3 critical guidelines for effectively using social media metrics
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3 Critical Guidelines For Effectively Using Social Media MetricsTRANSCRIPT
3 Critical Guidelines For Effectively Using Social Media Metrics
Travis Bernard
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Who am I?
• Audience Development at AOL
• Drive traffic to AOL’s sites
using social media
• Work with brands like
TechCrunch, Engadget,
Autoblog, Daily Finance, and
The Huffington Post
• Previously worked on the ad
agency side, supporting clients like
• National Guard
• Walt Disney Studios
• NBC
• NFL Players Association
Travis Bernard
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
3 guidelines for using social media metrics
3
#1 – Figure out the goal first
• Don’t pick the metrics and
tactics first
• Decide on the goal first
• The goal will dictate the
metrics and tactics to use
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
#2 – Use “cause” metrics to test and refine strategies and tactics
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
#3 – Analyze “cause” metrics, but report on “effect” metrics
Effect metrics = Key performance
indicators (KPIs) or big picture goals
that allow you to track where you are
now vs. then
Examples of effect metrics
• Sale or purchase
• Site traffic
• Sign up or acquisition
• Brand education or awareness
• Sentiment
Cause metrics = data points or
indicators that help guide you
towards the goal
Examples of cause metrics
• Reach and impressions
• Engagement
• Clicks
• Fans or followers added
• Posts per day
• Mentions by hour
• Post type
• Audience demographics
• Usage by device
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Recap
• Figure out the goal first
• Use “cause” metrics to test and refine strategies
and tactics
• Analyze “cause” metrics, but report on “effect”
metrics
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
3 examples of what we can do with social metrics
8
Example #1
• Problem:
• Traffic from Facebook has been
declining since the beginning of the
year
• Goal:
• Increase entries and page views
from Facebook
• Tactic:
• Analyze engaged users, link clicks,
and reach by post type
• Shift post type balance to improve
reach, engaged users, and link
clicks
• More link clicks means more traffic
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #1
44%
1%
55%
% of Posts by Type
Links Text/Status Photos
51,921
162,322
59,831
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
180,000
Average Reach
Which Post Type Reaches the Most
Users?
Links Text/Status Photos
Source: Simply Measured 1/1/13 – 5/25/13
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #1
1,703
3,795
3,459
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
Average Engaged Users
Which Post Type Engages the Most
Users?
Links Text/Status Photos
1,341
0
237
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
Average Link Clicks
Which Post Type Drives More Traffic?
Links Text/Status Photos
Source: Simply Measured 1/1/13 – 5/25/13
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #1
What did we decide to change?
• Increase the use of links because they are driving the most traffic
• Increase the use of status/text posts to maximize reach and engaged users
• Add shortened links to the status/text posts to see if they can also drive traffic
• Decrease use of photos because they aren’t driving much traffic
Sources:
Simply Measured 1/1/13 – 10/5/13
52%
6%
42%
Posts by Type
Links Text/Status Photos
44%
1%
55%
% of Posts by Type
Links Text/Status Photos
Before After
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #1
Source:
Simply Measured 3/1/13 – 9/30/13
0
20,000,000
40,000,000
60,000,000
80,000,000
100,000,000
120,000,000
March April May June July August September
How Many People Are Seeing Our Content?
Potential Impressions Potential Reach
Changes were made in
August, and the results
were impressive
• Potential impressions and
reach increased month
over month
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #1
Source:
Simply Measured 3/1/13 – 9/30/13
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
March April May June July August September
How Engaged Are Our Fans?
Engagements Engaged Users
Changes were made in
August, and the results
were impressive
• Potential impressions and
reach increased month
over month
• Engagements and
engaged users increased
month over month
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #1
Changes were made in
August, and the results
were impressive
• Potential impressions and
reach increased month
over month
• Engagements and
engaged users increased
month over month
• Entries and page views
from Facebook increased
month over month
Source:
Adobe Discover 3/1/13 – 9/30/13
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
March April May June July August September
How Many Entries Were Made Via Facebook?
