Risky Business
Posted: 06/08/2010 | By: countryd
In PR, we are constantly asked to forecast numbers and potential return on investment (the dreaded ROI) for our clients before we can move forward and implement the fun, brilliant and sometimes off the wall campaigns we have created. Mostly, we get this question when it has to do with… drum roll… social media.
Some businesses are terrified of publicity via social media and are desperate for tangible, measurable outcomes before signing off on setting us loose in cyberspace. Considering numbers are the bane of every PR pros existence and website “hits” don’t have much value anyway, how do you even measure ROI as far as social media driven campaigns are concerned? Is it by reviewing case studies? Looking at another company who has done something similar. Is it expected Facebook “likes”, Twitter retweets or Diggs?
First off, why would anyone want to rely on case studies and do something “similar” than others in the social media space? In this industry, creativity and uniqueness is paramount, and those that don’t take risks fall by the wayside. Success in social media requires monetary risks, and in order to make a splash, the client has to be comfortable with that.
As PR professionals we need to do a better job of managing expectations. Put all the cards out on the table when you propose a campaign. I don’t care who gives you full fledged forecasting reports complete with made up metrics and hypothesized numbers. No matter how great you think your idea is, no one knows for sure how your social media strategy is going to pan out until you implement it. Bottom line – predicting social media success is like trying to predict human behavior. It’s simply not possible. So jump in! Be your own case study.
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