Measuring Social Media Efforts: It Is More Than Traffic.
People have been obsessed with traffic since the internet has been around. I remember constantly trying to take any bit of information I could out of my first attempt at a website in 1997 from my parked GeoCities site. What was once simple bean counting has turned into the complex world of analytics.
When discussing the idea of a media strategy there are a few things we have trouble helping people understand.
The goal is not increased traffic. It is genuine connections and conversations.
Don’t get me wrong. At Ideas and Angles we love traffic. More people putting eyes on your content means more exposure and more exposure means more money but eyes on your product or service isn’t the end all metric for success anymore.
If your product is a bike then we are much more interested in one bike shop owner being able to recommend your company to his customers because of the expertise you have built up and shown him than 100 people simply being able to see you sell a cool looking bike.
The fruits of a successful media strategy is often shown in content you didn’t author.
A small percentage of users create the information information internet users consume. Think about that. All the people that get information are getting it from a very select group of people. You need to find a way to connect with these users so they can relay your message to their readership who they have already built trust with.
Think about the message you are communicating as a snowball that starts rolling downhill. The further it goes the bigger it gets but your initial push only got it going. Once it is out of your grasp it takes a life of its own. You could only see the effect it had while it was in your sight.
You are planting the seeds of conversation for a select group of people that have interest in it to take and do your niche marketing for you. Throughout this process the amount of “hits” your web presence gets could be a very small percentage of the people that are getting your message.
Your ability to create a presence as a trustworthy source of information and present clear communication that content generators can take and pass on to their readers is paramount.
Aug 19, 2008
It is amazing the amount of tools out there now. Developing a plan is a must, that way you can gauge how you are doing over time as apposed to just looking things up here and there and not knowing if you are moving in the direction you wish.
Great post Zach!
Aug 21, 2008
Zach – I thought you and your partners would appreciate this one!
http://www.micropersuasion.com/2008/08/tiger-woods-res.html
Aug 22, 2008
That video response by Tiger Woods and EA is fantastic. Thanks for the comment.
Aug 22, 2008
Thanks Ole, it is great to see companies that “get it”.
Nov 03, 2008
[...] a little bit) at the emphasis in bean counting to measure the reach of a social media campaign. We wrote recently about some different ways to measure effectiveness but those are still some eye opening numbers and we applaud HR Block for their ability to implement [...]