Entries from Facebook Page Views from Facebook
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #2
• Problem:
• Traffic from Twitter has been declining the last few months
• Goal:
• Increase entries and page views from Twitter
• Tactic:
• Host a tweet chat in August to see if it will have an impact on traffic
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
March April May June July
How Much Traffic is Twitter Driving?
Entries from Twitter Page Views from Twitter
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #2
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
March April May June July August September
How Much Traffic is Twitter Driving?
Entries from Twitter Page Views from Twitter
Source:
Adobe Discover 3/1/13 – 9/30/13
Simply Measured 3/1/13 – 9/30/13
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
March April May June July August September
How Engaged Are Our Twitter Followers?
Engagements Engaged Users
Engagement:
• Engagement increased
50% month over month
• Unique engaged users
increased 14% month
over month
Traffic:
• Entries from Twitter
increased 15% month
over month
• Page views from Twitter
increased 26% month
over month
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #3
• Problem:
• Traffic from Twitter has been
declining the last few months
• Goal:
• Increase entries and page views
from Twitter
• Tactic:
• Analyze the time of day were are
posting and compare it to when
our audience is talking about us
the most to see if we are missing
opportunities
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #3Source:
Simply Measured 8/1/13 – 9/30/13
• We are getting a
moderate amount of
mentions at 10 and 11
PM EST, but we aren’t
tweeting much at that
time
• We are still getting a
number of mentions from
12-7 AM EST
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
0:0
0
1:0
0
2:0
0
3:0
0
4:0
0
5:0
0
6:0
0
7:0
0
8:0
0
9:0
0
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:00
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23
:00
Tota
l Bra
nd
Po
sts
Time of Day (EST)
Brand Posts by Time of Day (EST)
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
0:0
0
1:0
0
2:0
0
3:0
0
4:0
0
5:0
0
6:0
0
7:0
0
8:0
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9:0
0
10
:00
11
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:00
Tota
l Co
mm
en
ts
Time of Day (EST)
Mentions by Time of Day (EST)
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #3Source:
Simply Measured 8/1/13 – 9/30/13
What opportunities exist?
• Increase tweet frequency
from 10:00-11:59 PM
EST
• Increase tweet frequency
at 12 AM, 3 AM, and 7
AM
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
0:0
0
1:0
0
2:0
0
3:0
0
4:0
0
5:0
0
6:0
0
7:0
0
8:0
0
9:0
0
10
:00
11
:00
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15
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:00
18
:00
19
:00
20
:00
21
:00
22
:00
23
:00
Tota
l Bra
nd
Po
sts
Time of Day (EST)
Brand Posts by Time of Day (EST)
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
0:0
0
1:0
0
2:0
0
3:0
0
4:0
0
5:0
0
6:0
0
7:0
0
8:0
0
9:0
0
10
:00
11
:00
12
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13
:00
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15
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16
:00
17
:00
18
:00
19
:00
20
:00
21
:00
22
:00
23
:00
Tota
l Co
mm
en
ts
Time of Day (EST)
Mentions by Time of Day (EST)
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Example #3
Source:
Simply Measured 8/1/13 – 9/30/13
• We have a following around the globe
• Most of our followers are in Eastern Time (-5 GMT) and Central Time (-6 GMT)
• We have a large following on the west coast (-8 GMT) and England (GMT and GMT +1)
What opportunities exist?
• Our west coast and international following gives us a good reason to tweet more around
the clock
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
March April May June July August September October
How Much Traffic is Twitter Driving?
Entries from Twitter Page Views from Twitter
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
March April May June July August September October
How Engaged Are Our Twitter Followers?
Engagements Engaged Users
Example #3
Source:
Adobe Discover 3/1/13 – 10/31/13
Simply Measured 3/1/13 – 10/31/13
Engagement:
• Engagement increased 45%
month over month
• Unique engaged users
increased 35% month over
month
• Greater impact on
engagement than the tweet
chat
Traffic:
• Entries from Twitter
increased 14% month over
month
• Page views from Twitter
increased 5% month over
month
• Less of an impact of traffic
than the tweet chat
#SMX #23B @travisbernard
Follow me for updates on social media strategy and analytics@travisbernard
#SMX #23B @travisbernard