Avoid these social media marketing metrics, or at least view them skeptically. Photo credit: Howard Lake
Even when social media was a newborn, marketers wrestled with metrics to judge effectiveness and return on investment. As social media has matured, the initial “best practices” for social marketing measurement have fallen out of favor.
Experts say to avoid many of the once-favored social media marketing metrics, or at least view them skeptically and in conjunction other more relevant, accurate and actionable metrics. If you’re relying on the following 10 social media metrics, you need to reassess your measurement approach.
Email opens. The percentage of people opening your emails is supposed to indicate if people think your content is interesting enough to open. However, the metric can vary depending on email systems. Email systems count an email as opened when images load. Users who don’t allow images to load by default or who receive only the text-based versions of emails aren’t counted in open rates. Others who open don’t actually view. Instead, analyze your click-through rate.
Facebook likes. More likes are a feel-good positive reinforcement. They also increase chances a post will appear in a user’s News Feed. But just because someone likes your post doesn’t mean they will click through to your website. Studies show that many people like a post without even reading it. Plus, many likes may be fraudulent, performed by overseas click farms in an effort to hide their purchased likes. Instead of pursuing likes, seek words and images that encourage people to click through to your website.
Ad impressions. Some marketers may be under the impression that this metric equals views. Not true. Some ad programs count impressions when the page is loaded, even if the ad was near the bottom of the page and the user didn’t scroll down. And some users turn on Adblock so never see ads. Look at the ad’s click-through rate instead, even if you’re not seeking conversions.
Blog comments. Volume of comments doesn’t equate to a blog post’s success. Comments don’t always correlate with your business goals. Some posts have dozens of comments yet generate few or no leads; others have few or no comments and generate many leads. Look at the number of visits and leads.
Reports on the entire database. Marketers often dump all the contacts in their database into one group for analysis. Big mistake. Segment them by characteristics such as industry, location, business size, and other factors for a more refined analysis.
Email addresses. Outside of opt-in registrants or trial subscribers, email lists can be filled with disused and irrelevant email addresses. The quality of email addresses is more important than the overall number.
App downloads. Many people — perhaps tens of thousands — may download an app. Only a small number will actually open it and perhaps only infrequently.
Followers and fans. These numbers are arbitrary. They can’t be compared across platforms, and the value of followers and fans varies between businesses. Plus, the numbers can be easily purchased or gamed.
Content volume. Tweeting every minute will do nothing, except perhaps annoy your followers. Quality wins over quantity.
The Klout score. The score measures your social media influence in your niche. The problem is that it can be easily gamed. For instance, you can boost your score with random posts relevant to your area of expertise.
Resources
5 Pointless Marketing Metrics You Can Stop Tracking Today
HubSpot
4 Meaningless Social Media Metrics to Avoid
PRNews
Please Stop With the Useless Social Media Metrics
DigDay
4 Metrics to Use and 2 to Avoid in Your Social Media Marketing Plan
Red Stripe Strategy
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
Fantastic article thanks – so true. People are so obsessed with things that are not what actually matters. Quality vs quantity is my policy in all my social media and content marketing strategies.
Wow, I feel like this social media article was written for me, because I’ve been guilty of measuring the wrong social metrics. I used to measure page views blindly believing it to be an accurate measure. Thanks for the education. Your article really compliments my latest blog post: http://www.infooomph.com/2016/08/15-ways-to-fail-with-social-media.html