December 2011 Issue

Social Media Marketing ROI – To Measure or Not Measure?

Social Media Influence on Marketing for Complex Purchase Decisions


Dear Readers,

We’re pleased to share one last newsletter before the year ends, with this issue focusing on Social Media ROI. We just released our 2011 Marketing ROI & Measurements Study which examined social media measurement practices.

This research inspired my article “Social Media Marketing ROI - To Measure or Not Measure?” As I was putting the finishing touches on this article, I came across a blog posting “There is No ROI in Social Media,” which exemplifies the argument against measuring ROI for social media. It’s written by a CFO and is misguided in my opinion – but based on social media metrics alone, the article is controversial enough to rack up the page views, tweets and likes which some might find “more valuable” than sales and profits. I also found an excellent counter-argument to this blog post in Olivier Blanchard’s article “Explaining Social Media ROI Again. And Again. And Again.”

Judy Mod from Social Gastronomy is our guest columnist for this issue. Judy’s innovative approach to implementing social media for B2B lead generation is delivering actual sales results. Given Judy’s expertise and experience, we just had to have her contribute her insights. Her article “Social Media Influence on Marketing for Complex Purchase Decisions” provides a perspective of how marketing and sales teams must adapt to changing trends.

We wish you the best for this holiday season and look forward to a wonderful 2012 for all.

Best regards,

Social Media Marketing ROI – To Measure or Not Measure?
by Jim Lenskold

The question as to whether social media should be expected to generate a positive return on investment (ROI) continues to be debated throughout the marketing community. Many marketers are adamantly arguing that social media must be exempt from ROI expectations. According to the 2011 Lenskold Group Marketing ROI & Measurement Study, 77% of marketers are using social media to promote their business and these marketers are just about evenly split on prioritizing social media measurements as either high or low (55% vs. 45%). The need to measure social media is a low priority largely for those marketers still testing and experimenting on a small scale. Measurement priority is high for marketers who cite a need to increase effectiveness and improve integration.

The research study found that one in five marketers rated their ability to measure the ROI of social media as a strength, establishing that measuring ROI is attainable and already in progress. If ROI measurements are possible, is the debate over measuring ROI more about marketing’s role or a desire to avoid more stringent accountability? The reality is that the need to measure ROI comes down to more than just a simple yes/no question. Instead, consider the following 10 questions that will guide if, when and how you should be measuring the ROI on your social media marketing.

Read the full article for more on:
• Defining social media ROI
• Determining when social media measurements are necessary
• Getting the most from ROI projections and measures

Social Media Influence on Marketing for Complex Purchase Decisions
by Judy Mod

Many CMOs have started social marketing programs but are struggling to integrate these programs into the rest of their marketing efforts and to justify their investments. Marketers are challenged in building traditional justification and accountability models for social marketing. And, the more complex the sales process, the harder it is to calculate the business impact.

Buyers are leveraging social media to assist in their purchase research, but the real disruption is that social media is actually changing complex purchase behaviors. Buyers are leveraging social markets to build their business case for making investments in complex solutions BEFORE deciding on a solution, choosing their supplier and justifying their choice.

Simply put, buyers are evaluating suppliers prior to the traditional engagement with the sales organization. They are making decisions about suppliers even before engaging with them; sourcing options, soliciting recommendations, building long lists, validating vendors reputations, building short lists and even building requirements and expected ROI. Previously, traditional complex purchase decisions were made during the sales process and then the customer built the business case with the sales organization to justify their decision. Not anymore.

Read the full article for more on:
• The social media impact on marketing and sales organizations
• Four actions marketers should take to adapt to the buyers’ approach
• Justifying your social media marketing spend


Judy Mod, Principal of Social Gastronomy, is an executive who specializes in Social Buyer Target Marketing, Network Selling, Social Networking Strategy and Community Adoption, and Enterprise Social Business Programs. Judy serves as the president of the Social Executive Council, the premier organization for senior executives to collaborate on developing enterprise-wide social business strategies. For more information on Judy, you can check out her LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/in/judymod, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JudyMod or contact her directly at jmod@socialgastronomy.com.