One of the questions that always comes up when talking to companies about Social Media is “how can you judge ROI?” To answer this question you really have to step back, and think about what you are using social media for, what it’s purpose is to the organization, and most importantly to your brand. If you are basing the success of your social media strategy on percent of increased revenue, you may be setting yourself up for failure and disappointment.
The other night I attended the Social Media Club PDX event and this exact question came up. Chris Heuer, the speaker for the evening gave this response, “What is the ROI for having a janitor in your organization.” It presented an interesting point. Do you hire a janitor to produce ROI? No, you hire a janitor to keep your building clean, and your staff happy. This cleanliness and happiness will translate into a more productive staff and hopefully more sales for your company. But you don’t go to the janitor and expect him or her to produce sales.
Many people think that social media should drive revenue, just like a direct marketing campaign. But the thing to remember is that it is not direct marketing campaign. Social media may be used for product innovation, customer service, community building, or just a way to listen to your customers. You truly have to re-think the nature of the medium and approach it as if you were trying to reach out to a friend.
What we have found, is that customers already expect brands to be active through social media. So if your company is not participating, you’re already letting your customers down.
People don’t like to feel like they are being “sold.” Customers are savvy and won’t put up with it. They want to feel like your brand is providing a service to them. The future of marketing will be all about matching up the right product with the right person and finding those opportunities is where social media can help.
Now, with all of that said, there are ways to track the success of your social media strategy. However, start to think of it more in terms of growth, chatter and understanding rather than click-throughs or conversions. Ultimately the goal is to drive sales — and happy, engaged, customers drive sales.
Those are just my quick thoughts on this topic… and I know there are lots of opinions out there. What do you think?
-Erin