Over a freshly baked scone at tea-time on Sunday, I was asked YET AGAIN whether there is much point to social media. I wouldn’t have minded, except that the scone was warm and half way into my already salivating mouth. And I wouldn’t have minded so much either if I had some brilliant answer to this question I’m (too) often asked.
You see, none of us really honestly know. We hope and pray that a link through from Facebook will drive a sale (or 40). We absolutely wonder whether that last carefully crafted tweet was read by many (or any). And we more than presume that an instagram feed full of painstakingly edited images will make some sort of difference to engagement. But we’re honestly not entirely sure about any of it.
Why am I asked? I hear you cry. Well, I suppose because these enquirers are already thinking that I spend far too much of my time observing all this social communication, let alone posting words and pictures.
Polly Vernon – one of my all-time biggest girl-crush columnists – has, in the past, pleaded for us all to down tools and donate to charity instead – or simply to stop living our lives by these nonsense streams of unconsciousness. And off she popped to live in the ‘real world’.
But… oh… hang on… a tweet just rolled onto my screen: @SimplyMeasured‘s latest social report is declaring that 63% of social marketers have seen a positive ROI (return on investment) from their social media activity. Bring back the scones, add jam AND cream. This is a huge relief to all who tweet. Someone somewhere is actually listening.
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