Chicago, IL – The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) today released the first industry guidebook to comprehensively address how to measure the ROI of word-of-mouth and social media marketing initiatives. The guidebook, titled, “Solving the ROI Riddle: Perspectives from Marketers on Measuring Word of Mouth Marketing,” offers marketers a practical introduction to measuring business value of their marketing programs.
The WOMMA ROI Guidebook emphasizes both online and offline venues where consumer sharing and recommendations occur. WOMMA has included chapters on to cover the range of ways marketers seek to engage their audiences and drive business value.
All WOMMA Members may download a FREE PDF version of the guidebook in the WOMMA member center at http://womma.leveragesoftware.com/. A hard bound edition is available to the public to purchase for $35.00 online via Lulu.
“We wanted to put a stake in the ground for the importance of true ROI measurement that goes beyond the simple counting of ’activity‘ metrics such as ’likes‘ and ’followers’,” said Walter Carl, founder, ChatThreads Corp and Research & Measurement Council Chair, WOMMA. “We were compelled to demonstrate how real brands have struggled with this topic and addressed it head on in order to show the value of their programs that gain the attention of the C-suite.”
Brand marketers have demanded a practical way to demonstrate the ROI impact of their programs. The WOMMA Guidebook was written for marketers to focus on the primary types of word-of-mouth and social media marketing programs that are currently practiced in the industry. It offers a framework for them to understand what the necessary inputs are to show value to their management team.
The WOMMA ROI Guidebook provides concrete examples of ways that word-of-mouth and social media programs add value to the business as well as how costs are calculated. In particular, marketers will learn ways to:
– Measure increase in revenue
– Measure lift brand perceptions
– Compare costs with traditional marketing methods
– Show how cost is reduced as a result of word-of-mouth or social media programs
– Track performance against benchmarks
The WOMMA ROI Guidebook is differentiated in the industry based on the following:
– Breadth of coverage for the most common word-of-mouth and social media marketing programs
– Attention to both online and offline forms of sharing and recommendation behavior
– Demonstrates financial, bottom-line impact – not just counting marketing activities such as ‘likes’ and ‘followers’
Written in an accessible language with case studies of brands who have actually succeeded in demonstrating financial value
Written by multiple voices – brands, agencies, and research companies – rather than one company’s white paper
“According to a CMO Survey, in the next 5 years, marketers expect to spend 19.5% of their budgets on social media, almost three times more than the current level, and they’ll definitely need to prove they are delivering results, said Suzanne Fanning, WOMMA President.” “EVERYTHING can be measured, and WOMMA’s ROI Guidebook provides many unique perspectives on how you can do it. Don’t just count the number of Facebook likes—this guide takes you much deeper into the ROI of today’s marketing tactics”.
WOMMA is providing this Guidebook as a service to its members – and is intended as an educational resource for marketers to better understand metrics and measurement. The Guidebook is provided by a handful of WOMMA research company members who researched, developed and edited this content. WOMMA supports advancing the industry and efforts of all its members. As such WOMMA does not officially sanction one particular method or approach nor does it endorse specific research companies that may be referenced in the Guidebook.
Resources:
Learn more and download a copy of WOMMA’s Solving the ROI Riddle: Perspectives from Marketers on Measuring Word of Mouth Marketing: http://womma.org/research/
Learn more about WOMMA’s Research & Measurement Council: http://womma.org/research/
Purchase the full edition on Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/word-of-mouth-marketing-association/solving-the-roi-riddle-perspectives-from-marketers-on-measuring-word-of-mouth-marketing/paperback/product-20400825.html
Learn more about WOMMA’s student discounts by contacting [email protected]
Follow the conversation on Twitter at #WOMMAROI
About WOMMA
WOMMA is the leading trade association in the marketing and advertising industries that focuses on word-of-mouth, consumer-generated and social media platforms – or marketing techniques that include buzz, viral, community, and influencer marketing, as well as brand blogging. The organization is committed to developing and maintaining appropriate ethical standards for marketers and advertisers engaging in such marketing practices, identifying meaningful measurement standards for such marketing practices, and defining “best practices” for the industry. For more information, visit www.womma.org.
