Analytics Is King

So sitting here on a Sunday night, thinking about the week ahead and clearly unable to sleep I turned to my blog. I mean, this is the 21st century, right? Anyway, if you're reading this don't even attempt to try and place it in a timeline of other posts I've done. Don't even try and figure out its relevancy to the charter of this blog, which is to constantly push the envelope on all things analytics... This post is just off the cuff thinking from my brain. If you get something out of it, that's awesome.

I'm (essentially) a week away from my 32nd birthday and, for as much as I joke about it online, that really isn't old by any stretch of the modern imagination. But because I'm a Capricorn (I really don't believe in all that zodiac sign stuff, really) my instrospective side comes out in large doses at this time every year. Have I done everything I can to make the people who are important in my life happy? Have I done everything to make myself happy? What else can I do in the next year to change both of those things? Have I made the people who have inspired me most proud? Just a few of the questions that have bubbled to mind...

That last question actually got me to thinking... Who has inspired me most? There are literally a TON of people who have inspired me during the course of my 31 years and 51 weeks on this earth, but none more so than my grandparents. My grandmother was a 5'0" 100lb (she'd kill me for saying anything more) woman who couldn't have been more giving to the people important to her. My grandfather was a 6'4" 260lb man who was definitely more gruff, but loving all the same. On the outside, they couldn't be more different. On the inside, they couldn't be more alike. What did they teach me?

• Work hard - Shocking, right? Two late depression era grandparents instilling a strong worth ethic. Stunning. News at 11. But really, they always taught me that hard work means getting to do all of the fun stuff that I wanted to do "when I grew up." They were/are right.
• Be charitable - Because of them, I've never had to struggle for anything in my life. So, in my mind, neither should anyone else if I can help it. Food, shelter, clothes. Basically whatever I can give, I'm going to give it. This side has recently been rekindled, and I'm hopeful I can do more in the coming year. 
• Worry about others more than yourself - Without getting into a great many details, my grandmother took care of my grandfather until the end. She (and he) cared more about how each other felt and if they were happy than they did their own personal happiness. This attribute in both of them is what I take away most today.
• Be expressive - This should be kind of a "no duh" given this post, and maybe some tweets/Facebook posts you've seen from me, but it's something they also inspired in me. It certainly has come back to haunt me on occasion, but you'll never NOT know how I'm feeling. I've tried to hide it. It doesn't work. :) 
• Do the things that make you happy - Sounds simple, but if you want to buy yourself a new TV and you have the means...do it! Life is way too short to not have cool toys!
• Don't bet against Kordell Stewart when he's down nine to Michigan at Michigan - Ok, I needed to close on a fun one... Remember the hail mary thrown by Kordell Stewart against Michigan? I do. Like it was yesterday. I remember my grandfather giving me 10:1 odds that when Colorado was down 10 with about three-to-four minutes to play that Michigan would win. Turns out, I won. Never forget that moment as long as I live. 

Moral of this story is don't wait until your birthday to start thinking about who inspires you most. Think about it more often than I do.

No, actually, the real moral of the story is that without my grandparents inspiring me I'm nowhere close to the human being I am today. Here's to them, and to those who inspire you most! Oh, and here's also to another 32... I'm hopeful they are as cool as the first 32.

So, this is what a blog looks like? You'll have to forgive the fact that I have not written anything here in almost two months (that's terrible). I've been busy saving the world (slight exaggeration) from misguided social analytics practices, and of course writing a lot for Edelman Digital. Just because I've been busy does not mean I haven't been thinking about what's next for the practice of social (or digital if you prefer) analytics.

Over the course of 2011 we've debated any number of social analytics topics including Klout and online influence more broadly, social media measurement and the role of listening within the large enterprise. Innovative things are happening in all three areas. Maybe not at the same rate of change as the broader social media ecosystem, but change is definitely happening.

I have a feeling we're going to see significant carry over in topics from 2011 to 2012, but I thought I would take a stab at five things you might not be thinking of from a social data perspective that we're likely to be talking about in 2012.

• This is the year Facebook, YouTube and Twitter get serious about its insights platforms. On December 15th, Facebook launched its new Insights platform, which should give brand page owners a better sense for how pages are performing. If you wanted to learn more about those changes, check out the video below from Stephanie Wonderlin of Tweetheart TV. We've also heard in recent weeks that Twitter is going to be launching brand pages, which will most likely be accompanied by an analytics dashboard. YouTube has also recently made changes to its platform as well. One of the reasons we've seen so many analytics tools pop up is because the big three social networks have been awful in keeping up with data needs. I think 2012 is the year we start to see that change.

