Where’s the ROI?

TrendsSpotting just-released a report predicting changes to the social media landscape in 2010. One of the key takeaways is that 2010 is the year that social media ROI starts to get measured and monitored on a consistent basis.

While the definition of ROI is evolving to better fit the world of relationships and networks, the ability to demonstrate ROI in hard numbers — not in followers or fans — will become a baseline business requirement in 2010.

-Ustrategy co-founder Ravit Lichtenberg

If Lichtenberg is correct, that can only bode well for future investment in this emerging area. There is too much pressure from senior management in many cases to post a brands sentence or followers totals at the risk of sacrificing actual business value. The principles of the long tell demand that brands approach social media marketingin a very targeted manner so as to attract the right people rather than just any people.

Tracking the return on investment on a social media campaign will require, to many organizations’ dismay, making an actual investment. When it comes to human resources, social media campaigns tend to be woefully understaffed. Connie Bensen has a good point in her article where she predicts that 2010 is the year the Community Manager becomes mainstream. if social media is all about conversation marketing, it’s imperative that organizations have a dedicated resource on their payroll for keeping the conversation going. indeed, once the proper investment has been made, it will be easier for businesses to see what the true return for their efforts is.

Check out Trendspotting’s 2010 Social Media Influencers Trend Predictions below:

Social Media Community Manager, Investment, Marketing, Rate of return