The term ROI has become overused and almost meaningless. 
My opinion on the ROI of using the social web is simple: to really be successful, you must change your measurement paradigm to focus on business objectives and your investment in humans.
Consider these questions:
- What’s your ROI on tools like email, fax or the office telephone? Those are communication tools. Guess what? So is the social web. Always keep that in mind.
- Take the old rules and measurement of push marketing (like impressions, earned media and other more abstract numbers), and just throw them out. No one really cares anymore.
- Some business owners, executives and marketers seem to think the definition of ROI has changed because of social media. That’s silly. I loved Chris Penn’s response to defining ROI. What’s your “black box” look like these days?
- To measure ROI, you need to first have the “I.” If you’re not investing in something – whether that’s time, resources, money or all three – you’ll see any return.
- What are your objectives and baselines for measurement? What needle are you trying to move? How much? And what’s driving your need for the needle to move at all?
I like how Shel Holtz approached the ROI label in a recent post:
“The thing is, I don’t understand why we’re so obsessed with needing to prove ROI. We don’t. What we need to prove is that we have set objectives for our efforts that support business goals and that those efforts produced measurable results. That’s the kind of reporting that earns management respect and support for investment in communication.”
We’ll talk some more about why I think Shel is right in tomorrow’s post. Okay?
People Are The “I” in ROI
Here’s what’s interesting about using social media for business communications. If social media tools are a fast sports car on the web, human beings are the gas in the tank. Some people are regular unleaded, but some are pure jet fuel.
In your company, have you worked to identify the jet fuel that already works within your walls? How did you do that? Were your decisions based on things like personality assessments, multitasking ability, and an individual’s understanding of and passion for using the social web? Or did you do what most business do and find some college interns to operate your social media?
Sure, the interns probably know Facebook pretty well. But what about LinkedIn and Twitter? What about keyword monitoring and the art of producing blog content that actually gets read? Are those college kids skilled enough in business communications and what your company offers to tap into customer conversations, create content, build relationships, leverage serendipity, answer questions and route customers and potential prospects to the right people who can help them?
And suddenly the poor college interns become deer in headlights…
Here’s my point: if you’re not willing to invest in the right people to operate your social web tools, your not going to see the returns you so badly want. Change your paradigm to business goals and humans, and you will win.
Agree? Disagree? What did I miss?
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