The journey from follower to customer varies to such a large extent, it’s hard to sum it up in a neat analogy or metaphor. Tying social tactics directly to revenue is easier said than done, creating tension when competing for resources and budget.
At Sprout Social, we recognize the hurdles that come with understanding social media ROI. We also recognize the transformative impact social can have on a business. That’s why we’re dedicated to creating solutions that elevate even the most sophisticated social strategies, creating a clear line from social insights to return on investment.
This year, to better understand Sprout Social’s ROI, we commissioned a Total Economic Impact™ study conducted by Forrester Consulting that clearly quantifies how a composite organization comprised of our interviewed customers benefited from our platform. The study found that Sprout delivered a 268% return on investment over three years, along with $1.3M in savings.
We believe that the data, use cases and customer quotes in this study can be an asset as brands build their business case to invest more in their social strategy.
With Sprout Social, teams reclaim time and resources to invest back in creativity and customer connections, so brands can harness the power of the channel to drive revenue and business impact.
The ROI of social media management
Social media is a sprawling, dynamic ecosystem. Navigating all that it has to offer can feel like a game of whack-a-mole. If you direct all your focus in one area, you risk missing another.
The right social media management platform allows you to capitalize on every opportunity to build an audience—and drive revenue—for your business. Almost twice as many social media marketers who use a dedicated social media management platform say their brand’s social efforts contribute significantly to revenue compared to those without, per The Social Media Productivity Report.
The time saved around publishing, scheduling and reporting also empower you to maintain agility and innovate, while carving out more time for strategic work. Most social marketers are grasping for time to complete their growing to-do lists, with nearly half saying they don’t have enough bandwidth to get their work done. Another 63% blame manual tasks for impeding high impact projects. Teams with social media management tools are more likely to undertake social listening, competitive analysis and audience research.
Social is the number one source of insights that tells you who your audience is, what they need from you and how they expect to get it. The best possible software solution uses AI to accelerate the analysis of social data, turning simple KPIs to the foundation for making key business decisions. The advanced analytics capabilities social management platforms offer help brands gain a competitive advantage and secure their place as leaders in the next era of business. The true value of social extends far beyond marketing and communications—bringing critical intel to departments across an organization.
The ROI of Sprout Social
Getting to the ideal state outlined above requires an intuitive platform teams love to use. Making the wrong choice can lead to unforeseen expenses–from team inefficiencies to a sunk cost on a product no one uses. So, is Sprout a good investment?
The Total Economic Impact™ of Sprout Social study found that our platform simplifies collaboration, enhances customer interactions, grows brand loyalty and evangelism, and boosts team productivity. To fully understand the benefits of Sprout’s platform, let’s unpack some of the numbers that fed into the 268% estimated ROI.
Streamline content & campaign management
With Sprout, scheduling, publishing, social listening, campaign planning, reporting and replying to customers happen in one place. Sprout does the work of multiple tools, while bringing your teams together and enabling stronger collaboration. Over the course of three years, our platform helped brands:
Boost team efficiency and productivity by 60%, saving $1.11 million.Save $224K by consolidating legacy tools.On top of those savings, Sprout drives value through informed innovation. We work with leading technology providers and social media platforms to solve hard problems and relay best practices to our customers. With Sprout, you have the potential to not only get considerable ROI—you also get a partner in navigating social media’s ever-changing terrain.
Create a consistent journey for current & future customers
Sprout helps brands move in lockstep with their audience, anticipating needs and delivering personalized experiences in record time. Brands using Sprout stay in constant contact with their customers while remaining ahead of any social media crises. Companies reported 10% productivity gains for customer service specialists, while saving $164K over three years.
We’ve had a significant increase in engagement since using Sprout. Even just this past quarter, year over year, we’ve seen a 600% increase in engagement across our social media channels. We have more time to strategize versus time on executing content, which Sprout Social helps us with.
Sprout Social's ability to enhance social media engagement and ROI through data-driven insights results in a significant return on investment for businesses, ultimately outweighing traditional marketing efforts given its cost efficiency.
