ROI | Internet Marketing Blog

Social media ROI: is it worth waiting for?

Last week I published an article called ‘The 27 varieties of tweet used by retailers’ to show the breadth of topics covered on Twitter by retail firms. It also allowed me to answer the ‘but what will we tweet about?’ question sometimes posed by Twitter newcomers.

Is social media ROI is worth waiting for?

To be clear, my position on social media is that it is helpful to businesses of all shapes and sizes, and that it can improve lots of key business metrics (sales, but more importantly profits, retention, customer satisfaction, etc).

Read that back: it can help all businesses, of all shapes and sizes. The trouble is that is going to be harder for the larger companies to implement social media, compared to smaller, more agile businesses. And is this effort likely to pay off? It's rather hard to say for sure... there's definitely a gamble involved here, and a real need to avoid the hype and bandwagon jumping that surrounds the social media space.

Peter Cutler left a comment on my ’27 tweets’ post that raises this precise issue: "This is good. But where's the ROI? And time is money. So where's the Return On Investment?"

Where indeed?

by Chris Lake 18 September 2009 13:59pm 4 comments

Social media: myth versus reality

The nature of the internet economy has given myth new importance in the digital age. One need only look at the field of SEO to see just how prominent (and destructive) myth can be.

Social media has a lot in common with SEO and one area where that's especially true is in the number of social media myths that have become entrenched. From the belief that social media ROI can't be measured to the idea that your business can thrive if you get to the right influencers, social media myths run rampant today.

by Patricio Robles 27 July 2009 12:59pm 15 comments

Does social media lead to better financial results for companies?

How valuable is social media to business? The answer probably depends more on your opinion of social media than it does hard facts.

But a new study makes a bold claim: "deep engagement with consumers through social media channels correlates to better financial performance".

by Patricio Robles 21 July 2009 09:01am 7 comments

10 informative web design presentations

The web has been around for well over a decade now and during that time, the field of web design has evolved quite a bit. Yet while web technology has changed at a record pace, the principles of good design largely remain the same.

Here are 10 informative web design presentations that discuss web design and web design principles.

by Patricio Robles 03 July 2009 09:02am 4 comments

Social media doesn't drive purchasing decisions: report

Can social media influence purchasing decisions? Lots of time and money has been invested in a clear bet that the answer is 'yes'.

Some cite anecdotal reports regarding commercial activity on sites like Twitter, for instance, as evidence that popular social media services are playing an increasingly important role in purchasing decisions. But is social media the boon to the influence of purchasing decisions that many believe it is?

by Patricio Robles 26 May 2009 09:31am 11 comments

Q&A: Eric Frenchman, Chief Internet Strategist, Connell Donatelli

Eric Frenchman has been managing online advertising and CRM campaigns for over a decade. His corporate work has involved brands like AT&T, Diageo and Harrisdirect. Today, he's the principal of Eric Frenchman LLC and Chief Internet Strategist for Connell Donatelli Inc., an online agency focused on politics.

In 2008, Eric managed the online campaign of US presidential hopeful John McCain. We spoke with Eric to learn more about that experience, the lessons learned and how some of the techniques Eric and his team applied in the political campaign can be applied by digital marketers at large in advance of his keynote at Econsultancy's The Future of Digital Marketing conference.

by Patricio Robles 19 May 2009 11:04am 0 comments

Social media is about the steak, not the sizzle

When you read a news story about social media or come across a job posting for a 'social media expert', chances are the tools of social media will be front and center.

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace. If you had no exposure to social media, you'd probably assume that these popular services were the end all and be all of social media.

by Patricio Robles 11 May 2009 11:10am 6 comments

Q&A: Sam Decker, CMO of Bazaarvoice

Make no doubt about it, social commerce is a reality online. From online reviews to cutting-edge social media experiments, user-generated content is playing an increasingly important role amongst businesses that sell and market online.

Bazaarvoice is a provider of social commerce technology and services. We spoke with Sam Decker, the company's Chief Marketing Officer, about the state of the market and how companies can make use of user-generated content to benefit their businesses.

by Patricio Robles 08 May 2009 10:00am 0 comments

Google integrates AdSense and Analytics

Google launches a lot of new features on a regular basis. Many of them are important and worth reporting on.

But in my opinion, few are as important to digital marketers as yesterday's announcement that Google has made publicly-available integration between AdSense and Analytics.

by Patricio Robles 30 April 2009 11:46am 1 comment