Social Media Measurement Grows Up

Jeremiah has been asking and answering questions about social media measurement.

He's found a list from overtone communications of eight metrics you can use to determine, for want of a better word, "influence."

1. Number of unique users
2. Returning versus new readers
3. Referring source statistics
4. Links from other sites
5. Google PageRank
6. The ratio of blog comments to blog posts (where applicable)
7. Total time spent on the site
8. The popularity of the content itself, which gets the most views

These are all useful measures, but there seems to be one thing missing, and for me, it's the most important metric.

Does your social media strategy accomplish what you intend it to accomplish?

One of the problems with metrics is we often fall into the trap of measuring that which we can easily measure. Each of the metrics above is something we can track, but if you had all the numbers, you'd still have to have someone eyeball them to make sure they are accurate and useful.

Links, comments, time on site, page views, and Page Rank can all be gamed, and in many cases, that's exactly what we try to accomplish. Number of uniques visitors and number of returning visitors is a good measure, but only if those visitors are the ones we're trying to reach. I know how to buy traffic if I just want the IP addresses. In the end, these numbers are only as good as their accuracy, which is why we spend a lot of time refining them.

The problem is most clients don't want accurate numbers. They want useful information. What clients really want one is conversion of uniques to sales, or sign-ups, or regular traffic from unique visitors who click on their ads.

Those are the metrics that matter to a client - and it's a different ball game for specific projects than the corporate branding blog, where measurement is a way of convincing executives that the money and time spent on a social media project is profitable.

So how does Durbin Media Group measure success for our clients? Every one is different. To some extent, we need those top eight metrics. Traffic, comments and Page Rank all make clients happy, but those are short term infusions of well-being. 2 Years of Page Rank improvement with nothing else to show for it won't bring repeat business. It will probably get my client contact fired if that Page Rank doesn't translate into goals achieved.

Here are some contrasts:

Client: Shakadoo.com:
Measure of Success: Traffic, advertising, branding and contacts. Shakadoo is a community of sites about the home. Their goal is to be a go-to destination for people looking to learn more about their homes. Success if measured by traffic gains, which corresponds to unique visitors, feedburner subscribers, and returning visitors. These numbers help them gain the attention of advertisers, who then pay for ads.

So for Shakadoo, the goal is very much the metrics suggested by Overtone Communications.

Client: Flektor.com
Measure of Success: Traffic, Page Rank and Links, but only for a few months. The first step with Flektor was building a platform that connected with a wider community. The more traffic we generated, the more likely people were to use the product. In a short period of time, the goal of traffic would change to that of users. Flektor needs people using their software to make Fleks, and then they need them embedding the final products on other websites and in their MySpace pages. The goal is branding and adoption, not traffic. Where Shakadoo needed eyeballs to generate a high CPM, Flektor needs conversions, which requires a more targeted approach to people most likely to use the software.

The metrics, in this case, would actually distract from the goal, which is adoption of the software. The use of links and referrer logs help us track the use of the software, but it doesn't drive more adoption - that requires a different kind of social media strategy.

Client: RehabCare Group
Measure of Success: Increased knowledge of recruiting, better passive candidate flow.
RehabCare is building a passive candidate blog for use with their college recruiting efforts. PageRank in this case is only relevant to the extent that it improves search terms for popular keywords. Traffic has to be highly targeted, namely the 10-20,000 graduates each year who form the bulk of entry level therapy positions.

The building of a candidate funnel is only half the success. The second aspect is training the four recruiters and campus relations specialists on the use of Web 2.0 recruiting technologies. Teaching staff to integrate social media projects into their work process yields long-term benefits in terms of conversions of candidates to hires, in branding, and in outreach. In some cases, the benefit is as simple as using web calendars to let college students know when the Rehabcare staff is on campus.

That doesn't fit into the metrics at all.

Client: Greer Consulting
Measure of Success: Recognition as Thought Leader In Industry. For this client, the metrics only function in terms of search. The labor management industry is a tight-knit one that isn't much online. Most of the company's competitors, if they even have websites, use them for contact info only. In building a thought leadership blog, the goal is to attract the attention of the press, the web-savvy, and the corporate executives involved in labor negotiations. The use of PageRank only applies in terms of actual SERP's, not the number on the Google Toolbar.

