ROI of Social Media: How to Improve the Return on Your Social Marketing Investment [Hardcover]

Guy Powell (Author), Steven Groves (Author), Jerry Dimos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2011

How to Improve the Return on Your Social Marketing Investment

This book more than adequately covers this increasingly important topic, as social media begins to take its rightful place on the center stage of not just marketing but a number of business disciplines. ROI of Social Media is an excellent analysis of the current landscape. I cannot recall any book that singularly tackles ROI at this level, most media books simply give a passing reference or chapter on ROI, this is the first comprehensive study. – Larry Weber, Founder and chairman of W2 Group, Formerly of Weber Shandwick

We know that for 2011 and the foreseeable future, ROI is one of the top priorities for the social media strategist at many companies, ROI of Social Media is the right book at the right time as social media strategist are needing to work the various department within the enterprise and show that the investments in social tactics and tools are a good investment. The 15 case studies contained in this book will help the social media strategist understand how global brands are successfully using social marketing to connect to their audience. – Jeremiah Owyang, Partner, Altimeter Group

The ROI of Social Media is a must-read for any business looking to get the most out of their investments in social marketing. It sets the stage for marketers to interact with influencers, individuals and consumers and explains the relationships between them. This book breaks down into simple terms both “dollars” and “sense” for social marketers to live by. Fundamentals, strategies and tactics …this book has it all. The ROI of Social Media will be the dog-eared book that sits on the corner of your desk used to prove many a point. – John Lovett, Senior Partner & Principal Consultant, Web Analytics Demystified

Analytics are the core to a consistently successful marketing program. This book offers the metrics to manage social marketing programs, to measure their success, to diagnose underperforming elements, and to deliver extraordinary results. Kudos to this team of marketers in putting this essential book together. – Professor JC Larreche, InSEAD, Author of The Momentum Effect 

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

How to Improve the Return on Your Social Marketing Investment

With this book, social marketers can now answer that nagging question from the CEO and CFO:

“How can we use this new social media channel most effectively to drive more revenue, profit, brand and share at highest RIO and least risk?”

The concepts in this book can be applied to any social marketing channel and any combination of traditional and social media. The authors build a Media Engagement Framework that applies directly to:

• Influences
• Consumers
• Individuals

RIO of Social Media is truly global in nature presenting case studies from around the world including Dell (Europe), Comcast (North America), Guinness Anchor Berhad (Malaysia) and Microsoft Asia Pacific. With this range of cast studies, the reader will be able to apply these concepts to their business whether they are based in New York, Shanghai, London or Sydney.

The book presents with an 8-step process to strategize, develop, implement and measure an effective social marketing strategy. 

About the Author

Guy R. Powell is the President and founder of DemandROMI where over the last 20 years he has helped clients from across the globe build highly successful and measureable marketing strategies to drive increased revenue, profit, brand and share. As part of his consulting activities he has trained and/or presented his findings and methods to thousands of marketers across the globe. His consulting career began with ATKearney delivering strategic and tactical solutions to help companies fuel and maintain extraordinary growth for mid-tier and Global 1000 companies. He has experience with many Fortune companies in sectors including CPG, financial services and high technology. Powell’s educational background includes an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BSEE from Lehigh University.

Steven W. Groves is the CEO and lead consultant for Social Marketing Conversations. As author, podcaster, blogger and digital polymath, he has worked with some of the most remarkable brands in social marketing and social media. He has consulted with a wide range of global industries on marketing and business development needs—consumer product goods companies, authors and publishers, real estate professionals, non-profits, banks and software companies. A sought-after speaker, Steven opened the 2010 Phoenix SCORE Social Media Conference, the “Social & Traditional Marketing” track for the 2010 Online Marketing Summit and the Arizona Small Business Association (ASBA) Social Media Symposium in 2009. He has lectured for ASU in the Barrett’s Honors College for Entrepreneurial Education.

Jerry Dimos is a Partner with The LiTMUS Group heading up the Singapore office. With more than 15 years of management consulting experience centered on strategy, growth and performance improvement programs for Fortune 500 companies, he has delivered successful projects across Asia Pacific playing major roles in improving the performance of complex, global organizations, delivering strategic and operational improvements within the banking, insurance, energy and consumer products sectors. Jerry has an MBA from the Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business, a Masters from the School of Engineering, University of Sydney and Post Graduate Degree in Information Technology from the University of Technology, Sydney. Jerry is a Chartered Management Accountant, a Certified Management Consultant and has been a contributor to many industry standards.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 22, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470827416
• ISBN-13: 978-0470827413
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.3 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #979,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars A very qualitative book June 28, 2011

By Thomas Ball

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

ROI of Social Media is long on the qualitative aspects of SM and very short on the quantitative. For instance, to the best of my knowledge there is a single ROI formula in the book (p 201). The authors prescription for quantitatively assessing social media ROI is to treat it like "any other marketing tool." Honestly, I wasn't expecting a tome on marketing mix analysis but I was expecting more on the nuts and bolts of quantitatively evaluating ROI for social media. The book was a disappointment for me.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Insights, Trends, Techniques and Reality May 3, 2011

By Dave Trzupek

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have been doing a lot of research on social media and how businesses can use it to sell more products and services. This book provides a reality check that is most helpful. Instead of dabbling with social media, this book provides the techniques to get serious about social media and where an organization is in its social media journey. There is so much out on the blogs and website articles about social media that it is overwhelming. I run into people constantly giving me their two cents about the trends and what is hot in social media and it is confusing. If you are at all confused or feel uncertain where to start with social media then I would start with this book.

The book provides techniques such as the media engagement framework. The MEF provides the context as to where to get your arms around using social media within your organization from the perspective of personas down to how to measure each persona (influencers, consumers, individuals) and the way to appropriately reach them with the best return instead of grabbing the coolest thing on the market.

The entire subject of ROI is often a half baked attempt to provide enough cause to do something. In other words, ROI is not real as it is based on possibilities or intangibles. Real ROI is based on hard dollars not soft dollars. I applaud the authors for taking the position of defining ROI specific to social media with how to approaches. As a marketer and not a finance person, I appreciate the business mechanics of generating the ROI rather than a lot of financial calculations that would leave me trying to figure out how to apply social media to the calculations. The book does a fantastic job of applying ROI as would be expected by the title and it lives up to that title.

Other aspects of the book are the web links to current articles and findings on the web. There are case studies, tools to use, and side bar definitions that make the book a very useful guide. I hope the authors keep the book up to date as tools and trends change, however, the frameworks and approaches will have a decent shelf-life that I would encourage anyone to read in 2011 and for the next several years.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive & detailed approach to setting up your measuring strategy May 2, 2011

By Aneta N. Hall

Format:Hardcover

If you are looking for an easy read and quick recipe for ROI of social media this book is not for you. But if you are looking for a comprehensive review of what ROI of social media is and how to set up a social media measuring strategy for your company, definitely get this book. Measuring social media activities and analyzing them for business results is a relatively new field with measurement technology that is still catching up to our needs (I experience it every day in my role as social media strategist for a large B2B company). Having a framework to address these shortcomings will set your strategy apart from others who stop short of counting followers and fans. My favorite: 15 case studies (one of which is about my employer, Pitney Bowes :) that have been compiled to illustrate different measuring approaches.