No, That Instagram Post Didn’t Come With a Receipt....

Why Proving Organic Social ROI Feels Like Chasing a Unicorn (But Here’s Why It Still Matters)

I recently lost a proposal to an agency that, in the client’s words, was “able to demonstrate multiple relevant examples of organic social directly impacting revenue.” Totally fair. Revenue is king, queen, and probably the whole royal court.

But here’s the honest truth: proving that organic social media directly drives revenue, especially without the right tracking in place, is one of the hardest things to do as an agency owner. Not because it’s not happening, but because it’s just really hard to show.

Organic Social ROI: It’s Complicated

At 787 Social, we’ve seen over 90% of our clients outperform their competitors. Their content resonates. Their audiences grow. We see the spikes in engagement, the increase in site traffic, and the comments that say, “I found you on Instagram!”

But tying that moment of discovery to an actual sale? That’s where the trail gets fuzzy — unless we have specific tools to follow the breadcrumbs.

You Want Receipts? You Need Tracking.

If we’re going to talk end-of-funnel attribution, we need stuff like:

• Promo codes specific to social (not the ones you're also blasting via email 🙃)

• Custom links with UTM parameters

• Dedicated forms or landing pages just for Instagram, TikTok, etc.

When clients give us access to those things, we can absolutely show the impact. When they don’t, what we’re building is brand equity — and that’s a longer-term play that doesn’t always show up on a sales report the next morning.

And yeah, sometimes a Reel goes viral and sales pop off. But most of the time, it’s a cumulative effect. People discover you, follow you, and come back later. It’s not a straight line — it’s a loop of impressions, touchpoints, and trust-building.

So What Can  You Measure?

You can measure:

• How much faster your audience is growing

• How much better your content performs than your competitors

• How often are people saving, sharing, and DMing you

• How organic efforts are lifting paid campaign performance (yep, we see that too)

But unless we’ve set up clear conversion paths from the start, asking organic social to show hard revenue numbers is like asking a billboard how many people walked into your store. It’s not impossible, but it’s not realistic without the right setup.

The Bigger Picture (And the Hill I’ll Die On)

Here’s the thing: organic social is the heartbeat of your brand online. It’s where you build awareness, spark engagement, and create a real community.

It’s where people decide if they vibe with you, before they ever click “buy.”

And if you’re only measuring its value by what shows up in your Stripe account tomorrow, you’re missing the long game.

So yes, let’s track what we can. Let’s get smart about data. But let’s not forget the actual reason social matters: it’s where trust starts. And trust? Trust is what turns followers into customers — and customers into advocates.