FEATURE Web 2.0
it strategically as a means to tap into and target the networks that infl uence reading and publishing decisions, and are using social media in this context to identify and connect with ‘infl uencers’.
Measuring engagement Despite this progress, there remains resistance to using social media within publisher marketing. This is no longer simply a function of unfamiliarity with social media tools; instead it is founded – quite reasonably – in concerns about how to measure their value or impact. Social media ‘experts’ will often talk about ‘engagement’ in this context, a term that is rarely defi ned satisfactorily and provides critics of social media with plenty of ammunition. The problems usually stem from the fact
that experimentation with social media has taken place without a strategic context, and thus without clear objectives, performance indicators and benchmarks against which impact can be measured. Engagement is perhaps best considered as a catch-all term for the different types of impact that social media can have; it should always be more clearly defi ned for specifi c projects and campaigns, with appropriate metrics being selected for
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‘Experimentation with social media has taken place without a strategic context, and thus
without clear objectives’
monitoring, analysis and application. In relating social media results to bottom-
line objectives, I fi nd it useful to structure potential metrics within the marketing model AIDA, as follows: ● Attention: network size (followers, likes etc), time on site, searches
● Interest: uploads, comments, RTs, click- throughs, brand references, survey responses, bookmarks, ratings
● Desire: traffi c referrals from social media to content elsewhere
● Action: submissions, pay-per-view, subscription recommendations.
In this way, we can begin to assess the contribution of social media to our overall strategy, and compare its impact to other communications channels. Of course, this is just a subset of possible metrics, and how
they are categorised within this (or any) framework will depend on the goals of a given campaign. For completeness, these types of metric should also be complemented by longer-term analysis to assess subscription trends or changes in brand perception.
In conclusion I closed my 2006 article by reminding publishers to ‘focus on successfully delivering the basics before expending resources to deal in the bells and whistles’, and to ‘serve our communities appropriately, with data and tools that will add genuine value to their workfl ow’. For many publishers, this is still the best
advice to follow. For those who have achieved the basics, it’s now time to ensure that social media is integrated with wider marketing strategy; it should be managed and measured with as much rigour as any other channel. Over the next fi ve years, social media will increasingly be seen as a tool for building the relationships that will ensure the future sustainability of publishers as intermediaries in the information supply chain.
Charlie Rapple is head of marketing development at TBI Communications
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