When can I expect ROI from Social Media?
It’s a question I’m often asked at networking meetings, speaking events and training days and in true consultant style, I answer… “It depends!”
It depends on the type of business you are in, in depends on your strategy (if any!) and to some extent it still depends on being in the right place at the right time – as it always has done!
New tools – old rules!
One thing I can say with certainty, the key social media platforms continue to impress. In business, I’m increasingly meeting people who are getting a response from their efforts. Those who have taken the time to build an audience and engage their followers often report an increase in revenue and a definite increase in reputation and brand awareness.
I mentioned earlier that social media continues to surprise and impress, last week a client asked me to provide some 121 training on LinkedIn. So we met up at his offices and over a coffee, optimised his profile and started to take a look at the gems hidden away under the “More” tab. As a Mortgage Broker, we decided to investigate the questions and answers being discussed in the personal finance category. Immediately he responded “I can certainly reply to that first question!” With a little encouragement he replied and I concluded the training and left satisfied that he had a strategy to meet his objectives.
Imagine my surprise when later that day I received an email explaining that the answer he’d given resulted in business that will deliver over the next 12 months around £24K in fees and commissions!
A great return on investment from social media!
Social media or not, I suspect the client has rarely received such a great return in such a short space of time, but one thing is for sure, the more you take that leap of faith and invest in engaging with people, (your potential customers) the more you will see a tangible boost to your bottom line.
