Social Media ROI — Not just for the big companies

 

I don’t think I’ve ever given a speech, conducted a workshop, or taught a class where the “social media and ROI” question has not come up.

So it was not entirely surprising when many of the suggestions to the Social Habit Research Project focused on measuring the value and relevance of social media marketing. Last week, you’ll recall Edison Research announced a major initiative to distill the statistical truth behind social media trends and announced an invitation for anybody to submit a question to a national research project.

The three winners were announced yesterday by Edison and “measurement” was a distinct theme.

Rhonda Hurwitz‘s winning entry is a great example of the need that businesses of every size have to explore this topic. Rhonda has been a long-time {grow} community member and is an independent consultant helping companies leverage inbound marketing principles. Her question was,

For me, it always comes down to figuring out how to connect social media usage or activity to revenue. I would ask “have you ever bought a product or service due to a social media interaction” … “have you ever recommended a product or service to others via social media?”

For Rhonda, the standard “guru” answers just aren’t good enough any more. “One social media thought leader says that when someone questions social media ROI, a unicorn dies,” she said. “Another says, ‘what’s the ROI of your mother?’ Well, I love those quips, and I am a true believer … after all, the majority of my own business comes from social media … but in business, I need a better answer.”

“The perfect way to connect the dots doesn’t seem to exist yet … for the little guy, anyway,” she said. “But I keep looking. That’s why The Social Habit caught my eye. To me, the next stage in our profession has got to be finding a better way to use all the data we have at our disposal to prove value. In my world, that is revenue and topline sales growth.”

I think Rhonda’s views reflect a lot of our frustrations. I’ve expressed some pretty strong views on the topic of social media measurement and I am really psyched that through this study, we are going to have a lot more actionable results, statistically-valid data, and meaningful insight to work with.

Get your business on board NOW!

The best thing about this project is that companies of ANY SIZE can gain access to game-changing social media research and I hope you’ll jump on board, too. Becoming a Social Habit member provides access to exclusive quarterly research reports that include:

• A demographically weighted/balanced online survey of 3,000 US social media users, 12+
• Approximately 100 pages of proprietary information about the state of social media
• More than 50 easy-to-use, impactful charts and graphs
• Valid, statistically significant answers to the most pressing social media questions
• White paper summary, including actionable recommendations and insights for companies

You can get all of this for just $297. In the immortal words of John McEnroe, “Are you kidding me?” That is an incredible bargain that every business — any person — can afford. Find out more here!

There are other packages available that include exclusive events and consulting opportunities with myself, Tom Webster, Jason Falls and Jay Baer.  Probably the most valuable and distinct offer from this new venture is the ability to leverage the powerful capabilities of Edison Research to create CUSTOM questions for your business — for under $2,000!

I hope you’ll help support this research and become involved in our movement to find social media truth.  From time to time we’ll ask for your input and maybe next time your question will help make social media research history.

Disclosure: I am an adviser on The Social Habit Project.

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