In November I attended the 2009 Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Summit in Las Vegas.  As a member of WOMMA, it has been interesting to watch the Association grow and transform as the social media era has taken hold of communications.  WOMMA conferences provide some great face-to-face collaboration and bring together an interesting mix of brands (large and small), agencies and industry experts.

There was a reoccurring topic among presentations and participants this year- measurement. 

Measurement and return on investment is a concern for every business function, and this applies to word-of-mouth and social media communications.  Just as with traditional public relations and marketing, social media ROI does not always have a clear cut definition.  At the 2009 Summit companies and organizations continued to share their best practices for ROI within social media. A few key takeaways:

• A greater level of ROI accountability is being placed on social media programs as budgets are expanding into 2010 and more investment is being made.
• Engagement number (such as page views, number of members, comments) does not equal ROI. ROI is a business result, such as earnings, decreased expenses, etc.
• Social media benefits are often long-term and don’t fit into the short-term measurement lenses of traditional communications.

There is so much information and ideas around measurement and metrics in social media that WOMMA has developed a new guidebook for best practices and lessons.   Go to the WOMMA site to download the guidebook and I’ll continue to share some of my favorite info I discover here on the blog.