Top Metrics for Measuring Social Media Marketing

Social media #5 Top Metrics for Measuring Social Media Marketing
Internet marketers are accustomed to measuring their results, thanks to the interactivity and relative ease of tracking behavior online. But when it comes to social media, figuring out how to measure success is still a source of confusion and debate among marketers, because the media are still new, and because the marketing applications of social media are so varied.

The enormous richness of social media as a marketing tool is what makes it so difficult to pin down useful measurement approaches, and select the essential metrics that will demonstrate success or failure.

Jim Sterne, widely recognized authority on Internet marketing measurement and founder of the Web Analytics Association, embraces the variety of social media marketing applications, and suggest a multi-faceted framework for strategic approaches to social media measurement.

Sterne recommends that segmenting social media by marketing application will help identify the right metrics. He proposes a 6-part perspective, looking at social media:

• As advertising
• As PR
• As branding
• As direct marketing
• As customer service
• As a source of business value

The right metrics flow from there, for example:

Like any discussion of metrics (sometimes called KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators), the metrics chosen should map to business strategy. We certainly know that what gets measured in a business is what gets managed. Let’s look at some of the options.

Abandon rates. Do website visitors from social media leave faster than those from other sources?

Activity at social media locations. If you have company or product profiles or applications on Facebook and LinkedIn, watch the volume and duration of visits and interactions. Look at trends over time.

Brand mentions. Both positive and negative.

Conversions. Volume and rates of conversion, such as followers, registrations, subscriptions, or downloads from social media sources.

Leads from social media. Track the sources of website visits and registrations by social media platform. Also capture referrals from members of social networks.

Membership size and activity. Two metrics here: Number of users (Twitter followers, Facebook fans, etc.) but also the percentage of those who are actively engaged (who “like,” comment, retweet, etc.)

Sales. May be considered a type of conversion. But also relates to sales from leads.

Sharing. Track loyalty indicators like rate, volume and trends in resharing among members of your networks.

Facebook marketing metrics

As a social medium, Facebook clearly leads the pack, with 700 million members worldwide, and a remarkable agility in introducing new ways to engage users and create value for marketers. So it is no surprise that metrics specific to Facebook marketing are beginning to emerge. A 2010 study by the Altimeter Group developed an 8-point list of criteria for Facebook page marketing success:

1. Set community expectations.

2. Provide cohesive branding.

3. Be up to date.

4. Live authenticity.

5. Participate in dialogue.

6. Enable peer-to-peer interactions.

7. Foster advocacy.

8. Solicit a call to action.

As reported by Alimeter partner Jeremiah Owyang, when 30 well-known brands were ranked against the criteria, most came up short. Brands scored between 1.8 and 3.8 on a scale of 5, with the average coming in at 2.9. At the top were Pampers diapers and Macy’s retail chain. At the bottom were Xerox and InterContinenal Hotels. Certainly brands are still in the early stages of figuring out how to take advantage of social media.

Sidebar: Tools to measure social media marketing

New tools are coming along every day to help marketers capture and analyze the reams of data thrown off by consumer behavior on social media.

Original Publication

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