Social analytics is a blossoming field. New ways to measure and identify success in social media are developed on a regular basis.
Yet, those developing a social media strategy will often find the metrics of success evolve over time.
To help the analyst adjust their metrics for online growth, there are some characteristics I'd like to see in all social media metrics -
- Social metrics need to be social - they can't be locked behind a tool. They need to be able to mix and mingle with your whole suite of social media metrics. It also helps social media strategists show colleagues the value of working in the social media space.
- Social metrics need to be real time - social media is real time, so your metrics should be too.
- Social metrics need to be captured and stored for longer-term analysis. You need to show reach and impact over time.
- Social metrics need to capture social CRM - a way to keep track of those friends, followers, fans and connections that serve as true customer evangelists so you can better support them. The ultimate goal would be to identify connections to these supporters across social networks.
- Social metrics need to go beyond numbers to measure the quality of conversation vs. quantity of followers, friends, fans, etc.
What do you think?
