166 case studies prove Social Media ROI (Free eBook)

 
 

1. 87% of marketers want to know how to measure their return on investment for social media activities (source: Social Media Examiner)
2. 85% use social networks in some way; only 14% tie financial metrics to it. (source: AdAge)
3. Only 8% of companies say they can determine Return on Investment (ROI) from their social media spending (source: Econsultancy).

“How do I measure the return on my social media investment?  This question has been top of mind for marketers for the last three years. Clearly very few marketers have figured this one out.” (source: Social Media Examiner)
If your business struggles with Social Media ROI, you can download, 166 case studies prove Social Media Marketing ROI, a Free eBook over 100,000 people have. No personal information is required and it just takes a click at the BarnRaisers website.
The case studies cover a range of businesses, large and small businesses, B2C and B2B and profit and non-profit, enough to find one relevant to your brand. The chapters are organized to show with real examples how social media works with SEO, CRM, content marketing, customer service and promotion to help brands overachieve ROI.
But mostly, these are stories of courage. People made them happen. Many of the case studies occur during the worst part of a very bad recession. Social media was put to the test during often after traditional marketing failed and was the only affordable option, which makes the results that much more extraordinary.
Here are 4 videos of businesses  and people featured who took that leap of faith. You can listen to their stories and the results they achieved that exceeded expectations:

• AJ BOMBERS: In 2009, after six month of break-even sales and no money for traditional marketing, Joe Sorge, the owner of AJ Bombers, a burger restaurant in Milwaukee, started using Twitter to attract customers. Joe proved Twitter to be an invaluable customer service tool. Within a year, weekly sales increased +60%. Today, there is also an AJ Bombers in Madison, at Miller Park, the Milwaukee Brewers Stadium and 23,600 people follow the brand on Twitter.

•  BLENTEC: Has manufactured blenders since the 1970′s. Mostly for B2B use (e.g. Starbucks used Blendtec blenders to grind coffee beans) , the company decided to create awareness among B2C as well as B2B audiences through commercials that ran on YouTube and cost less than $1000 each. CEO, Tom Dickson, did some rather unconventional product demos.  Company sales went from flat to a +700% increase within two years. The campaign started in 2007 and is still running today. Here is most recent video in this 7-year campaign

•  H&R BLOCK: Used Facebook and Twitter during the tax season to provide immediate access to a tax professional for Q&A in the “Get It Right” social media campaign.  The effort secured 1,500,000 unique visitors and answered 1,000,000 questions for a 15% lift in business versus the prior year when there was no social media “Get It Right” program. Here’s how Amy Worley explained the company’s use of social media.

• FOILED CUPCAKES: A Chicago company that bakes cupcakes generated 93% of its business through social media leads to surpass revenue targets by +600%.  But, the most impressive statistic is this company has no storefront (it sells only through a website) and success was achieved through the relationship building and conversational benefits of social media.

This self-published eBook began as a series of case study blogs in 2010 and was compiled into an eBook in 2012. It resulted in an invitation to join the MBA Faculty of Rutgers CMD in 2010 where I teach Measurement and ROI at Rutgers Social Media Marketing Mini-MBA. The invitation came because people in the administration had been reading the blogs. The ROI has exceeded my expectations.
Does your businesses struggle with ROI? Do these case studies prove Social Media ROI to you? Do the stories behind these businesses offer inspiration for your brand?