Finally, A Comparison Us Undergrads Can Understand: How Social Media ROI is Like Buying Drinks at a Bar!
by tierneyrocky ~ October 24th, 2012. Filed under: Uncategorized.
Brian Solis compares social media platforms to bars in attempts to explain how they can create a quantifiable return on investment. He says: “What is the secret of bars? Why do we happily pay four times as much for beer in a bar as in a store? We pay this brand premium to be with friends. The secret to bars is that they convert our quality time into cash. Like bars, social media are places where friends meet.” As I have continued my marketing studies over the past few years, I frequently ask myself how do I know this will actually be an effective strategy? How can I prove that my tactic holds more substance than just being my fluffy opinion?” As a result, I found this article rather helpful. To elaborate, Brian emphasizes how each touch point between consumers represents value to the brand. I think this makes sense, since every conversation between consumers, every link that gets shared and passed on from one fan to the next, and even every like, is a signal to new potential customers who have yet to discover or appreciate a company’s brand. From there, awareness ideally creates more than a spark of interest, but rather a grip on some part of that consumers mind, so much so that they begin to consider this brand to be one that is worthy of notice and worthy of investing their time into experiencing.
Although it is difficult to create a formula that can specifically assign one number to define the value that is derived from social media efforts, the overall benefit is very much existent and viewable, and can be measured in terms of a successful brand community.
To see Brian’s blog post, see: http://www.briansolis.com/2012/10/calculate-the-roi-of-social-media/
