"What's the ROI of Social Media?"
It’s a question that’s often asked.
As ex. Kodak Executive, Jeffrey Haylett asked, “What’s the Return of Ignoring?”
Yes, with the right strategy, you can indeed make more money through effective use of social media, however, here’s the key point that so many struggle to comprehend…..It’s not just about money!
“What?!” I hear you exclaim.
Well, take a deep breath and care to look at the bigger picture for a minute.
A well known expression is “Knowledge is King”. I’m sure many of you would have heard this saying countless times. Embrace it and apply that thinking when using social networking.
If you engage with your network, you will learn from others who are more than willing to share and help you. With that, business relationships are created and nurtured. In your ‘travels’ you will learn. When you learn, you will be smarter in business and when you’re smarter, what do you think happens?!
The same is true with off-line networking, so why should social networking be any different?
If you remain unconvinced. How about this question then?… What is the ROI of your telephony spend? That’s right, your telephone & mobile bills. Apart from specific campaigns, I question if anyone truly measures this. So why should social networking be any different? 
Tip: Don’t over complicate things. Think “We can!” and avoid finding excuses not to do something that’s clearly a no brainer – If done correctly.
The most astonishing ROI I have come across is Ford Motor company. Apparently a couple of years ago they sent some $30M on a TV advert duting the superbowl. But apparently last year they dropped the TV advert and insteady focussed on social networking instead at a fraction of the cost. Result ? They sold more cars as a result of the social networking campaigns.
Mike, how did they attribute increased car sales to their focus on social media and not a change in the economy or catching a moment of natural business cycle / car upgrade cycle?
Maybe the TV advert created the buzz and the social media allowed them to connect with the people that wanted one? What should they do next? Ask the buyers to tweet what they like about their cars?
Thanks everyone for your comments.
@Jason Yes, I guess that would help VW – however it, of course, works both ways…No stopping people tweeting want they don’t like either! Power to the tweeple?!