Attenton, Attitude, Action!
Social media/web represents a breakthrough for PR practitioners, no doubt about it, but social media tactics must still adhere to the concept of SMART Objectives - Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented, and Time-bound. Organizations demand demonstrated ROI – if they are going to invest in social media, they need to be assured that they will see measurable results. But social web initiatives aren’t quite like anything that came before. Previously, PR practitioners pushed out their messages – largely one way communication -- with their publics remaining fairly passive receivers. Social web represents a seismic shift – suddenly, the public is actively involved in the conversation and has become a conduit for information transfer.
Traditional
media is fairly one-dimensional and is often measured based on Gross Rating Points
(GPR), i.e. how often a message is communicated to the target audience. Social
media is considerably more complex and multidimensional, which requires a different
set of measurement parameters – attention, attitude, and action.
‘Attention’ represents the number of followers or ‘likes’,
as well as the frequency of interactions with the social media property i.e.
retweets and posts. The parameter is probabably roughly equivalent to a
traditional GRP – it relates to views and interactions, but the key is to
ensure that the interactions are aligned with the stated goals. ‘Attitude’ is probably the most unique
parameter versus traditional media – measuring the engagement and perception of
the organization. According to Kami Watson Huyse of Scribd.com, to measure
attitude use the three ‘Ss’ - sentiment, satisfacton, and surveying. Lastly, ‘Action’
provide the most concrete data for ROI calculation – sales, registrations, or donations.1
Take for example a university fundraising campaign
incorporating a Facebook page, YouTube channel, LinkedIn group, and a Twitter
account. The effectiveness of the campaign may be calculated based on the
following.
‘Attention’ –
the number of afluent alumni that ‘follow’ the university Twitter account and
how many re-tweets are generated. The
number of Facebook ‘likes’, and posts, as well as YouTube channel followers,
and video views. Number of members and interaction within LinkedIn group.
‘Attitude’ – measurement of how the public percieves
the university and the value of its financial needs
‘Action’—a
measurement of the number of qualified potential donors who register to attend
an alumni reception, request more information about planned gifts, and/or
contact the university Major Gifts officer.
While some
senior managers still perceive social media as rather nebulous, in reality it
can, and should, be carefully measured and judged based on its ROI.
1. http://www.scribd.com/doc/74280110/Commonsense-Framework-to-Measure-Social-Media
You mentioned the shift from one-way to two way communication, what does that mean for public relations practitioners now working with the social web? How has this altered the demands and requirements of their job?
ReplyDeleteAre there any specific techniques or learning strategies we can implement to increase the efficacy of these tools?
Great post Laura - I think managers are still underestimating the importance of measuring social media ROI. It may be in part to lack of knowledge on how to accomplish this. It may also be back to the impression that it is too hard to do. I agree it is critical to ensure that any social media measurement includes all aspects of engagement through all of the social media channels accessed as well as the impact on the bottom line. I think for most organizations that haven’t measured their social media they have to look at it like “eating a large elephant” one small piece at a time.”
ReplyDeleteSuper application of the attitude|action|attention paradigm to university fundraising — remember, though, there are other models for measurement.
ReplyDelete