The truth about ROI for social media

I have something a bit controversial to say. If you’re a 'marketing guru', you may be offended. You may think, “How DARE Nyman Ink do this?” But I’m going to do it anyway. I’m going to tell the truth.

Here it is:

You can’t measure the ROI of social media. It’s impossible.

There. I said it.Business-types love to talk about ROI. (That’s “return on investment” if, like me, you’re more of a creative sort.) We hear that question all the time. “What’s the ROI?”

Bad news, friends: when it comes to social media, the truth is that nobody really knows. And anyone who tells you differently is probably not on the up and up.

Social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and, more recently, Google+ can help your organization reach a huge new audience, seemingly at little-to-no up-front cost. The services are free, after all. Of course, updating and taking advantage of them takes time. Sometimes, a lot of time. And that’s just one way in which social media can cost you. (And let’s face it, when it comes to manpower, costs can add up.)

Furthermore, it’s not safe to assume that a Facebook “like” or a Twitter “retweet” is the same thing as a new donor. All it takes to become a fan is a click. And clicking doesn’t really cost a user anything. So it’s difficult to measure how many members of your network actually play an active role in helping your organization succeed, and with handles and usernames and avatars cluttering up your feeds, it’s also hard to know who’s who, even among your regular donors (which is just another way in which social media dodge away from easy ROI measurement).

When it comes to not-for-profits, social media engagement is only the first step on the road to hooking new donors and volunteers. Encouraging folks to “like” your Facebook page is important, but what really matters is getting them to visit regularly, to interact with the things you post and to take action. And how can you measure that?

As I said above … you can’t. Not really. You can infer. You can make educated guesses. You can track your metrics and analytics. But even if you put all that information together, it won’t boil down to anything hard and fast in terms of your finances.

So does that mean you should abandon social media as a viable marketing option? Some business marketing types might say yes. The idea that you shouldn’t commit to any marketing efforts if you can’t demonstrate ROI is an old one.

Luckily, when it comes to social media, it’s also a ridiculous and out-dated one.

Social media isn't ABOUT dollars and cents. It's about interacting. It's about communicating. It's about being open and global and accessible in the digital age. And while ROI for social media is very hard to measure, it's still important to not-for-profits to participate. For the moment, I urge you to forget about the ROI of social media. Forget sales figures, donation numbers, and anything and everything financial. When it comes to your social media efforts, try to measure your success organically. Does it feel like you’re reaching people? Are you gaining fans and followers? Are people commenting on your blog posts? That’s what matters. With every new contact, you’re raising brand awareness, and with every old contact who decides to interact with you online, you’re building goodwill and opening new lines of communication in the digital age.

Can you measure the value of any of this in dollars and cents? No, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth anything.

Though there’s no guarantee of a ROI, it's important to take part in social media, even if you’re a small not-for-profit organization, still in the grassroots stage. Don’t go so far as to hire a costly consultant or a full-time staffer to do your tweeting, but remember that there are lots of ways to particpate in social media on the cheap. Consider hiring an intern to take care of your updates (young people are way more likely to be versed in the digital universe than any old-timers already on staff). Or commit yourself to a very manageable schedule of say three tweets per day and three Facebook updates a week. Just a little online interaction can go a long way, maybe not toward a ROI, but a long way nonetheless.

_{Header image by Marcel Hol, body image by Zsuzsanna Kilian from SXC.}