• A real challenger to Klout will emerge - Lets be honest for a second... Klout isn't doing anything revolutionary, really, with its algorithm. It just so happens that it has greater mindshare than some of the other tools on the market. I think this is the year that we see a true challenger step up that combines a more rigorous approach to online influencer analysis and a user interface that is just as sexy.
• Integrated measurement will start to become a reality - It amazes me that for as much as we talk about integrated communications, we don't talk nearly enough about integrated measurement approaches. I think in 2012 companies are going to be really keen on developing an integrated scorecard approach that brings together all elements of communications.
• Primary research will be a key component of measurement strategies - There are just some elements of a program that we will not be able to measure through free tools. We need surveys. We need focus groups. Surveying online communities and using digital focus groups are going to be big in 2012. If you're not using them right now, you should be. Trust me, my friend Tom Webster will thank you for it. 
• Listening FINALLY goes beyond PR and marketing - More than two years ago, Ken Burbary and I wrote about how social data transcends PR and marketing. The reality is that social data has application to strategic planning, product development and HR as well. Unfortunately, we've not seen this trend really explode as of yet. The progressive brands are starting to use the data in this way. However, I think 2012 is the year we start to more widespread adoption of this idea.

These are just five of the things I'm watching for this year. What about you? What's on your radar?

 

One of my favorite movies growing up was Grumpy Old Men. Not only were Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau hilarious together, but for some reason the movie really resonated with me. Most likely, the movie resonarted because Jack's and Walter's characters were so much like my grandfather it was scary. That was what I grew up with --- a grandfather who, like most in his generation, was a little prickly. I didn't mind it. In fact, I thought it was hilarious most times.

Fast-forward 18 years (dear God that feels awful to say) to the explosion of social media and the development of online personas. Whether you believe in personal brands or not (I tend to believe they exist and not in an insidious way like some do), the way we act online does help shape how our respective communities view our personalities. It's natural human behavior to see someone talk, and then form your own opinion of that person and their thoughts. I know that sounds very judgmental, but I don't mean it to be that way. Humans see things, and then form their opinions.

Anyway, the reason I'm writing this in the first place is to clarify something about my own online persona -- I'm not a grumpy person. TRUST ME. The people who follow me, subscribe to me or have friended me on Facebook see one, very narrow view of who I am. Sure, I might appear to be a little prickly at times but if you view that as me being grumpy I'd say you are wrong. What you are viewing as grumpy is actually passion for topics that are important to me.

Call me a sap, or come here and make fun of me if you want, but I have a sincere passion for this business. I made the transition about 8 years ago out of the political world and into professional communications because it sounded interesting and challenging. Professional communications is the reason I'm able to pay for my car, my apartment, my bills, give to charities, help out my family when necessary and, oh yeah, go out to nice restaurants when I feel like it. It's also the reason I was able to break into the social media world in 2007 and continue evolving my career. It led me to Austin, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois for two amazing jobs. It has allowed me to work with, and mentor some incredibly talented people. And, saving the best for last, it has allowed me to meet some INCREDIBLE people that I truly do care for... I owe this business a huge debt of gratitude for making that happen, and I can't be thankful enough.

If I get grumpy it's because I see people not treating the business with the same level of respect that I do. Or, even worse, treating people in the business with a level of disrespect that's bordering on rude. Take a step back and look in the mirror... Are you trashing this business unfairly? Don't get me wrong, constructive criticism is certainly warranted (we need more of it, quite frankly), but what I can't stand are those who trash a business that's helped them (largely) get where they are.

When you see me getting grumpy, that's why. It isn't because I'm an angry person. Ask those closest to me and they'll tell you I'm really about the nicest guy you could ever meet. So the next time you notice my more prickly side coming out, take a step back before you call me out for being grumpy. Is it that I'm truly having a bad day, or is it because people are treating the business with disrespect? It could be that I'm grumpy because I do have bad days like anyone else, but it's MUCH more likely to be the latter causing my hair (such that it is) to stand on end.

