- Just add a little water and sunlight.
Are You Measuring ROI?
Wouldn’t it be great if we could simply participate on social networking sites and have the reports and the metrics grow like planting a seed? Unfortunately, measuring social media takes time and resources (human and technology) rather than water and sunlight.
What does ROI mean to you? Return-On-Investment or Return-On-Influence?
There are many conversations regarding how to measure social media activity. Some people believe you should focus on Return on Influence.
Return on Influence is the science (or maybe art) of establishing values for sentiment and combining those values with reach, page views, visits, comments, frequency, volume, and network size. Then, comparing these values month-over-month based on strategic objectives. I know, it sounds really complicated.
Amy Martin from Digital Royalty explains how this all comes together in the video below.
Return on Investment appears more elusive. According to eMarketer, 84% of Social Media Programs do not measure Return on Investment. However, establishing a formula for social media ROI would secure social media marketing budgets for today and tomorrow.
The question is, how do you measure Return on Investment? Olivier Blanchard, aka The Brand Builder, demonstrates one way to measure ROI in this entertaining SlideShare presentation.
I think the metrics chosen will depend on the individual company business model. What works best for one company may not work for another.
