Like me, I’m sure that you have an interest in social media marketing – whether active or passive. You are eager to learn more about how it works and learning the value it would have in setting your own marketing plan alight!

You are seeing how your direct competition are using social media effectively and feel a bit left behind. You feel like your company is cutting-edge is every other marketing category, but see yourself as a dinosaur in the social media sphere.

If any of these reactions are ones that you have had – rest assured that you are not alone. For example, when potential clients call us convinced that our social media marketing campaign will elevate their status online, their boss is always the one sticky point in getting the campaign off of the ground.

What’s funny about this scenario is that I have been on both ends of the table: the employee trying to convince the superior, and the superior trying to be convinced by the employee. I’ve experienced how my intent has shifted when I crossed the desk and had to make smart decisions about risk for my company.

What I have learned about this change from marketer to CEO is there are different aspects I am more focused on when one of my employees presents a marketing idea. For example, if they tell me that we need to create promotional magnets for my company, they need to really sell me on the value.

Which brings up a great point. ROI. This is something that the boss always wants to hear about. I’m in a different position though due to my marketing background. I know that ROI has many different implications and definitions. For example, the ROI on a direct response advertising campaign versus the ROI of a promotional magnet. Measuring these two against each other would be seemingly impossible for many organizations, no matter how sophisticated their systems are.

What you need to do is show the boss the true ROI of social media. It is more than a dollar for dollar comparison. The outcomes that you get from this investment is more than your boss will be able to grasp. So make it easy, make it solid and make the case!