One last thing before I close... Whether you're judging me, or someone else, assume you don't know the person. Of the more than 6,000 (no, I'm not pounding my chest) people who follow me on Twitter, a good 99% of them don't know me well at all. You should assume that's the case with the other people you interact with online because there's always more than meets the eye (thanks, GI Joe).

So with that I'll jump off the soapbox for the time being. Just remember, I'm closer to the passionate teddy bear than I am the prickly grizzly. Thanks, as always, for listening.

We all face adversity at several points in our lives. Heck, we probably face adversity on a daily basis even if it doesn't manifest itself as that in our brains. Whether it is personal or professional, we're constantly being tested on how we react to situations. How we bounce back from getting hit in the face, if you will. It's an important thing this bouncing back. Do we internalize it and learn from it, or do we internalize it and then do something about it? There are no hard and fast rules except that every person and situation is different. The only thing we do know is that we all must process the adversity, understand the issues and then take action however we see fit.

Last week could've been nicknamed Adversity Week 2011 for yours truly. It was compounded by a seven day roadtrip, which included three cities (four if you count a layover), four hotels, several presentations and very little sleep along the way. I'm not going to go into what caused the adversity because, frankly, it's only my business. Just know that I'm not whining about it. I'm learning. Slowly.

Anyway, as some of the events of the last week were unfolding I reached out to a few offline friends for advice. They were very helpful, of course, but I also turned to Facebook and Twitter. I didn't go into detail, but I did voice frustration about how ugly things were. I also noted that I wear my emotions on my sleeve (and I do) to which colleague David Armano noted that it shouldn't be any other way. I tend to agree, but you never know how people take frustration comments online.

Now you can probably imagine that as soon as I voiced that frustration several people reached out wishing me well, which I obviously appreciated. Several others sent me private messages, which was also cool. For the most part, people were just respectful and left it at that. However, there was the small contingent who wanted details, which I obviously despised. Look, it's not that I don't appreciate the thought, but most of the people who follow me on Twitter are contacts, not friends. On Facebook the number of actual friends is much higher, but close friends who I confide in all the time? That is a MUCH smaller number.

I suppose this is the inevitable byproduct of a society "opened up" by social media, but color me unimpressed and kind of irritated. Maybe it's my fault for posting that information in the first place? I'm at least equally complicit, I guess, but where does human decency enter the equation? If an actual friend of mine voices frustration online, chances are good I'm going to reach out with a simple note. I don't know what is happening, and I don't want to know the details unless that person cares to share them with me. This whole "friends" thing is now a pretty fine line thanks to social media and, honestly, has me seriously rethinking the entirety of my social media activities. I am who I am, and I say what I say. I'm (mostly) unfiltered. But, if everytime I do voice some frustration I am hit by people who want to know, I'm not sure that's an environment I want to participate in for the long-term.

Either way, I'm still processing all of this, and the adversity from the last week. Learning is one of my core strengths (at least according to Gallup) so I'm sure this is going to be an ongoing process. In the meantime, if you're faced with a friend who voices some frustration online please don't pry. Just offer up that you'll be there for the person and leave it at that. You never know if you're actual friends, or just online ones...

Thanks for reading...Oh, and I know I'm a terrible blogger. First post in almost two months and it's a downer. I'll try and be back with some uplifting analytics content soon. :)

Dear Social Media and Digital Marketing Professionals,

I'm writing to you today to say I was wrong. Not wrong in my push to make the influencer identification process rigorous. Not wrong in my criticism of those who over-emphasize the value of free and paid influencer tools. Not wrong about those lazy professionals who think influencer lists should be treated like traditional media lists (read: downloaded and put into an Excel grid, only to collect dust over time).

No, what I was wrong about was the value Klout provides to the marketplace. It isn't the demon seed of influencer identification. It isn't even the worst thing to hit social media in the last few years. NOT. EVEN. CLOSE. Now, before you start calling me a flip-flopper let me clarify a couple of points following my meeting with the team yesterday:

• I still don't think tools should be relied upon as much as they are. You can't just use PeerIndex, Klout or any of the tools available on the market and call it a day. There MUST be a heavy qualitative component to your influencer ID and analysis.
• I still have some questions about the "science." Because the algorithm isn't made available, I can never be truly confident in the results. I can guess what the metrics might be, but we know how effective guessing can be. 
• I still think the score is a vanity exercise. I know what my score is, and I'm betting you do as well. Don't come here and feed me a line about how you've never checked. You're curious. You may disagree, but you want to know. We all want to know how we stack up.
• I still have concerns about trying to calculate relevancy, but they are launching topic pages, which should help mitigate that.

