Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting at Smartbrief and SocialFish’s final #Buzz2010 workshop of the summer.
Before I get to the presentation, why not get warmed up with…
Making Sense of Social Media R.O.I. (Smartbrief)
by Rob Birgfeld
The chatter around ROI seems to be as loud as ever. What would you attribute this to? Are we at a pivotal moment for business proving value for social media activities?
The chatter around social-media ROI is as strong as ever for two reasons: The first is simply because ROI [points to] one of the most important questions an organization can ask before green-lighting a social-media program: I could spend this budget somewhere else — Why should I spend it on social media? Before any other questions can be asked, you have to start with “why.”
The second is that most social-media “experts” seem incapable of… (more)
and…
Does your Social Media Campaign Pass the F.R.Y. Test? (Smartbrief)
by Jesse Stanchak
“Money is money.”
That might sound like the simplest business lesson there is — the kind of thing most people understand before they even learn to read. But as Olivier Blanchard noted at the Buzz2010 event (full disclosure: SmartBrief helped organize the event) it’s often the first business principle people ignore when they start talking about social media. Social-media gurus love to pretend that ROI stands for “return on involvement” or “return on innovation.” But it doesn’t. It’s return on investment — as in money.
Word of mouth is not money. Engagement is not money. Buzz is not money. Those things can all be gateways to money, but unless you can make the conversion, they’re all ultimately worthless. Only money is money.
Social media isn’t free. The time it takes to run a social-medial campaign diverts resources (time, talent, technology) from other activities. So it needs… (more)
and even the piece from Maddie Grant, over at Social Fish,
and the one from Maggie McGary.
Also check out the sort-of complete Twitter transcript of the event here.
Okay, so now, the presentation. The Social Media R.O.I. part starts on page 31, I think. Everything leading to that builds context. Not every slide will be clear without me narrating, but you should still be able to follow pretty easily.
The twist here is this: The presentation takes the Social Media R.O.I. narrative you have already seen and heard from me, and applies it to NFPs (not for profit organizations) and Associations.
Ah, so.
If the presentation doesn’t work with your browser, here is the link to the deck on slideshare.
I hope this helps. Feel free to share this with all your NFP friends and clients.
Disclosure: Social Fish and SmartBrief are clients – they hired me to speak at their event. I also sit on Smartbrief’s Social Media Advisory Board.
Brand Building and Online Marketing Blog 
The problem with posts like this is that they generate zero controversy or comments. If it weren’t for comments on other channels and visitor stats, I wouldn’t know you guys are reading this.
Carry on.
Cheers,
O.
I’m here man and I know another person who read this too 😉
Will share my views in detail shortly. Great work!
I am reading it 😀 I saw this slideshow in a previous incarnation and I thought it was one of the most definitive resources on measuring ROI. Googling “social media ROI” typically leads to info on how to measure the number of conversations or hits – and nothing is said about money: which is what people really care about. Thanks for the info!
Nice post Oliver, loved the presentation and how you have showcased how to demonstrate ROI. Definitely drives home the point into demonstrating value over above the non-financial impact.
Thanks, Shane.
Money is Money – Revenue is Revenue…..You got me on that one, it does not matter if you run an organization you will still need money.
For me even organizations today should not be called organizations because more and more they are becoming a huge profit machine.
The non-profit is just a name that it should not be there anymore, in some way or another a guy is getting paid out of there.
And Yes this topic won’t create as much buzz as Lindsay Lohan going to Jail or Paris Hilton getting arrested 🙂
What if I created a presentation that explored the R.O.I. of a Lindsey Lohan arrest? For tabloids, for news networks, and for Lindsey herself? That might get some views. 😉
Thank you for sharing this Olivier. Aligning a campaign, any campaign with the organization’s main objective is so critical yet they often neglect it: “we’re nice, we help people, you should like us and fund us” does not create action. Nonprofit does not mean non-money, structuring ROI in the equation as you have should equip nonprofit leaders with the necessary perspective before adding a “bucket”. Thank you again, as a nonprof exec it’s glorious to know I’m not the only one shouting in the wind May our voices carry and be heard.
means a lot you share bro..thx for posting