Gartner Says Half of Enterprises Are Wasting Money on Social Media

NetworkWorld: Market research firm Gartner has released a new report which claims that half of all Fortune 1000 companies will either lose money or fail to see significant ROI on their social media efforts this year. Many of those companies fail because they haven’t developed a social media plan. “One of the keys is to know what you’re trying to accomplish,” says Gartner’s Scott Nelson. “Doing social media because everyone else is doing it is not a strategy.”

Another common pitfall is not tracking metrics related to social media. “For the 50 percent of Fortune 1000 organizations not determining, or even measuring, ROI, ignorance will mean failed projects,” added Gartner’s Adam Sarner. “Among the companies who will not see a worthwhile return, only 20 percent will even have the data to evaluate where their social strategy is falling short. These organizations will be unable to justify future funding.”