I stand by all of those points even after meeting the Klout team yesterday. However, I was wrong on several fronts:

• The Klout team is expanding and Joe Fernandez is, rightfully so in my view, investing in the science and tech teams. The algorithm (what we know of it) can likely be improved, and with new platforms coming into the fold the formula will have to be tweaked.
• One of my biggest fears was not looking at Facebook versus Facebook, before trying to mashup the scores. I did learn, however, that scores are calculated for each platform and then brought together for the final score. Think what you want about the final score (and I think plenty), but this approach makes sense to me.
• They don't view themselves as replacing humans. Ever. They understand fully that influencer analysis is a mixture of quant and qual, and that no matter how sophisticated they make the algorithm there still needs to be a human interacting with the data.
• We all have our questions about the targeting with Klout Perks programs, but what I can tell you is that I've seen the results of some recent programs and they are compelling. And, for the record, not just superficially compelling either. REAL results.
• Some of the new stuff coming (not going to share specifics as I want to keep the information confidential out of respect for Joe and the team) to Perks and the tool will make it more useful for brands. Trust me. I do this kind of research for a living and have literally seen hundreds of tools. What they are adding makes sense. 
• I'd like to see the algorithm, but I also know they don't owe that to us. That's their secret sauce. If you don't want to use the tool because you can't see the science behind it, that's entirely your decision. Can't say I'd blame you either. But, they don't *need* to share it with us.
• Klout isn't responsible for lazy marketers. As much as we'd like to blame them for feeding the social media vanity beast, they aren't responsible for you taking their data and treating it as gospel. Spend the time vetting their scores. 

So, there you have it sports fans. I was wrong on a lot of levels. Is Klout the holy grail of influence? No. Does it have a role in influencer programs? I think so. Where depends on what your program entails.

Now, feel free to come here and bash me for flip-flopping. I'm a big boy. I can take it.

Impressions are totally worthless! Why would I measure total or unique pageviews? I care more about behaviors! Followers, likes, Twitter lists are completely meaningless. Stop me if you've heard any of these comments (or variations therein) in your career....I'm guessing you have, right? In the words of Lee Corso, "not so fast my friend!"

So many conversations about measurement get bogged down in the weeds. Even if we are starting at the proper place -- the planning phase -- the natural instinct is for us to focus on the metrics themselves. I'm not a psychologist, and I don't play one on television so I'm not going to guess as to why that happens. It just does. Where should the focus lie if it doesn't focus on the metrics?

This is a conversation MUCH older than I am so you've probably heard this before, but you start with the business objective. What's a common business objective? Growing your business or improving financial performance, right? As soon as you've landed on that you can focus on the business metric. What's a common business metric? Growing sales of a particular product right? In addition to growing sales, a common business metric is raising awareness of a particular product. When you've landed on those two elements, you can then focus on specific social media metrics. Awareness and sales are two items that are quite often business and social media metrics.

At this point, you've all likely seen, heard or read the article from McKinsey a couple of years ago about how customers are starting to move outside of the traditional purchasing funnel. If you've ever done any digital consumer research (listening, surveys, consumer segmentation analysis, etc...) you'll know that McKinsey is right. How people search for and find information about your product is changing (it might've already changed for whatever that's worth). However the funnel is changing, product awareness is still a component of the funnel.

Now, before I go any further please know that I'd never advocate using JUST awareness-related business metrics or social media metrics. That's where the wheels do fall off of the tracks. Awareness, like any other business metric is just one component of the measurement process. You'll probably also want to track interactions, brand loyalty/affinity and, gasp, sales. Again, though, you'll want to make sure these metrics are aligned to overall business objectives before you start putting anything in stone.

So, if you agree with me and are going to start looking at awareness-related social media metrics more closely what should you be looking at? Impressions, pageviews, likes, followers and Twitter lists are all great places to start. But what about things that aren't served up to you on a Facebook Insights platter? What about aided and unaided awareness questions from a survey? It's certainly possible and in fact it probably should be done more often than it is now. Have you thought about creating a standard survey instrument that you can post on your social media communities? If not, start TODAY.

