I’ve been thinking about social media measurement lately and so have many others but there does not appear to be a standard metric system at least that I’ve found. There are many ideas on what the metrics should be that are being discussed. Although, I think many folks are overanalyzing this.
It’s simple really. It’s called the 4 R’s of business:
- Reputation (Customer Satisfaction + Sentiment = Reputation)
- Reach ( Numbers of People + Engagement + Frequency = Reach )
- Revenue ( $ Intensity + $ Volume = Revenue )
- & Return On Operations ( Revenue – Cost + Time = Return On Ops )
In the business world there aren’t too many more metrics that really mean much to owners and CEO’s/CFO’s of companies. If you can’t move the needle in one or more of these metrics with Social Media then something is wrong.
As a form of marketing, social media or whatever you call it — “emerging media” — there needs to be measurement as a business department just as sales, finance, IT, R&D and other organizational groups are measured. If you don’t “Inspect What You Expect” then how do you judge the success of your efforts or know what your efforts are producing?
More importantly, social media as a business process needs to be realized with structured and systemized process. Doing so will play a critical part in many businesses success as the medium and understanding evolves. It’s just that not very many people are or have been able to explain to business owners and executives the real value proposition of social media. Speaking of value proposition, well, that’s a whole other conversation.
For now, I would like to hear what you think about these metrics. Do you agree, disagree? Let’s have a collaborative discussion.