300 links from unrelated sites are of little help, while 5 links from the 5 major sources of information in the labor industry are very desirable.

In this case, the metrics are so targeted they can be tracked on a single sheet of paper and with one use of the Technorati search engine or the referrer logs.

Conclusion:
In social media measurement, we need to track our numbers, but only as it relates to reaching goals. Social media is a tool, not the goal itself. Before beginning a blog, or social networking, or even an e-mail project - determine what you want to accomplish, and use the correct metrics as a tool to measure progress towards those goals.

Social Media Poisoning?

It was only a matter of time, but it seems the growth of social media has given wave to a new batch of evil actions by spammers and their ilk.

Nathan points us to SEOMoz to learn more about what it means when you competitors try to ruin your name with poorly executed strategies and fake comments. The list of activities:

Here's some of the potential tactics that a black hat social marketer might engage in:

• Spamming the comments at major blogs like Techcrunch, GigaOm, MattCutts, etc. (BTW - I've heard that once you spam Techcrunch, Mr. Arrington will refuse to mention your site in the future)
• Authoring low quality posts at forums to make it seem as though the brand/website in question has hired forum spammers
• Emailing or even calling major bloggers, press outlets, etc. and trying to pitch a "shill-like" campaign that will receive obvious rejection (and leave a bad aftertaste)
• Sending lots of junky submissions to sites like Reddit, Digg, Netscape, etc. in order to "poison" the admins at those sites against a domain. This is most effective when combined with obvious manipulation (like 50 Digg accounts on the same IP address)
• Sending fake emails requesting paid links or link exchanges or even just begging for links in a very negative fashion to sites in the competitor's industry.

Durbin Media Group doesn't support these activities. But we do enjoy chasing these monkeys down and displaying them for the world to se.

What's been interesting is the question that major corporations have started asking me when we talk about a blogging project. They want to know if we'll be using fake comments. We don't, but it tells you that someone is out there selling "social media" like snake oil.

If you have a company that tries to use underhanded tactics to generate results on your behalf, be aware that you are responsible for everything they do in the eyes of the public. Just say no to such tactics. They don't work. No, really - they don't work.

Good social media creates buzz and relationships, and it's no harder than doing these black hat strategies. Focus on improving your online profile and relationships, and you'll reap more benefit than blackening the eye of your competitor - without the risk.

Real Estate Agents Just Got A Bit More Nervous

Mashable reports that Zillow is finally adding neighborhood detail to their real estate listings.

Some of these new community features include individual neighborhood pages, spanning over 130 cities in the US. For each neighborhood, you’ll of course find local demographic and real estate information, but they also act as mini communities in and of themselves, with the ability to also include photos, etc. There’s also a Home Q&A for the homes listed on the site, Zillow Discussions, Polls, and a personalize home page for registered users, that offers relevant information on a local level.

That's huge - and something that is coming with or without Zillow. Franki and I are looking at posting information about own condos, in the hopes that one day we can sell it using a blog instead of paying 6% commission.

But it's also problematic, because people contributing information online can be nasty - they can tell the truth or lies, and it's hard to manage. Some people will love it, and others will write information that makes it harder to sell houses.

But there's a big advantage to the process - as TechDirt explains. Zillow gets to talk about things that real estate agents by law cannot.

For various legal and ethical reasons, real estate agents aren't supposed to talk about certain details of a neighborhood, like demographics or crime rates, even though this stuff is pretty pertinent to would-be buyers. So in addition to its basic real estate data, Zillow plans to launch 6,500 new sites based around specific communities, where users can exchange information that they can't get from real estate agents.

I haven't decided if this is a good or bad thing. Overall, it's probably good for the consumer. But for the individual consumer, this could have the effect of losses (or gains) in the tens of thousands.

Welcome to your future. Do you have a voice online? Do you know how to search for information on the houses you're listing? Maybe you need some help.

Blogging Your Customer Service

It's no secret that Franki and I use our blog to talk about our retail experiences. When we have a good meal, when we find a new product we want everyone to try, or when we see a good commercial, we talk about it.

We want to let companies know when they do well and when they screw up. As more business bloggers gather confidence, traffic, and a high search engine ranking for their blog, I think you'll see more of this. Just the other day, these three bloggers were talking about their experiences.

