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ROI in Social Media? Hmmm…
By Paula Attfield on March 14, 2011
ROI. Return on Investment. Anyone in business knows this phrase.
The question of the day is: How do non-profit organizations measure ROI in the context of Social Media?
First of all, let’s start with a basic fact. Social Media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and (mostly) LinkedIn are free. FREE.
The only investment an organization needs to make is staff time. It takes time to build a strategy, staff guidelines and to oversee conversations. Exactly how much time depends partly on your goals (that’s another discussion).
In the meantime, the burning question on any CEO’s mind is what’s the return on investment for the time put toward social media?
Outside of Haiti, and some very specific campaigns, very few charities have made an immediate cash return against their social media investment.
How can charities best utilize social media?
I’ve seen various acronyms for this process, but I like one that sprung from a talk by Alan Clayton a fundraiser in the UK:
- Capture
- Converse
- Convert
- Care
First you capture the interest of your potential audience.
Then you converse with them and engage them with your cause.
Once you’ve established a relationship with them, you hopefully convert them into donors.
Then you care for them, by thanking them as you would any other donor.
I forget who said it, but you wouldn’t propose on the first date! So don’t ask a potential donor for a gift when you first meet them. Let social media serve as the tool to build relationships with your supporters.
If you want to talk more about how your charity can utilize social media – to set up a strategy, to write staff guidelines and to establish metrics for example – contact me at paulaa@stephenthomas.ca
atim ukoh wrote, on 14:36 at Mar 17, 2011
I completely agree with this strategy. People always get turned off by pushy social media messages that look like spam. it pays to have a face to the brand that way people can relate are more likely to donate at that point.
Paula wrote, on 13:18 at Mar 24, 2011
Absolutely agreed Atim! Thanks for your comment.
Peter Bray wrote, on 01:39 at Apr 05, 2011
Hi Paula
Interesting article, but the premise may not be right. You are assuming the only way to measure ROI is cash. What if you are increasing unprompted awareness, or the number of conversations generated, or peoples attitude towards a certain NFP? All of these are very measurable in social media. And they have a real value. The simple way to prove they are of value: watch peoples reactions when the find out something negative is said about them.
Also, places like LinkedIn and Facebook are far from free. The investment required is time, which you do indeed qualify. But lets remove Free from the lexicon when it comes to social media.
Paula Attfield wrote, on 13:57 at Apr 05, 2011
Thanks Peter. My basic premise is precisely that the ROI on social media is building long term relationships with potential donors, and not immediate cash. Hopefully the upshot of building these relationships will turn into cash donations. As for social media being free, I stand by that. The use of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn (unless you want an upgraded LinkedIn membership) are free. It is however, the staff time that needs to be factored into any discussion of ROI.