Social Media Marketing: The Next Generation of Business Engagement

Part II: Chapter 06 “Social Analytics, Metrics, and Measurement”

Chapter Summary
Chapter 6 hits my personal passion point with regard to social media and business: measurement. This is the chapter that covers the aspect of “social anything” that keeps most decision makers and change/process champions up at night. Many sleepless nights have been spent wondering “How do I measure this and make sense of it?” This chapter takes a hard look at the rationale for establishing the specific metrics required to make sense of the Social Web and track success, along with the tools and platforms that provide and analyze these metrics in the context of your objectives.

Review of the Main Points
The main points covered in this chapter are summarized in the points that follow. The essence of Chapter 6, with credit to Katie Paine, is “Yes We Can! (measure social media).”
Understand quantitatively what is happening on the Social Web, on your website, and in your business.

  • Tie these measures together to create a complete feedback loop that includes the delivery of what is learned to the functional areas within your business or organization that can act on and respond to this information.
  • Use quantitative techniques such as correlation to find relationships in available metrics that you may not have considered, and that once identified can lead you to new understanding of what the impact of social media and Web 2.0 really is.
  • Move beyond basic metrics in all of your measurement areas, and press into a complete understanding how these metrics indicate where you are heading rather than simply where you have been.

    By taking the time to connect the dots, to link together the fundamental source of data that are available to you, you can significantly increase the likelihood of gaining acceptance and support for the organization-wide adoption of social business practices. This sets up the truly collaborative relationships between your business and customers, or between your organization and its constituents, that drive long term success.


    Reader's Comments