Social Media Measurement. Let’s Talk Tangibles.

Social Media Measurement.  We hear a lot about it.  I constantly see people touting that it should be, and can be done.  But, when you get right down to it, I have a hard time finding people that provide concrete examples of how they are doing it.

Sure, I’ve seen quite a few articles and presentations where people say measurement is about:
“Focusing on listening”
“Facilitating conversions”
“Leveraging relationships”

Let’s be honest, that tells me absolutely nothing.  And instead conjures pictures in my mind of trapping people in a room and telling them the only way out is to say “the magic words”.  Even then, I bet there still would be people that wouldn’t listen.

Social media measurement is a tricky subject, there are quite a few intangibles.  Not everything can or should be measured.  And, getting data is a bit more challenging since the focus is on relationships and value exchange.  Not to mention the limitations within the networks themselves.  In any case, no matter how large or small your business, the first thing you need to do as a social marketer is answer the question, “why are we doing social media”.  The answers you get, will help you determine what to measure.

For example.  At nxtConcepts, we tackled  “why are we doing social media” with a few of the following answers:
1. To learn.
2. To demonstrate in a live scenario the work we can do for clients.
3. Affordable national brand awareness.

Once we wrote that down, it started to make the intangible, tangible and measurement possible.  (Without locking anyone in a room.)

Answer 1. To learn.
Measurement-Engagement (# of comments, retweets, Likes, Photo or video uploads, event participation, poll usage, bookmarks, downloads and discussions)

Answer 2. To demonstrate in a live scenario the work we can do for clients.
Measurement--Application usage (games, landing pages, media players, sign-ups, Foursquare type interactions, plug-in’s that extend social media to an organization’s website)

Answer 3. Affordable national brand awareness.
Measurement--Awareness (# of Fans and followers over time and how it compares to others in the industry, social media sharing)
Measurement--Analytics (profile data, conversions, demographics, page/media views, churn)

What are some ways your organization answers the question, “why are we doing social media”?

10 Most Popular Tweets of 2009

2009 has been an interesting year for marketing.  Social media seems to have quickly created a place for itself, even while marketers are still trying to figure it out.  That’s why I thought it would be interesting to track just what topics received the most attention from my Twitter postings at http://www.twitter.com/srufo . Personally, I still love the “Martini Marketing” article.

Top 10 news stories clicked by Twitter readers in the past year.

Why Twitter?

I was asked a simple question last night, “why are you using Twitter?”.  I thought about it for a little while. Note-Twitter is a “microblogging” service that invites you to share what you’re doing with the world in 140 characters or less.

Here’s my top reasons:

- Cutting-Edge: I personally try to stay up-to-date on new cutting-edge marketing opportunities.  I am constantly out searching and trying-out new programs that our clients might be interested in now or in the future.  Twitter is something new, so I will give it a try.

- Little commitment: It’s so easy.  Unlike mySpace where you really have to work to create a design, a following, and 15 other things which could take up your entire day, Twitter needs only a few minutes each day (thanks to Tweetdeck) to read what others have twittered and post my own tweets.  And, I can twitter from my computer or cell phone.

- Response: In a short period of time (about 30 days) I have been able to build a network of “followers” that I can ask questions, post recommendations, and search comments.  What I find different about twitter compared to LinkedIn, or other social sites is the real time answers.  On my other social networking sites it seems to take a day or two to get responses from people.  In Twitter, it takes minutes.  That kind of network building and personal response amazes and thrills me.  I am an instant gratification kind of person!

- Branding: Ok, I’ll admit it.  One of my goals is to help people/businesses realize we exist.  It is a free marketing channel that costs me some work time.  It’s a new form of PR that I am happy to add to our overall marketing mix if it shows promise.  Which so far, it has.

So, now I ask you, “why do you use Twitter”?