaging, and get your attribution clean. Once it’s working, expand to other channels using what you’ve already proven out.

How Often Should You Review ROI Data?

Review your data often enough to catch problems early and repeat what’s working. Monthly gives you visibility. Quarterly gives you room to adjust. Annually keeps your strategy aligned with how your audience is changing.

• Monthly: Track lead volume, cost per lead, and engagement by platform. Use this to spot early shifts in performance before they affect your pipeline.
• Quarterly: Review conversion rates, ad performance, and budget efficiency. Make adjustments based on what’s consistently turning interest into action.
• Annually: Update your audience personas, revisit messaging, and make sure your content still reflects what prospects care about.
• Plan from trendlines: Look for patterns over time, not spikes in a single campaign. Use rolling averages to guide decisions and avoid chasing outliers.
• Repeat what works: Identify formats that consistently drive conversions, then build more around them. Let the data show you where to invest.

How to Prove Social Media ROI Is Working

Proving ROI means showing how your campaigns lead to real business results. The more clearly you connect your data to outcomes, the easier it is to justify spend and secure buy-in.

• Visualize performance clearly: Use side-by-side comparisons, pre/post charts, and dashboard snapshots. Focus on campaign-level changes tied to conversions, not surface metrics.
• Connect results to outcomes: Report on cost per move-in, qualified lead volume, and tour conversion rate. These are the numbers that speak directly to your sales and ops teams.
• Include qualitative signals: Pull in family reviews, resident referrals, or sentiment trends. If your content is changing how people talk about the community, that’s part of the ROI.
• Use full-path attribution: Make it easy to follow the lead: Facebook ad → virtual tour landing page → CRM entry → scheduled tour → move-in. Keep the path clean and provable.
• Tie campaigns to business goals: If you’re asked why a campaign worked, show how it helped hit occupancy targets, reduced acquisition cost, or closed the loop on new leads.
• Back it with data alignment: When marketing and sales use shared data, performance improves. Communities that align both sides see up to 32% year-over-year revenue growth.

How to Turn Social Media ROI Into Strategy

Measuring social media ROI tells you what worked and where to focus next. When your team knows which content drives actual conversions, you can cut the spend that isn’t producing and double down on what is. That’s how you move from visibility to occupancy growth.

This also gives you a clearer way to allocate senior living marketing budgets. Instead of dividing spend evenly across platforms or campaigns, you can fund what’s proven to convert down to the post, topic, or lead source.

Keep your systems tight. Review often. Track what matters. The more precise your data, the faster you can act on it, and the easier it is to align content, spend, and goals across your team.

FAQ: Social Media ROI

1. What is the 70/20/10 rule for social media?

It’s a content planning framework: 70% of posts are value-driven (education, stories, resources), 20% are shared from others, and 10% are promotional. It helps keep your content balanced and audience-focused.

2. What is ROI for social media?

ROI measures what your social media efforts return in actual value—like qualified leads, tours, or move-ins—compared to what you spent. It connects content performance to real business results.

3. What is the average ROI on social media?

There’s no fixed average—it depends on industry, spend, and sales cycle. In senior living, a good benchmark is a return of 3x–5x your ad spend, with a cost per lead around $400–$500.\

4. How do you prove ROI on social media?

Track every click, form fill, call, or message through to the CRM. Use attribution to show the path from post to move-in. Visualize campaign impact with dashboards and connect results to occupancy or revenue goals.

5. How is social ROI calculated?

Use the formula: (Value generated – Cost of social) ÷ Cost of social. Value generated might be total revenue from move-ins, or projected lifetime value tied to leads that originated from social campaigns.

How the USR Virtual Agent Helps You Capture Social ROI

The first step in tracking ROI is clean intake. If a lead clicks through from social and calls after hours (or sends a message that goes unanswered), you lose attribution before the conversation even starts.

The USR Virtual Agent handles that first contact. It qualifies social leads in real time, logs every interaction into your CRM, and captures source data at the moment of engagement. No missing touchpoints. No dropped leads. Just clean, trackable handoffs your sales team can move on immediately.

Book a demo to see how the USR Virtual Agent turns campaign clicks into qualified leads.