There are three key business motivations for using social media.

1. Financial
Let’s look at a few of the possible financial goals of your social media plan:

·      Revenue

·      Leads

·      Referrals

If you can track your social media campaign down to the lead form, you are golden. What’s a Facebook LIKE worth? Count it as a real relationship to nurture.  Whether you are B2B or B2C, calculate your typical return and divide by how many business relationships it takes to get a sale.

2. Customer Support
By using Twitter and Facebook for customer communications companies like Zappos and Starbucks have made a healthy case for social media.
(ROI fomula: ROI=((Gains-Costs)/Costs)

3. Brand Building
This is what companies like McDonald’s and Progressive are doing with their facebook campaigns. They are not trying to sell you a Big Mac ™ or a car insurance, but they want you to think of them when you are hungry, or you do need car insurance. They are building brand awareness in your mind.

John McElhenney is the Sr. Social Media Strategist for Social Factor and writes a nationally recognized social media marketing blog.