Social media: What are we measuring anyway (and how)?

Beth Kanter has been busy looking at blog metrics in her recent posts:

• Unpacking Engagement Metrics for the Nonprofit Blog
• What are the best metrics to use to measure ROI and improve your blog's content?  

I shared a comment highlighting the idea that, when you move into the social media space, numbers don't measure true human interactions (which cannot really be quantified). Human interactions are best captured through stories.

Which leads to the question, what are we measuring anyway?

Unless you are completely unfortunate, if you join a social media site such as twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc. you are bound to see your connections increase over time. People will find you and friend, follow and fan whether you reciprocate or not. Your numbers will go up by virtue of you being a living, breathing person with an account/profile in the social media space.

So why do we focus so much on numbers if they are likely to automagically increase over time? (Probably because it is easy.) What benefit does tracking the increase show us? (Increasing numbers DO boost our confidence - "you like me, you really like me!")

What matters more is who is behind those connections and what they contribute to your overall purpose for being online in that space to begin with.

So, here is one way to proceed:

1. Identify your overall purpose - what are you passionate about? What are you doing that is worth sharing?

2. Who do you want to connect with (by interest, profession, group, individual)? Who do you want to share information with? Who do you want to learn from?

3. How can these connections help you achieve your purpose? What kind of communication and exchange will provide mutual support?

4. What online tools can help you make the connections and how will you use them?

5. How will you measure success? Use available numerical metrics but also include method for regularly capturing non-numerical data - such as stories of how a connection helped you achieve your purpose.

6. What time commitment are you willing to devote to nurturing this online space? What are you willing to give up to invest in the success of this community you've become part of? How will you allow the conversations to change the way you do business?

What do you think?

1/9/08 update: Check out Steve Woodruff's post, "The Strategic Serendipity of Social Media" over at MarketingProfs. This highlights the unpredictability of the impact of social media ... or as Nick Mendoza writes in his comment on this post "chance conversations yield concrete conclusions."