Forget ROI in regards to social media?

“Forget ROI in regards to social media. Look instead at what your company stands to lose by not being there,”  writes Don McCauley in an article for EzineArticles.com.

So how can you measure social media ROI? Understand that some benefits of social media will be intangible. It’s not always easy to put a dollars-and-cents figure on social media returns.

I dined last night at a Different Pointe of View in Phoenix with one of my MOST clients, Suzanne McNeely and her husband. We are in Phoenix for the 5th Annual Private Duty Homecare Association Leadership Summit, and Suzanne is leading a roundtable on Geriatric Care Management. One of the topics was the ROI in social media. So, in thinking about this, I offer more of McCauley’s questions,

“What is the ROI in regards to having lunch with a potential big client?” he asks. “What is the ROI in regards to playing a round of golf with a trusted advisor?”

Of course McCauley’s statement has to be a bit over the top, because there are indeed ways to determine ROI, but it does mean we’re going to have to try to quantify the unquantifiable. What is the ROI of your telephone? Of your iPhone? Social Media marketing is really a new way to communicate. Not simply a marketing tactic.

Play to play is the word for the day in Social Media. And we at corecubed are working to bring our clients along so they can benefit from social media in a way that makes sense, is not a total time drain, and will get results.