Note : Ignore the typos just like I did. I write and publish without editing. It’s important to me that I lay it out when it’s fresh rather than sitting here and pondering how i should word it etc. etc.

Technically and traditionally, ROI is measured in pure dollars. You invest dollars and you expect dollars. A simple principal, nothing too complicated or hard to figure out stuff. But the “ROI” as I stated in the first sentence is a traditional way of looking at it. Traditional marketing will never fade away, and honestly I believe the best form of marketing is social media marketing tied with traditional form of marketing. However, when measuring ROI from a social media campaign has to be analyzed with a different perspective than what we are used to. This reason alone is what makes most CEOs and CFOs cringe over social media marketing.

Anyways, here are my thoughts on social media and ROI.

Your ads on television can cost over $50,000 and banner along side a busy road can be pretty high as well. If you are investing that much amount of money, you definitely want money in return. And you want to see that money fast. If you are investing money, you want money back which in this case is your ROI – you put money in and you want money back.

Using social web to market products and services you mostly invest time. Of course for many entrepreneurs and small businesses this is true because they invest time and not  money in social media marketing. However, big corporations usually end up creating a separate department for this form of marketing and their expectations are usually dollar in and dollar back. It’s a fact that business sustains on money that comes in, but corporations don’t realize that the value and money they put in now may not convert into measurable ROI right away, but in the long run users will buy from company they have interacted with rather than one’s they have never heard of.

Let’s take Twitter for example. As most of you already know, Twitter recently secured a $100 million venture capital from various investors. What is Twitter’s revenue model? How much does Twitter make at the moment? You know the answer – nothing. So why are people dropping in money when there is no ROI? Because in the long run there is return and if Twitter were to sell today even though they haven’t made a penny yet, it is estimated that Twitter’s value is woth $1 Billion. If you think that’s not a sizeable ROI then I am not sure what is. What I am trying to say is ROI can’t always be measured within couple of weeks or couple of months and in some cases in couple of years. Anything that doesn’t return something back in an investment instantly doesn’t become a bad investment.

Social Media marketing is here to stay and we as marketers know it and you as users know it. The social web has given power to consumers and they are going to take full advantage of it. If we want to buy a new laptop, we are sure to put a Facebook update or a tweet out. Who do you think most people will recommend? It will be based on there experience of the product itself plus customer care. And customer care, my friend, is not only done by solving problems in today’s world but by interacting with consumers in a personal note almost on a daily basis.

We all know that a businesses can’t sustain without a measurable and sizeable Return On Investment, but as a company if you are looking for a quick dollar through social media marketing, it might be hard. Of course if you are big brand and use these platforms wisely, you may see the return as early as within a week. But if you are a small company or a work from home kinda guy like me, your time and money invested will bring you return, you just have to learn to be patient. ROI can be measured while running a social media campaign but one needs to remember a social media campaign isn’t all about spikes of traffic and a weeks worth of interaction, it’s a commitment to grow your business and build brand loyalty in the long run. Social Media and ROI can be tied directly, it just depends whether you are talking to your grandpa or your eighteen year old son.

Now go ahead, grab the rocks out of your pocket and start throwing them at me. Beware though, I stand by my beliefs and thoughts and won’t hesitate throwing one right back at ya .

Tags: social media marketing // 2 Comments »