The Measurement Meme

Companies are very interested in social media right now, but are not committing resources. Why? Because return on investment is not clear to them. Consider this quote from Monday's Marketing Vox column:

"The ability to accurately monitor the ROI achieved by new marketing tools will help marketers take that first step toward incorporating new digital marketing programs, as well as rethink the effectiveness of current campaigns"

Everytime I speak to businesses, the first thing they always want to discuss is results. They want to know if they can achieve ROI on social media marketing campaigns. Note ROI does not necessarily mean hard sales: This ranges from brand perception changes to increased exposure to hard sales increases.

buzzbinstats

Buzz Bin visits for the last nine months (Google Analytics)

Yet there is still a very large contingent of social media types that tout conversation instead of measurement. Quite frankly, asking companies to invest tens of thousands to millions of dollars on a conversation - while factually accurate - flies in the face of reality. Instead of convincing them, this conversational chatter only scares companies away.

Until we can demonstrate consistent results, organizations will resist social media adoption. Where are the case studies (some reside on Now Is Gone)? Where are the metrics?

So Much to Gain by Having Companies Participate

The most powerful case study to date is Dell. Consider Dell?s 27 point decrease in negative blog posts, from 49 percent at the peak of Dell Hell to the current 22 percent. How much would they have had to spend on an ad campaign to achieve that same result? if that same result is even possible through advertising. Hundreds of millions of dollars for a brand that large.

measurementConsider not only the statistics, but the value of having Dell actively engaged in the marketplace. Suddenly Dell - and as a result its competitors - are much more sensitive to their stakeholders needs and requests. How much better would our general economy be if more companies actively listened to their communities of interest?

Metrics are at the heart of Dell's case study, and demonstrating ROI in general. Using negative blog posts as a measurement they were able to determine that their brand perception has become significantly better. The key is that they had an outcome in mind when they started their effort.

And there are so many tools available to measure numbers and determine if outcomes are being achieved. One client engagement that I am particularly excited about features a tracking software package (Eloqua) with so much substance it makes Google Analytics look like animal crackers.

Kami Huyse just demonstrated the power of Radian6 on the media snackers meme. Constantin Bastura pointed me to the Institute for Public Relations' methods of measuring relationships page. Or you can use Google Analytics, comments, and links-to (frequency, unique sites, and negative vs. positive).

Most of my clients are looking for increased visibility as an outcome. So we tend to use Google Analytics, positive impressions and SEO as benchmarks. We allow for an X factor of unintended results, such as media interviews, speaking engagements, etc. resulting from social media activities.

This is a necessary discussion. Social media marketers need to talk about this very important issue because businesses are demanding proof. Our collective wisdom is so powerful. So let's harness it and begin the discussions with:

* Valeria Maltoni (the Conversation Agent) * Eric Eggertson (One of my favorite PR bloggers)
* Greg Cangialosi (new found friend from TNNI) * Connie Bensen (a practicing community manager)
* Jeremiah Owyang (one of my personal most influential bloggers) * Connie Reece (my favorite scrabble partner)

Of course, Kami Huyse, the master of measurement herself, has a special invitation. I would have tagged her directly, but she's already written so much on measurement it may just be a redux post. I highly recommend visiting Communication Overtones for more in depth coverage on this topic.

P.S. Memes tend to benefit the originator with links. My purpose it not to send out link bait, rather to facilitate a large discussion. Do not feel obliged to link back to me, but do notify me of posts as I will create a master list. Thanks!