Want Social Networking ROI? Read This

21Nov2008 Filed under: Powerful PR Tips, Public Relations Strategies, Social Media Strategies, Social Networking Strategies, Twitter, how to online visibility Author: Nancy Marmolejo

The topic of social networking ROI is circulating around Web 2.0, bringing up some much needed conversations. A fantastic blog post and video from Justin Levy’s That’s Great PR outlines some responses to those neverending questions around social networking ROI.

Lesson 1: You can’t quantify human relationships and you can’t put a dollar value on a conversation. You can put a dollar value on the results of that and other conversations, but to break it down into measurable units is comparing apples to oranges. Read this enlightening blog from Jason Falls for more support around ROI and social media.

Lesson 2: Rethink ROI by adding a couple of new letters to the acronym:

ROBI= Return on Brand Investment

ROCI= Return on Customer Investment

Lesson 3: (This one from me) Your primary focus of social networking needs to be relationship building and supporting your credibility. People buy from those they know, like, and trust. Maybe you won’t make the sale in your first week on Facebook, but over time it will develop. Patience is key… with so many social networking sites there is a lot of new marketing going on. Give people a chance to breathe and get to know you!

Shameless plug: If you’re a small business, consultant, or solopreneur, then do check out my guide to social networking success How to Get Free Publicity and Attract New Clients with the Power of Social Networking. It teaches you exactly how to craft a credible presence on social networking sites and build a following of fans and loyal customers.

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Tags: Facebook, roi, Social Networking

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6 Responses to “Want Social Networking ROI? Read This”

Laura Roeder
November 21st, 2008 at 10:37 am

This is always an interesting to discussion to me since I’m in the weird position of having clients who are actors and are genuinely not looking to sell anything for money. Makes things very difficult to quantify, but easier in the way that we don’t even have to worry about increasing sales!
Christopher
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:14 pm

A business that uses social marketing as it’s core should never ever think of themselves as a well oiled machine. You don’t measure something that’s constantly influx. There’s no precise input/output schemes to a social interaction.

Enough with the funny words and roi’s. Just be human for once!

Christophers last blog post..2 Million Dollars Year From Singing Happy Birthday?
Nancy Marmolejo
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:59 pm

Great point, Chris! Social networking is such a right brain/intuitive way of marketing, I think it just bugs the dooky out of people who need quantification. Actually, social networking is plenty quantifiable, I make a good living from connections made on social networking sites. But the numbers come in after I do my dance of the 7 veils and make you love me. (Cyber brujeria!)
Christopher
November 24th, 2008 at 3:18 am

You hit it on the head by saying it’s right brain and about “cyber brujeria”! I too want to make a good living from good connections and hope to have it soon as my connections are more developed.

It’s like that. It used to be doctors in the west don’t understand the use of shaman medicine because it involves a human element (rituals and symbology, right brain stuff).
Whereas Western practice is chemical and stat oriented. So anything that doesn’t conform to that perspective doesn’t appear to be good medicine.

Here we mean social marketing.

I discussed this in my LinkedIn profile too.

Did you coin that phrase? Do it before I steal it because it’s so good. Cyber brujeria. Love it. Makes me think of El Gran Combo.
Marjorie Janczak
November 26th, 2008 at 12:47 pm

You couldn’t have said it any better Nancy - Know, like and trust, That is the key!
It might be difficult to quantify but good name is better than riches as it is said.
…And good name is how you can make the sale or impact for your business in the long run.
We just need to have patience and think long term.
Online Success Tip #2 – The Basics Every Mom Entrepreneur Must Have to Market Her Business Online | The Metromom Blog
March 20th, 2009 at 7:33 pm

[...] Facebook is a great place to maximize your results because there are so many people on Facebook – millions actually – who are there to do business. What are the benefits of using Facebook? A good presence builds your online visibility – people and search engines love it. It also builds your online credibility – by sharing information with others, creating articles and providing insightful comments you become recognized as an expert in what you do. Read a blog post by one of my favorite online experts, Nancy Marmolejo to see why social networking is worth your time and energy - Want Social Networking ROI? Read This. [...]