Letting go of Numbers: The Real Social Media ROI
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Over the past few months, ifPeople has given and participated in workshops on developing social media strategies. A common issue that keeps materializing is the concept of social media ROI - how to measure it, how to articulate its value, and (perhaps most notably) how to prove it even exists.
Understandably, most organizations want distinct, measurable ways to discern the monetary value of social media outreach. Many social media enthusiasts attempt to meet this demand by tracking page views, page visits, or average page views per visitor. Care2's blog Frogloop even has a Social Media RIO Calculator designed to make sense of these numbers and help nonprofits conduct a cost-analysis their social media plan.
While numbers are important to prove the worth of any marketing plan, focusing too much on data actually undermines the value of social media outreach, simply because the power of personal relationships is unquantifiable.
The core of social media consists of conversations - and you can't attach a numerical value to human interaction. As Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer explains, it's like "assigning multiple choice scoring to an essay question." It doesn't make any sense.
So how do you evaluate the worth of a social media outreach beyond data points?
First, if you're a business, stop viewing social media as a direct
method of creating more revenue. If you're a nonprofit, stop viewing
social media as a medium to increase donations. Instead, see social
media as a method of improving relationships with your target audience, of
creating a dynamic story that engages more people, and of becoming a
reliable member of the community that surrounds your brand. (Over time,
achieving these goals can lead to the big bucks, but rarely in the
short term. Before the money, you need to have a strong network of supporters
and - with the growing popularity and cheapness of social media - the
Internet is the place to achieve just that.) In addition to traditional metrics, start "measuring" the success of
your online behaviors by taking note of attitude changes, improved
relationships, customer/donor satisfaction, and successful participation in broader
conversations about your industry or mission.
If paying less attention to numbers sounds crazy, remember that social media isn't like traditional PR or advertising. By nature, social media has a powerful feedback mechanism with which one-to-many communications cannot compete. Through personal conversations with your targets, you can qualitatively deduce how attitudes regarding your brand evolving, and how you need to reposition yourself to reach more people. All it
requires is a bit of strategy and willingness to adapt.
