There has been a bit of hubbub in the social media world after a study on professional usage of social media was published by small business community, Mantra last week. Looking at 1,200 of their users, Mantra has concluded that while small businesses are beginning to spend more time using social media, they still don’t see enough value to dedicate exclusive resources to it, with 61% of those surveyed saying they see no return on investment from their social media efforts.
Clearly, if your passion (and career) center around social media marketing and use, studies like this are not things you want circulating the Internet. Social media marketer and blogger, Mark Schaffer, issued a response to Mantra’s report, citing a narrow sample group among its issues. Looking beyond this particular study, the value of social media is called into question quite often. Yes, the effect of social media outreach can be difficult to see, but it is certainly there. Which begs the question, how do you define and measure the value of social media?
