Why ROI doesn’t matter for Social Media

If you’ve read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, you are no doubt familiar with the term, uh, Tipping Point.  It is the inflection point in a curve – a series of galvanizing events or a conflagration of old assumptions that catalyzes action, or adoption, or acceptance.  A paradigm shift.  A survey of technological advancements over the past century illustrates the concept: the telephone, the radio, the television, the personal computer, the internet, cell phones – each in turn moved at an increasing pace from novelty to ubiquity.

Social media tools are on the brink of a similar tipping point for businesses.  Although widely accepted on the consumer level, it seems that the custodians of our daily 9 to 5 remain skeptical.   Many of the concerns expressed by managers about social media tools today echo those of a previous generation:  Imagine the idea of a phone on each employees desk.  How will they get any work done?  Think of all the time wasted calling friends and family.   How can we provide internet access without sacrificing security?  Or productivity?  What is the ROI of the new network?  The PBX system?  Blackberry phones for our reps?

In retrospect, it seems foolish to calculate the ROI of a telephone, or an internet connection, or cell phones for a mobile work force.  For these systems the ROI decision is made when comparing two competing systems, not on whether or not they should exist.  Like asking, “What is the ROI on the conference room?”, the peculiarity of the question points to the obvious need for the tool – we need conference rooms so that we can communicate with one another.  Duh.  Ditto phones, internet connections, and…social media tools.

So if you are the manager or owner of a small or midsize business, and you are  asking for a study on the ROI of social networking tools, please stop.  The ROI is virtually impossible to determine and ultimately meaningless.  A carpenter doesn’t ask the ROI of a hammer.  It is a necessary tool.  Without the proper tools, you simply cause frustration for those trying to get the work done.

Managers should shift the focus to the governance of these tools.  Provide a structure and framework that defines acceptable and unacceptable behavior in the use of social networking platforms within the workplace.  Of course there is a cost associated with the creation of policies around sharing and collaboration tools, but the economic cost of inaction will soon be far greater.  Remember that company that refused to get a website?  Neither do I…

Related posts:

1. Social Media ROI for Entrepreneurs
2. Who Owns Social Media? Part 1
3. Social Media: first, define the problem
4. Who Owns Social Media? Part 2
5. Facebook @Mentions impacts your Social Media Strategy