Our MyST Blogsite generates highly qualified leads compared to other venues of online lead generation. One of the primary reasons is we have a trust factor, which we built (and continue to build) by providing dependable and accurate information through the blogsite. As a result, actions are more meaningful for business and the customer."
Some random thoughts about calculating social media return-on-investment.
I’ve written many times that social media isn’t free – there are non-trivial costs and they need to be considered in an overall plan and media strategy.
I enjoy the social media ROI debate and I've developed a few fun questions that set the stage for a deeper understanding of measuring social media activities.
I assume you carry business cards; do you calculate the ROI of that expense? Do you toil away trying to accurately pinpoint the opportunity cost of not carrying cards? Probably not, but if you tried, the ROI formula would likely require a significant mathematical equation.
Everyone blogs and they probably do so all the time; they just don’t realize it. The last time you answered an email inquiry about your business or products, you probably invested a non-trivial part of your workday creating a response that was compelling, demonstrable of your expertise, and largely a representation of your business acumen. Indeed, your response was much like the message I am presently writing – many email messages are simply blog posts intended for one person. This activity -- a common occurrence (by the millions) in every business, every day – is an act of social media engagement, yet no one stops to calculate the ROI.
What is the opportunity-cost of not answering the phone when it rings? Intuitively we know (from experience) that when the business line rings, it’s probably related to business and if we ignore it, we do so at a perilous cost. In free-market societies the cultural expectation is that businesses must always answer the phone, but that’s not why we do it; we do it because it's a known fact that it's generally good for business. We don’t calculate the ROI for answering the phone because it’s a foregone conclusion that profits are likely adversely affected by not answering the phone.
Do you calculate the cost of *not* having a cell phone, or an email address, or a website? If you lacked any one of these tools, your competitors would probably eat you alive. Engaging with prospects, partners, and customers at a social level, is a known business driver; online or not, it's a wise business choice just as using a ballpoint pen is a wise choice compared to not having a pen at all.
We don’t [typically] ponder the idea of calculating ROI on these activities because we know (intuitively, hopefully not from experience) that failing to engage in these activities is bad for business. In similar fashion, there are many things on this planet that I needn't put in my mouth to understand how distasteful they are. Sometimes, good business decisions are based largely on intuition.
I contend that social media investments are not much different than these examples; failure to engage in social *anything*, online or otherwise, has definitive consequences that are clear and generally easy to understand, especially when a competitor emerges who socially engages the target audience more effectively.
I spoke with a group of bloggers in Phoenix recently. What I found is that very few had any business from their blogs despite a lot of effort. I have 5 closings and 7 active buyers directly from [our MyST blogsite] in 2008. I know because I ask. One person told me they have been reading my blog for almost a year before they called me to buy a property."