Awareness metrics aren't the devil. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Awareness is an important part of the sales funnel today, and in the sales funnel that McKinsey represents in the article linked to above. If awareness is part of your overall business goals then awareness should appear in your measurement scorecard. Period.

Go forth and be aware!

 

I've been a bad blogger. I logged in this morning and saw I hadn't written anything since July 5th. That's ridiculous, and something I'm going to work on changing over the next few months. It isn't for a shortage of things to say (some people say I'm opinionated, heh), more for a shortage of time given the recent move to Chicago and new job with Edelman Digital.

Anyway, during my long blog hiatus (at least it felt long) I've been giving some thought to what it means to be a good digital citizen. You know, how do you maximize value for yourself on whatever social platform you are using, while simultaneously adding value for others? For the most part, most of the people I interact with on a daily basis on Twitter or Facebook or Google+ do just that. They are giving with their time, and try to add value to conversations they participate in online.

However, with the few good apples come several spoiled ones as well. It isn't that they are spoiled. It's more that they take advantage of their online presence to be overly promotional (certainly their choice) or share things that don't belong online. And by don't belong online I mean EVER. Don't get me wrong here...if a "friend" is dealing with something difficult I'd like to try and be there for the person. That exchange doesn't need to take place in the public stream, however. I'm not going to list off what should, or shouldn't be shared online. If you don't know the line by now, my post isn't going to change that.

Over on Facebook, I posted a status update asking my friends to define what it meant to be a good digital citizen. Some of the answers were pretty fascinating:

• Heather Whaling - "Be responsible and respectful."
• Kyle Flaherty - "Listen before you speak or type and always question everyone no matter their clout or Klout."
• Tim Walker - "The degree to which the Golden Rule applies here -- even if you're dealing with rivals / competitors / enemies -- is overwhelming."
• Tom Webster - "Relationships are complicated dances from first contact to familiarity to trust - just because social media provides a shortcut to one does not imply that there is a shortcut to the others."
• Wendy Boka - "How about making a point to keep the "bitching-about-little-thi​ngs"/criticizing other people's actions, posts, comments, etc. to less than 50% of your online activity."
• Jay Baer - "Play your own game."
• Jim Mitchem - "compassion."
  
• Arik Hanson - "No one mentioned anything about helping or assisting others--essentially paying it forward. See a few folks on this stream who have done/do a pretty good job of that. I think that's a big part of being a solid digital citizen."
• Stefanie Moore - "Two words: be useful."

Those are some pretty amazing comments, right? I almost considerded not writing the post...almost... So, if I were coming up with a list of attributes myself what would they be?

1. Being responsible and respectful - Heather's comment was just too good not to include here. It's true. If you tell someone you are going to do something, you better do it. Your reputation online is gone just as quickly as it is offline if you don't deliver.
2. Offer up constructive criticism when warranted - It's something that Kyle mentioned in his comment, but being critical is important regardless of someone's stature. We all get paid a lot of money to do important jobs for companies. They don't pay us to sugar coat opinions. Why would we do so online? If you are worried about damaging a friendship or connection, I'd argue that it wasn't a worthwhile friendship or connection in the first place.
3. Achieve translucency whenever possible - The idea of transparency in social media is one of the more ridiculous notions I've ever encountered. Listen folks, there's no such thing. With people or brands. There's always something a brand or person isn't telling you online. If we achieve translucency, we've won.
4. Dont share private information. Period. - You would think this one is self-explanatory, but I've seen plenty of instances where it's far from common sense. We don't need to know the intimate details of your date from the weekend. Nor do we need to know how your girlfriend looks in next-to-no clothing. If you want to consume that kind of information offline, please feel free.
5. Paying it forward - Arik was right on the money with this one. Those of us who have achieved some level of success in this business owe it to others to help whenever possible.
6. Add value - I think this is what Stefanie was getting at in her comment, but adding value is critical. You know what isn't adding value? Retweeting that Mashable story that you've seen in your stream about 400 times already. Chances are good we'll see it. No, adding value is offering up a constructive comment about that article if you do plan to share it.
7. Understand that there are limitless possibilities - If you're just starting out online you might be daunted by the size of the networks. Don't be. Spend a little time finding your niche, and understand that you can take it as far as you want.
8. Rome wasn't built in a day - This could've also been, "Patience is a Virtue." Either way, you get the point... Be patient with others and yourself. You won't build a presence in one day. 
9. Dont take things personally - Easier said than done, but if someone is critical of you don't take it personally. 

