The ROI of Social Media Monitoring

ROI (Return on Investment) has become a major question mark in the social media monitoring space. Sure, people are talking about your brand, but how can you leverage social media monitoring to drive ROI?  There are plenty of tools in the market that help track social conservations.  As can be expected not all tools are the same; some focus on delivering relevant and accurate data, others focus on measurement and engagement.  But the ‘Tool’ you choose is just one-half of the equation, the other half (and more costly part) is the “People”.

The True Cost of Social Media Monitoring

Let’s take a look at a simple calculation on what it costs to operate a social media monitoring unit (the investment) and the deliverable outputs (the ROI).

Tool Technology ($0 – $3,000 / mo) + People ($3,000 – $15,000 + / mo) = Charts + Tons of Data

You spend $100,000’s a year and you get charts… data.  While social data is cool at first (management is so excited that people are actually talking about your company) it doesn’t take long until managers start to say “My sentiment is up, my volume is up, I get it.  But so what?  What can I do with this data?  How can I make decisions from it?”  Yes, you’ve spent hours/days/months preparing data, probably hired some new bodies, paid for a social media monitoring tool, and in the end all your team produces is charts and data.  So what’s your ROI? Zero.  There isn’t any.

The Key to ROI?  Help managers make more informed decisions. Provide them with insights to answer specific business questions.

Social media is the world’s largest focus group.  It’s a new standard for conducting research.  Take advantage of it!  Try interpreting social media data to understand what consumers think about your products, what issues are emerging in the market, identify the personas for smart segmentation strategies, and see if your offline campaigns are working.  Give your stakeholders and managers insights into their business.  Help them move the revenue needle!

A Monitoring Tool vs. Solution

Instead of focusing on finding a tool to deliver charts or spreadsheets of data, try looking for a social media monitoring solution.  A monitoring solution that combines technology and human expert analysis to help you better interpret social media data and answer business questions.  Your costs will be lower and your ROI will be much higher.

Technology w/ Expert Human Analysis = High ROI

While there are plenty tools in the market, there is only one solution. At ListenLogic, we turn social media into business intelligence.  Contact Us today and take a look at what we have to offer.

Best in Class Tool + Expert Human Insights = Smarter Business Decisions