A key criticism often levelled at social media is that it is hard to measure ROI, and yet it is a tool that consumes many hours of time. Because it is simple, prevalent and flexible, it is often undertaken without regard to the real cost and the real value. Similarly with blogging and video blogging, tools for effective business communication are more rife than ever, and their widespread adoption must mean that they work.
And, yes, we all know that video works too. We love our TVs, our YouTube. But yet the playing field is not level. Why?
Businesses outsource their marketing and their social media management on the skills vs. time equation, or they keep it in-house and regard it as a necessary cost. But video – just one aspect of social media and marketing – is seen as a whole different kettle of piranhas.
When you consider social media is an investment of time, monetise those hours and have this figure in mind to compare with when deciding whether video is a worthwhile investment. I think you will be surprised.
Measuring the ROI of video is much easier than of ‘mainstream’ social media, plus the beauty of video is that its return is long-tailed – it is not fleeting like a tweet, in either its visibility or impact on search rankings. A video is much more likely to sell on a repeat basis than a single blog or a status update.
So, what is the true cost of your digital marketing? Could you add another string to your bow that worked in a different way? Something you could easily measure the cost and value of?