Blogger 1: Marianne Richmond.

Marianne has had a lot of problems with her Sprint customer service. It started with billing and has continued over, and over, and over again. So when she read in the WSJ that Sprint was firing some of their customers, she had an idea.

I called Sprint retention back and explained that I had called earlier and was told I couldn't terminate my contract without paying $200 for each of my three phones but since I saw that they were trying to get rid of "high maintenance" customers that I would like to volunteer. Marlene 3350 refused my offer.

Sprint disappointed her again.

Blogger 2: Spike

Spike from Brains on Fire is a marketing expert. He had some thoughts about one of Home Depot's latest initiatives. He writes a letter to them.

The first thing that jumps out at me is that it’s you (or your ad agency) telling the stories about your customers – not them telling their stories themselves. The videos look and sound like ads. The copy pushes your products. The photography was obviously done by professionals – not real people.

In other words, you’ve created a promotional site and campaign wrapped in a disguise of caring about your customers. It’s not about you, Home Depot. It never was. You’ve got potential, but unless Share your Story evolves into something that people can really sink their teeth into – until it really has meaning and substance and true engagement – nothing will change (and that goes for both people’s attitudes towards you…and your bottom line).

Companies used to have to respond to poor customer service and defective products. Now they're increasingly going to be on the defensive for everything they do, from recruiting and staffing, to consumer marketing to their decisions on allowing Merry Christmas in the stores. In other words, the entire enterprise is now under scrutiny.

Blogger 3: You people
Techdirt points a NYT article on the rising concern of restaurants that amateurs (like me) are criticizing their food, their service, and their decor. Much like my review of Aqua Vin here in Chesterfield, average people are starting to write their impressions of your duck in a mango sauce, or in my case your fishy mahi mahi. Is that one word of two?

From the NYT article:

Pioneered by food and restaurant discussion boards like Chowhound.com, a handful of Web sites have taken amateur restaurant critiquing to new levels, giving diners more power than they ever had to sound off on what they like and don't like. And chefs are taking notice.

There's a lot at stake for restaurants, whose reputation can rise or fall on a strongly worded review in an influential local media outlet. With often tight profit margins and a high rate of failure, restaurants have keenly watched reviews that appear in local media -- and now, from average users online.

Welcome to your Blog New World. What industry is up next?

Nielsen Launches New Industry - Getting Paid To Do Nothing

Nielsen has just changed the metrics for website popularity. The long-abused page view, which led to the creation of 500 word articles spread out over 4-page on MSNBC.com, is being retired in favor of "length on site."

Although Nielsen already measures average time spent and average number of sessions per visitor for each site, it will start reporting total time spent and sessions for all visitors to give advertisers, investors and analysts a broader picture of what sites are most popular.

Currently, sites and advertisers often use page views, a figure that reflects the number of Web pages a visitor pulls from a site.

BusinessWeek's BlogSpotting and TechDirt, among others, lambast the idea, pointing to the weakness of using "length of time on site" as a metric, artificially inflating the importance of IM and video, while holding back the social networking sites like MySpace where clicking on links actually signifies interest.

Personally, I look at this as a great opportunity to make a lot of money. We know that some unethical (by his own admission) internet marketers like Jon Waraas are trying to sell comment spam, but with Nielsen's new push, finally a service can be built that doesn't cost anything to run, and doesn't annoy the general public. All I need is some venture capital, and we're ready to go!

Introducing - Pay Per Sit, the new service that pays YOU the internet surfer to open tabs on your browser and do nothing but earn cash for leaving them up! No more trying to work for your money - we can now open up a browser with multiple tabbing (Thank you Firefox and Safari), click to our client sites, and get paid to sit on them all day.

If you're a website looking to generate advertisers, for just $10 a day per person, we'll open your site on our desktops and go about our merry ways, racking up the length of time, and the dollars, for you.

Yes, that's a joke - but in all seriousness, why not? If that is really the metric, it's going to happen. And thus we come to the conclusion that measuring the value of a site is still a complicated issue, that is best done on a site by site and community by community basis.

