Is questioning ROI a cop out?

Our recent post, Is “driving engagement” a cop out?, struck a nerve and got some interesting comments. One that I thought was especially pertinent came from Team Buzz member, Maggie McGary.

“I have to say the whole ROI question sort of baffles me in the context of associations because there are so many associations doing so many OTHER things badly for which they aren’t questioning the ROI–why only do it for social media? Yes, I get it–it’s new. You have to build a business case for it. Etc. But what about stuff you built a business case for once upon a time but has outlived its usefulness yet nobody questions it and it continues–”it” being either staff positions, products, services, membership categories–you name it? And what’s the cost of NOT doing stuff that has become mainstream to the point where people expect it?”

I think this is another question we can ask Olivier in the context of his presentation on August 18. When there are so many aspects to our business that no one questions, why is the burden on social media managers to prove ROI? And when that burden is on us, how do we earn a little leeway to build out a social media program to the point where there is ROI? And what happens when the people who have the measurement chops to help us prove ROI are not on our side? Does it come down to education–training enough people in enough areas of the organization to learn how to use social tools as a means to an end? Is it experience? Case studies? Anecdotes? Is it just a leap of faith?

I present a lot. And sometimes, when I hear someone ask about social media ROI with that skeptical tone, I feel like they haven’t been listening to me at all. Like they’re looking for me to say, “Yes, I can prove that you will have a 2.75% return on every dollar you spend on social media–based on that return, you should plan to begin by investing 10% of your organization’s total income into Facebook by the end of the third quarter.” (Hmmm, that sounds pretty good. Maybe I should start using that as my answer. LOL.)

Is questioning social media ROI simply a way to avoid changing the way we work? Sometimes. And won’t it be cool when we can answer with enough confidence to take away that excuse? Just a few days left to register, folks. See you next Wednesday.