I'm sure there are others. What would you add?

Social analytics and measurement are sexy...Or, so I've been told by my good friend Ken Burbary. And guess what? He should know. He lives this space as much as anyone else. Everyone online is talking about it. People are "rebranding" themselves as analytics experts in the hopes of gaining the eye of a potential employer. Can't say that I blame them. This is an important discipline to understand. It's important to have professionals in social media who can speak this language. The questions from senior executives aren't going to slow down, so you better develop a mechanism to report on your success.

One of the inevitable byproducts of that "sexyfying" is professionals across the spectrum racing to develop a system to report on performance. That race leads to, in many instances, strict platform reporting. We've all created them, right? The reports with a simple grid showing how many followers, likes and comments we received over a period of time on Facebook. I'm not pointing the finger at anyone because I know the issue is pervasive. Over the long-term that kind of reporting approach isn't effective for upper management. And, truth be told, you aren't really maximixing the full potential of analytics.

That kind of approach also leads to tweets like the one Brian Solis posted today (see below). To try and get inside of Brian's head for a minute, I think he was trying to say that we should blend an approach of reporting on what we've done with an analysis of where we should go in the future. On that point we agree. If we're truly moving toward social businesses (which I think we are), social media analytics needs to move beyond reporting and toward a collective intelligence model.

If the intent was to point out that looking in the rearview mirror was wrong, or that we have "analysis paralysis" (a phrase he uses in the video included below in reference to having an abundance of data) then I couldn't disagree more. The only way you can understand where the future may lie for your social platforms is to understand where they've been in the past. Where social business professionals need to go is away from data and more toward insights.

Look, the issue isn't data or the amount of it. The issue isn't your boss asking you to develop reports every month (as much as you'd like to blame them). It isn't even whether you can measure social media (you can). It isn't even with how we define analytics, which I'm realizing is a very confusing term for people. The issue is with poor planning. Planning is poor at the benchmark research phase and equally poor when we're measuring performance.

Let me give you a few things to chew on if you're planning to do benchmark research or developing a collective intelligence approach or even measuring your platforms.

• Think about the platform-specific metrics AND the behaviors you've impacted - It's absolutely fine to be reporting on platform-specific metrics like likes, followers, likes on posts, impressions, pageviews, etc... Those things should be part of your scorecard. However, so should things like clicks, intent to purchase, referral traffic to places where consumers can buy your product, comments, shares and sentiment. These things are all behavioral.
• Collective intelligence, or the new world order of business intelligence includes more than social media. Social media listening, even as Brian desribes it below isn't going to replace your offline market research so make sure you bring them to the table. Also, while you're at it, make sure you bring along the search, web and mobile guys as well. I've talked a lot about collective digital dashboards before. It can be done if the parties communicate and plan with each other.
• Develop a standard approach for reporting and listening - How does listening data feed into the organization? How often are you going to report? Are there different versions of the report you need to create? Which tool are you going to be using to gather data? Who within the organization is going to be in charge of managing the tools? These are just the tip of the spear to really unlocking the potential of collective intelligence within the organization.

I'm not sure what to expect out of 140 characters, but on its face Brian's tweet is troublesome. The video is better, but we need to know that data isn't going away. We need to work toward harnessing it to maximize communications impact. We need to be working on developing measurement frameworks that our bosses believe in. Lets stop talking about the abundance of data and work toward doing something with it.

Yesterday, I took a look at the potential metrics you could be using to measure your performance on Twitter. Thus far, the response has been rather interesting. I think I expected someone to come here and challenge my assumptions on what metrics matter most. That hasn't happened. In fact, most of the responses so far are coming from folks who want to focus more on the content. Tracking the number of @ replies, and engagements and the raw mentions of the brand. All of those things are fine, but you should know they present some serious challenges, including:

• Content fluidity - Ever watch your "all friends" column on TweetDeck (or whatever third party app you are using)? See how quickly that column is moving? Analyzing content on Twitter is important, but it's akin to watching cars on a busy highway. Just because you saw it posted, doesn't mean a lot of others did. Take your results with a grain of salt.
• Sentiment scoring is problematic - I mentioned this yesterday, but scoring tweets is incredibly hard. Nuanced language. Limited characters. Much of the content being repurposed news. You see the point. Manual scoring is better, obviously, but the sheer volume of tweets makes that difficult. 
• Looking at raw @ replies doesn't tell you much - Sure, you want people talking to you on Twitter. Sure, you want to be talking to others on Twitter. However, looking at the raw number of @ replies doesn't tell you much. You should be more concerned with the behavior that follows an @ reply. Does the person talk about your brand more/less often? Do they tell their friends something positive about the experience? If you want to look at @ replies, you also need to be looking at the other behaviors as well.

