Want to find out more on the ROI of social media efforts before you cut into the company’s budget? Sure. But join the crowd – many have discovered there are no easy answers.

A recent session at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival pulled together five panelists and attempted to come up with a cogent answer to the question.

Guess what: There isn’t one.

There’s no universal metric for calculating how much cash the money you spend on establishing a social media presence is bringing in.

All the panelists for “What’s So [Bleeping] Hard About Social ROI?” did agree on that point.

These insights come from Lori Randall Stradtman, who was in attendance at SXSW.

She recently shared with SmartBrief what she feels are the top five takeaways:

1. There isn’t one fancy social media measurement tool that delivers on everything.
2. Create your own metrics, such tonality, velocity and influence.
3. When in doubt, ask, “What is the ROI on NOT engaging in social media?”
4. Consider worthwhile time intervals to measure. For example, Stradtman said, the Make-A-Wish Foundation looks at its social ROI annually, because its presence builds all year and then finishes with a bang — with many year-end donations.
5. All of your company’s social media efforts have to mesh with each other: Human Resources, Recruiting, Marketing, IT, Communications and Sales need to formulate a common strategy.

Tags: caclulating, Lori Randall Stradtman, ROI, social media, South by Southwest, SXSW