My brother and I believe, “Social Media is a Philosophy.” With that said, there are very few cases showing a philosophy having a finite ROI. Philosophies mostly only become finite when the methodology is carved out from the philosophy and templatized/put into process and action.
Therefore, to have a “traditional” ROI set of expectations on Social Media is virtually impossible.
Having said that, I do believe there is one definite fact that carries through for all Social Media practices. I believe the biggest ROI element is that it makes us save time and money as we PAUSE. It makes us start asking some questions. Having been brought up in a country where I experienced war, sanctions, booms of wealth and bigger booms of recession, I am now fortunately a resourceful thinker. As tough as this has been for everyone I know, this recession is at least enabling us to pause and THINK resourcefully.
Yes, as innovative and generous as the US are as a nation, we’ve been FAT THINKERS. We’ve become rather lazy with our thinking. We even have cars parking for us for goodness sakes. Our arms are fat. Our brains are fatter.
So, back to Social Media – our business is busy. We have and continue to be approached a lot as people are ready to think more resourcefully. Ready to truly put what they learned at school about integrated marketing into actual practice. Interconnecting dots is for a lean brain. We can all do this.
The ROI of Social Media:
- Asking questions leads to better informed answers and solutions. This is always an immediate time and money saver. Access to real time information and knowledge and being able to act on that information and knowledge, is the new competitive advantage.
- Measurement is key. Here we talk about measurement against objectives, not against resources.
- Interconnecting the dots is definitely an exercise for leaner thinking. Fun though.
© Clare Munn 2008-2011
For additional points, call us and help us understand your business and initiatives and we can help you figure out the relevant ROI framework for your specific business case.
Contact: info@tcgagency.com or Michelle Smith at +415 864 1431
I totally agree we need to become more resourceful and if we tie this back to your post around CQ, I think it comes down to more efficient and effective ways of ‘framing’ and communicating.
Thank you for your posts. I always enjoy them.