I've been doing a lot of thinking about "ROI, Social Media, and Nonprofits" in preparation for a book chapter and several upcoming presentations, workshops, and webinars over the next couple of months. Yesterday I took a deep dive into David Armano's "Listen, Learn Adapt" and translated it for nonprofits.
I've walked away with a feeling that the Return on Insight process is something that you don't stop doing. And, it also includes measurement - not just qualitative information.
I've also been thinking about traditional ROI processes in the nonprofit technology context. I contributed a chapter on traditional ROI processes to the forthcoming book from NTEN, "Managing Your Technology To Meet Your Mission." This chapter focused on how nonprofits can use an ROI analysis for IT investments, like a client management system or hardware upgrades.
In the past year, I've been looking at the question of how, when, or if you can use a traditional ROI process for your social media effort. A traditional approach begins with defining value. A traditional approach culminates in a financial calculation that could go something like this. Or it might compare the cost of one approach to another or the cost of not investing. It answers the "Was it worth doing?"
I've come to the conclusion "Return on Insight" can co-exist with traditional "Return on Investment" approaches for social media, not replace it.
My question is:
At what point do you shift or incorporate a traditional ROI process for your social media effort?