Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

A concrete method for measuring return on investment for social media remains elusive, but recent research initiatives may be bringing such an answer within range. In one recent study scheduled to appear in a journal titled Information Systems Research, researchers from the University at Buffalo School of Management, Aalto University and Texas A&M University were able to correlate social media engagement with increased purchases for a large specialty firm in the northeast U.S.

According to co-author Ram Bezawada, assistant professor of marketing in the School of Management at the University at Buffalo, “Our results show that when customers engage with a business through social media they contribute about 5.6 percent more to the firm’s bottom line than customers who do not.”...

...Instead, a marketer's best friend is a theory by the name "disruptive hustle." By painstakingly forging one-to-one relationships, a brand can effectively separate themselves from competition.

Social users love lodging complaints. According to a recent study, 47% of social media users now actively seek customer service through social media.

Furthermore, 83% of Twitter users and 71% of Facebook users expect a response within a day, and 50% expect that response within two hours.

Those numbers mean one thing - customers take social media very, very seriously. Purchasing decisions are heavily influenced and discussed on social networks. Buying and discussing products has always been a personal activity. If customers aren't happy with your performance, they'll be more than happy to tell you.

Your customers take to social media to address problems. Therefore, so should you....