In Session

A recent study conducted by the Economist found evidence that the corporate world is beginning to get starry-eyed about social media. (Thanks to Shel Holtz’s blog for uncovering this research gem.) The study reported that 80% of companies believe that social media tools can deliver significant improvements to its business operations. This is great news for communicators, but I would advise caution. Before you dive into the virtual waters of Web 2.0, make sure that you can show management the payoff. To help with this task, here is a useful blog post, which offers excerpts from a Forrester Research report on the ROI of blogging.

This “new ROI” issue for communicators will also get some attention during IABC’s 2007 International Conference, 24-27 June. Several sessions in the PR Track will discuss how to go about measuring the business impact of the latest Web 2.0 tools, which is good news. As more CEO blogs, company podcasts and customer networking sites hit the Web, I suspect that communicators will be asked to quantify the real business value that lie beneath the hype and dazzle of Web 2.0.

This issue reminds me of something that came up in a recent conference chat I was having with a colleague, who was bemoaning why so many technology requests get shot down by CFOs and CEOs. He made a great point, which captured the issue and the challenge perfectly: “CEOs will continue to view this Web 2.0 stuff as toys, until you can show them a genuine ROI. Show them how a blog can save money or improve productivity, and they’ll start to see it as a necessary line item in next year’s budget.” Happy number crunching.

What other print and/or online resources are out there that can help us measure the business impact of Web 2.0? Fell free to share links to relevant articles, podcasts, web sites, blogs, etc.