Why is competitive benchmarking so important for optimizing social media marketing ROI?

Whenever there is a new technology that represents a significant opportunity, such as social media, it is important to spot the trend early, and to be at the right location at the right time in order to “catch the wave”. Too early into the new technology and you waste some energy, but are usually able to jump the competitors and “grab the ride”. Being too frugal and not experimenting enough will make you too late whereby, you won’t have the momentum needed and will “fall off the back”. Think about the Internet back in 1996 as but one example, where many businesses jumped into the fray too late, not experimenting and investing enough early, while other early adopters generated and maintained a significant, permanent and insurmountable advantage. We are currently in a unique time regarding social media marketing, the “Competitive Advantage Period”, where it’s not as important to achieve a positive and tangible ROI as it is to position yourself versus the competition to “catch the wave”. During this period, value far in excess of investment and cash flows can be achieved. Therefore, during the Competitive Advantage Period it is more important where you are compared to your competitors in “catching the wave” than is your efficiency and effectiveness in converting social activity into tangible financial returns. Of course this does not mean that you should not track the financial value of social media investments, however, we are in the early investment / leverage period …