SOCIAL MEDIA

METRICS
1-10 Chapter 10
 What Matters is Measured
2-10

 In many ways, social media marketing mimics online advertising in

terms of the viable metrics available to measure how effective these
messages are. Advertisers can measure
 Reach - the number of people exposed to the message
 Frequency - the average number of times someone is exposed
 Site stickiness - the ability of a site to draw repeat visits and to keep
people on a site
 Relative pull - a comparison of how well different creative executions
generate a response of creative advertising
 Clickthroughs - the number of people exposed to an online ad or link
who actually click on it
 Sales conversions - the number of people who click through who go on
to purchase the product
 Viewthroughs - the number of people who are exposed and do not
click through, but who later visit the brand’s website
 What Matters is Measured
3-10

 A First Date or a Marriage?

 Simply counting the quantity of interactions consumers
have with a brand doesn’t tell us much about the
quality of these touchpoints. We need to know the
degree of engagement people feel during and after the
interaction, and how these exposures influenced their
feelings about the brand.
 Key performance indicators (KPIs) are those metrics
that are tied to organizational objectives.
 Engagement
4

 Engagement is a complex construct made up of

several individual accomplishments.
 The Engagement Food Chain illustrates the
hierarchy of effects we seek from our target
audience as the reach increasing levels of
engagement with our brand.
 Figure 10.1 demonstrates how we look for different
outcomes depending upon the consumer’s level of
engagement with the brand.
 What Matters is Measured
5-10

 A Review
 Measurements within a defined context are metrics.
 Measurements require context to provide useful feedback.

 Metrics that are tied to objectives are key performance

indicators.
 Objectives must be well-defined before we can identify key
performance indicators.
 What Matters is Measured
6-10

Campaign Timelines and Metrics

It is important to remember that the metrics we

use may shift as a campaign progresses.
 Measurement matters
7

 When it comes to social media marketing—or any

form of marketing, for that matter—measurement
isn’t optional.
 It’s a necessity for organizations that are serious
about adjusting their strategies and tactics to better
meet their objectives.
 Measurement matters
8

 Some may feel intimidated about specifying what it

is they want to see happen when it comes to their
social media activities.
 Others may still be in the early stage of the social
media maturity life cycle discussed in Chapter 2;
because they’re still “playing” with social media,
they don’t yet feel the need to define what results
they would like to see.
 Measurement matters
9

 But ultimately social media will have to answer to

the same masters as other kinds of traditional
media—the bean counters that need to see value for
their money.
 The investment in social media marketing will
require justification.
 Strategists will want to understand what’s working
and what isn’t in order to decide if a campaign
needs fixing or if it’s worth continuing at all.
 The Evaluation and Measurement
Process: DATA
10-10

 The measurement plan is organized according to a

four-step process known as the DATA approach.
1. Define: Define the results that the program is designed
to promote.
2. Assess: Assess the costs of the program and the
potential value of the results.
3. Track: Track the actual results and link those results to
the program.
4. Adjust: Adjust the program based on results to
optimize future outcomes.
 The DATA Approach
12-10

 Define. Define the results that the program is designed

to promote.

 The first task is to define just what we want to occur and

what we need to measure.

 SMART Objectives:
 Specific
 Measurable
 Appropriate
 Realistic
 Time-oriented

\
 The DATA Approach
13-10

 Define - continued

 Metrics – the specific

standard of measurement
used to measure the
objective
 The DATA Approach
14-10

 Define - continued
 A common metric to gauge success is return
on investment (ROI). ROI is a measure of
profitability.
 A Social Media Marketing Metrics Matrix

 Activity metrics measure the actions the organization

takes relative to social media
 Interaction metrics focus on how the target market
engages with the social media platform and activities
 Return metrics focus on outcomes
 The DATA Approach
15-10

 Some other approaches to measuring return

 Return on impressions model
 demonstrates how many media impressions were generated
by the social media tactics employed.
 Return on social media impact model
 attemptsto track coverage across media and in different
markets against sales over time.
 Return on target influence model -- relies upon survey data
to assess the effectiveness of social media marketing.
 Return on earned media model -- used primarily to equate
publicity in news media outlets to its paid advertising equivalent.
 The DATA Approach
16-10

 Assess. Assess the costs of the program and the potential

value of the results.

 Costs that have to be considered:

 Opportunity cost – What else could employees have done if
they were not spending time contributing to the brand’s social
media activity?
 Speed of response – It can be difficult to quantify the value of
speed
 Message control – Brands accept a risk that the brand’s
message will be shared or manipulated in ways that the brand
would rather not have happen.
 The DATA Approach
17-10

 Track. Track the actual results and link those

results to the program.

 The tracking step in the DATA process involves the

following components:
 Identify tracking mechanisms
 Establish baseline comparisons
 Create activity timelines
 Develop transaction data
 Measure transaction precursors
 Overlay timelines and look for patterns
 The DATA Approach
18-10

 Track - continued

 The three approaches to tracking:

1. Forward tracking – tracking mechanisms are
developed prior to launching the campaign
2. Coincident tracking – tracking that begins during
the campaign
3. Reverse tracking – tracking that is conducted after
the campaign is concluded
 The DATA Approach
19-10

 Track - continued

 Baseline – a metric that allows a marketer to

compare its performance on some dimension to
others things such as how competitors are doing or
how its own efforts fluctuate over time
 Measurement Maps – display the types of branded
messages produced and distributed and invitations
for consumer engagement with the brand and online
location for these materials
 The DATA Approach
20-10

 Adjust. Adjust the program based on results

to optimize the outcome on future programs.
 The Evaluation and Measurement
Process
21-10

 Simple Ways to Start Measuring

 Content consumption: Who is interacting with and consuming
the brand-generated and consumer-generated content?
 Content augmentation: Who is adding to or changing your
content by continuing the conversation with response posts?
 Content sharing: At what rate are those exposed to the brand
messages sharing the content with others using Share tools?
 Content loyalty: How many consumers have subscribed to
branded content with RSS feeds or by registering for site access?
 Content conversations: Who is discussing the brand?
 Content engagement: Is the number of friends to brand profiles
growing?
22-10

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall