For several days now I have been investigating what people consider the ROI of Twitter and “Determining the Value” of Twitter. I have found many answers: Branding, Public Relations, Reputation Management. All of these are very true and very valuable. (Of course, I have found a few saying there is no value. But I won’t embarrass them by mentioning names.) 
However, I’ve seen very little written about what Twitter actually does that brings the value. What is a Twitter follower really worth? How can you measure it? That definition has been missing.
Before we can get out our mathematical measuring tools, we need to really look at what Twitter does. All of the benefits of Twitter add up to one thing: GOODWILL.
In fact, Twitter enhances the very essence of good business: Goodwill.
Goodwill is so valuable in the business world that the definition you’ll find in the dictionary is an Accountant’s definition: “An intangible asset based on a company’s reputation…” Accountants actually have ways of bottling, measuring and plotting Goodwill on a graph!
Like a thunderstorm that floods the landscape of our society and forces us to build fresh, new ideas and ways of doing things, GOODWILL as expressed in Social Media has become a primary force in marketing/PR. And it is changing our lives completely.
I think we should add a definition of Goodwill to the dictionary: “GOODWILL: A harmonious engagement of a business with its followers.”
Tweet that!
Expect Success,
T.E. Locke
DEFINITIONS OF GOOD WILL AND PR (for the serious student of Social Media!)
GOODWILL:
• 1. (Accounting) an intangible asset valued according to the advantage or reputation a business has acquired (over and above its tangible assets)
• 2. The positive reputation of a business viewed as an asset, equal to the excess cost required to acquire the business over the fair market value of all other assets.
• 3. Good relationship, as of a business with its customers or a nation with other nations.
PUBLIC RELATIONS:
The art of promoting goodwill and establishing a favorable relationship for the company in the community. Public Relations (PR) are any purposeful communications between an organization and its publics that aim to generate goodwill.