Either way, these metrics and approaches can be debated. As I mentioned in the post yesterday, metrics and approaches will vary from company-to-company. Those were the metrics I thought made the most sense, but you could easily disagree. But, Twitter isn't the only social channel. What about Facebook? Ahhhhh, Facebook...

Have you ever taken a look at the export from Facebook Insights? It's a pretty substantial list of metrics. In fact, you can get lost in that spreadsheet for days (well, at least I can)! So what would I look at if I'm measuring my progress on Facebook? This discussion can actually be split into two parts, I think: Platform and content

First, the platform:

• Comments
• Likes
• Total interactions (I'd say look at either the first two or combine them into total interactions)
• Clicks (or CTR)
• Shares
• Impressions
• Pageviews
• Overall likes
• Per post metrics (impressions, comments, likes, shares)
• Sentiment of comments

Second, the content:

This becomes a little more science than anything else. First of all, you need to be sure you are capturing all of your posts in some kind of spreadsheet. Capture the post verbatim, the day/time it was posted and the message "bucket" it might fall into. Then, figure out which post metrics you care most about. In most instances, we're talking about comments, likes, clicks, shares and impressions. Then, after capturing all of that data you'll want to create an index score from 0-100 for the posts. See my post for PR Breakfast Club on how to do this. You'll create a ranked list of your posts from 0-100. What constitutes a good post on that scale? I don't know, that's up to you and your client/boss. But, taking this approach will allow you to really hone in on what content is performing the best across a serious of metrics.

This sounds incredibly labor intensive and time consuming, but trust me, it isn't. As soon as you've created the structure, it becomes a matter of populating a spreadsheet everyday. Surely, you have someone who can do that, right?

What do you think? How are you measuring Facebook today?

We're always (hopefully) interested in how our social channels are performing versus last week, month, year or even versus competitors. To that end, marketers of all stripes often wonder what the best metrics are when evaluating the performance of a particular platform. Depending on the platform in question, the selection process can be daunting. Take a look at a Facebook Insights export sometime and follow the Excel spreadsheet across and you'll see quite a few possibilities.

Yesterday, I received such a question from a very good friend of mine as it relates to Twitter. Now, my typical (maybe snarky) response to these kinds of questions is asking why that wasn't settled weeks/months ago when the page was launched, but we're talking about a friend here so I obliged. While I'm here, though, remember the process of identifying metrics? Setting goals, conducting benchmark research, developing strategy/tactics, implementing your program and then measuring. Go through that process and you'll save yourself some headaches at the end.

Anyway, her question prompted a thought... If I had to rank which metrics I think are the most important for Twitter, how would I rank them? Again, go with me here... How important these metrics are will vary from company-to-company, but I think the discussion is a worthwhile one to be having. First step in this process is writing down all of the available metrics you can think of for Twitter... I'll give you a second to do that...Ready? What did you come up with? I came up with:

• Clicks
• Clicks/post
• Retweets
• Retweets per post
• Tweet reach
• Retweet reach
• Average reach per tweet
• Percentage of posts that are @ replies
• Number of lists
• Followers
• Sentiment? 

A few things on this list...

• Clicks, and clicks per post are probably the two most important metrics in my opinion. Why? They can be easily tracked to a specific end result that the brand cares about (landing on their website and buying something, for example).
• Notice how far followers is on the list? Yeah, moving on. That should be obvious. Looking at followers alone doesn't tell me anything.
• I have a question mark next to sentiment. After posing this question on Twitter, both Justin Goldsborough and Jason Keith raised the point of tracking sentiment on Twitter. My only issue with it is that tracking sentiment on Twitter is problematic at best. Limited characters, nuanced conversation tone make it very difficult to nail down. If you're using a sophisticated text analytics platform, I'll jump on board. Otherwise, I'd be nervous...

If you're managing a Twitter presence, what metrics are you using? What have you found has worked with your client or boss?