During the past several weeks, Jacobs Media’s social media maven, Lori Lewis, has been working her way through a series of posts called B-A-L-A-N-C-E. Today’s post is the letter “C” – creating metrics that work. Read on.
“And you may ask yourself
Am I right? Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
MY GOD! WHAT HAVE I DONE?…”
-Talking Heads – “Once In A Lifetime”
In our quest to bring some clarity to the development of a comprehensive digital and social presence, a metrics/monitoring system is a key element to any strategy. It’s important to know “how you got here” – to repeat what works, refine what didn’t, and build on your traditional success with digital and social channels.
In this week’s B-A-L-A-N-C-E series, it’s about Creating a metrics system for time and resource efficiencies.
There’s a lot of talk about social and digital’s ROI and “What’s in it for companies who invest in all the different devices and channels?” Yet, besides the more pressing question – “What is the consumer’s ROI?” - do you have the proper metrics/monitoring system in place to even gauge a proper return?
To do so, you need to monitor all project processes and operations for time and resource efficiencies and cost management. A metrics/monitoring system enables you to analyze all of that, and translate analytic data into recommendations and plans for future campaigns.
We don’t always know how a campaign is going to go but we learn better with a metrics system in place after the fact. Below are some of the key factors you’ll want to know from some of the main platforms you use (or should be using today):
Websites:
Unique users – How many people did your efforts attract?
Traffic sources – Where did they come from? How did they find you?
Content – What’s producing traffic? What are the top exit pages?
Time spent on page – How long did they spend with your content?
Bounce rate – Did they take off after consuming your content or did they stick around – or ‘click’ around your site?
Keywords – What are people using in their own searches that lands them on your content? What words do people use when they are purposely looking for you?
Social sites:
Insights – Which posts attracted interaction? How are you trending with interaction?
Search – What types of tweets are getting re-tweeted – with or without your Twitter name? What conversations could take off with proper monitoring?
Mentions – What exactly are they saying about you and your competitors on any social site?
Identify your “Special Forces” – Who are the people who truly care about your station – your brand advocates?*
Email marketing database:
Open rate – Are you clearing out your inactives so Google doesn’t penalize your website’s search rank?
Opt-out rate – Are you monitoring what headlines garner more attention and what don’t?
Link – Once people open your email, are they actually clicking the link to your content? If so, what content pops out?
Apps:
Download – How many people download your app after specific calls to action?
Usage – Downloads are important but what’s the percentage of those who actually use the app?
Visitors – What is your visitor loyalty? What is the length and depth of visits?
Content – What is the top content – landing pages and exit pages?
Texting:
Opt-in rate – How long are they staying in your station database once you’ve captured their attention?
Opt-out rate – Are there any patterns that make people text STOP?
Interests – What databases grow faster than others?
We can communicate issues, opportunities and insights to the appropriate teams when we measure the contributions of the individual tactical activities around any given device or devices.
As long as your campaign asks for little or nothing in return, you will help grow a relationship with your consumers that builds value and participation with the brand. But in order to gauge brand impact, you should always know how you got where you are. Only a proper metrics/monitoring system in place will show you that.
*“Special Forces” are metrics exclusive to Jacobs Media. It’s about activating your "brand advocates" so they can effectively reach out to their communities to help expand your brand's equity, awareness, and listenership.
For more on “Special Forces,” please reach out to Fred Jacobs or Paul Jacobs.
Please leave your comments, and if you’d like to read Lori’s earlier “B-A-L-A-N-C-E” posts:
B – Balance
A – "A" As In "Adapt"
L – The "L" Word
A – Analyze This
N – Take Notice
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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