Yes, that is a lot of hard work, but why is it that so many people in marketing want to simplify their jobs and still make the big bucks? If measurement were as easy as Page Rank (and many of you still do this), why do we need marketing people?

The true measure of influence is something that can be determined, but it requires a human filter (backed up by automatic measurement). I'm currently working on a measurement process that should provide visual confirmation of influence in online communities. It's not as fancy as some of the big boys, but when it's done, we'll be able to go to a Fortune 500 company and show them what websites in their industry are truly the most influential, as measured by their effect on other people, not their adherence to an easily-manipulated metric.

Definition Of Irony: New Drug Lets Me Erase Memory of Vanilla Sky

Vanilla Sky was a terrible movie. A terrible, horrible, no good movie that was creepy, and made me wish I could hop in a time machine, go back to the video store, and erase all the copies with a large magnet so that I was never tempted.

I don't own a time machine, but there might be a way to claw the images of Cruz and Cruise out of my skull.

From Ron Davis at Chatter, we have information on a new drug that scientists are using to selectively remove memories from rats.

Yes - it seems that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is now going to become a reality.

Hooray. Start your political jokes, now.

Gifts Of Meat In The Mail

My father-in-law can be a real saint at times. His latest act of goodwill has been the purchasing of prime cuts of beef to send to his daughter and son-in-law.

Franki and I eat a lot of beef - in fact we make steak salads most every day (using 4 oz of center cut round to eliminate most of the fat and keep our cholesterol down). We're not on Atkin's or anything, we just like meat.

So while mostly we're buying eye of round in bulk from Dierberg's we sometimes treat ourselves with the Peppercorn Eye of Round from Schnuck's, and if we're really feeling it, we head on over to Whole Food's for their beef, which is truly heavenly (even their steak kabobs are good, although they do make quite the hit on the wallet).

But then Franki's father sent us beef from Steaks Of St Louis. We had heard of Omaha Steaks, but thought the price was through the roof. We were content to receive the beef as presents, until we looked it up online and realized it was cheaper to order the good meat then it was to go out for dinner.

So we bucked up, and ordered. They arrived today - packed with dry ice and looking fantastic. Franki says its the best steak she ever had.

And Cinder loves the box.

They Call Me The HipHopopotamus

Other Rappers Dis Me,
Say my rhymes are sissy.
Why, why. Why exactly?

Jermaine and Bret continue to amuse, this time sticking in our heads with their New Zealand parody folk rap.



I thought this would get old, but We just can't get it out of our heads - from Part-Time Model to junkies with monkey diseases.

And one last question - why exactly are we paying more for sneakers if those sneakers are made by slave children?

The Influence Of The Internet On the Customer

We preach transparency around these here parts, suggesting to those in charge of marketing departments that the coming wave of customer reviews is something that has to be prepared for prior to its crashing on the desk of your CEO.

Customers, using blogs, video, podcasts, newssites like Digg, and referrer software are going to start talking about your company online.

Cable providers, cell phone carriers, and computer manufacturers are just the start. Soon auto dealers, real estate agents, recruiters, and thousands of other retail and big ticket operations with considerable customer contact are going to start seeing their name appear in local search engines.

Imagine Angie's List for your business. Angie's list rates housing contractors like plumbers and sunroom installers based on real customer experience. If your industry had such a system, how would you fare?

And don't think this is another version of the Better Business Bureau. This is the internet, my friends - wide open spaces.

The internet just took a big jump, up 13% in the lives of Americans who consider it the most essential media tools in their life.

Having surpassed newspapers long ago, internet made the jump past radio, and is now just a few percentage points away from taking the number one slot from television.

How much money does your company spend on newspaper and radio ads? How much on television? Considering what your customers find important, are you putting your dollars in the right place?

The answer, sadly, is the people who should be reading these reports don't even know it's an issue, or hear the surf coming, but lack the expertise to do anything about it.

How about another ad buy in the local paper, Chuck?

Brains on Fire summarizes the emarketer report to its essential story.

25 Million US adults regularly share information on products and services online (they expect that to grow to 34M by 2011). Included in the same article, a BigResearch Study reveals that 91% of US adults regularly or occasionally seek out information on products.

In other words, the influencers are online talking about your product, and 91% of Americans are going online to check them out.

Are you prepared? Start asking questions.