Talk about “Up in the Air” – What’s your take on Social Media ROI?

Having come out of the Great Recession Lay Off Sweep of ’09, this cover was a bit reassuring and depressing at the same time. Congested job hunting created record US rates of unemployment and underemployment, which gave rise to hired guns. But this cover paints a not so bright future for those who turned lone wolf.

I just watched “Up In the Air”, and by now most know the film’s back story: a guy, whose job requires him to travel throughout the U.S. to terminate company’s expendable workforce, finds love on the road. Funny how I watched it with two young friends who had gotten – as they said in the film – “let go” within this past year (both terminations occurring right before Christmas…coincidence?).

PR and Marketing industries got hit hard this past year, especially since recessions prompt most companies to trim “the fat” – and for some reason PR and Marketing are considered part of the high-cholesterol, expendable-luxury diet. However, I challenge, wouldn’t a company benefit from strengthened awareness and publicity efforts at this very moment? If the consensus is to pull back the reigns, why not make more meaningful PR and marketing campaigns when most are hushing up. I believe Social Media campaigns done right in this era of conservative spending are worth experimenting. They are (if planned right) relatively low-cost, and will give excellent feedback about one’s target customers. Today, Brian Solis post shared findings published by Ad-ology, which found that lead generation was cited as the biggest benefit in online networking.

Brian applies the “fallen tree” idea to the whole conversation.

But, if a conversation takes place online and you’re not there to hear it, did it actually happen?

Of course it did…and it continues – with or without you.

The “I” in ROI does not stand for ignorance. It does however stand for investment and in cases where new media is “new,” it also stands for intelligence. We’re learning together and that’s both an opportunity and an impediment. We need guidance to better understand the promise and also how to reap its reward.

I want to take that line The “I” in ROI does not stand for ignorance and make it into a shirt. ROI is the big question when I suggest social media options to clients. There have been a couple of ROI discussions swarming about in the blogosphere lately, the most prominent one being David Meerman Scott’s ROI Rant. DMS is a big proponent for “letting go of your marketing” which is so hard for many PR agencies to follow because their clients have their own board of executives to convince and impress. Another place Social Media ROI popped up this week is on Todd Defren’s site, a post which I actually commented on and Defren responded to.

To be “Up in the Air” – in the era of uncertainty, in an industry where even the adoption of what you support – Social Media – is an investment concern – we SMedia Lone Wolves have our challenges lined up for us. How do you explain the ROI to your clients? How have you successfully aided the adoption of SMedia techniques to your small – mid-size business? Will crowdsourcing on this particular topic really help us on a macro level as consultants and business owners? Or is the ROI discussion one to tackle case by case?

Posted via web from tallulah’s posterous