Comments on: Defining Social Metrics http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/ Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:30:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Tim Nash http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-725 Tim Nash Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:07:09 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-725 @Guy Many of the terms and way of thinking people use in traditional online advertising can be applied to Social Media and social media marketers could learn a lot about from the analytical side of PPC marketing. For example I'm a strong advocate of split testing with social media linkbait. But its important to remember that while I used a financial metric not everyone who submits their content to social media sites are out to make money from them and its up to the individual to define their own goals. @jd What do you think? People do make money using social media sites, but people make money selling Ebooks to! Now I certainly wouldn't advocate the latter to most people. @Guy Many of the terms and way of thinking people use in traditional online advertising can be applied to Social Media and social media marketers could learn a lot about from the analytical side of PPC marketing. For example I’m a strong advocate of split testing with social media linkbait. But its important to remember that while I used a financial metric not everyone who submits their content to social media sites are out to make money from them and its up to the individual to define their own goals.

@jd What do you think? People do make money using social media sites, but people make money selling Ebooks to! Now I certainly wouldn’t advocate the latter to most people.

]]> By: jd http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-723 jd Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:21:51 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-723 Great analysis! But i have a question, the social medium is the best way to make money? Great analysis! But i have a question, the social medium is the best way to make money?

]]> By: Guy Rosen http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-674 Guy Rosen Sat, 19 Jan 2008 21:16:53 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-674 Tim, a well thought-out analysis! If I understand you correctly, you're advocating to people to focus on CPA. That has always been good practice for seeing if you are measuring up to your marketing goals. How do you think social media metrics should differ from the CPM/CPC/CPA models used in traditional (web) advertising? Tim, a well thought-out analysis! If I understand you correctly, you’re advocating to people to focus on CPA. That has always been good practice for seeing if you are measuring up to your marketing goals.

How do you think social media metrics should differ from the CPM/CPC/CPA models used in traditional (web) advertising?

]]> By: Tim Nash http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-577 Tim Nash Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:25:58 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-577 @masked bandit - I don't think anybody was pidgeon holing social media traffic we all know Digg has a different user base from lets say Reddit but that doesn't change the fact that you nee some sort of ROI. @Mhairi - ROI doesn't have to be a financial nor is it just limited to a corporate world, even those with personal blogs using social media are looking for some sort of return be it from advert clicks to comments and feedback they all provide a response. @masked bandit – I don’t think anybody was pidgeon holing social media traffic we all know Digg has a different user base from lets say Reddit but that doesn’t change the fact that you nee some sort of ROI.

@Mhairi – ROI doesn’t have to be a financial nor is it just limited to a corporate world, even those with personal blogs using social media are looking for some sort of return be it from advert clicks to comments and feedback they all provide a response.

]]> By: Mhairi http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-575 Mhairi Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:40:46 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-575 Whether traditional or new media, it has always been a challenge to accurately pin pont the effect and ROI of marketing efforts but that is not a reason to avoid trying to measure it entirely. You're right - a corporate site with lots of traffic but no resulting conversions is not an effective marketing tool. Whether traditional or new media, it has always been a challenge to accurately pin pont the effect and ROI of marketing efforts but that is not a reason to avoid trying to measure it entirely. You’re right – a corporate site with lots of traffic but no resulting conversions is not an effective marketing tool.

]]> By: Masked Bandit http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-570 Masked Bandit Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:04:01 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-570 You can't put all social traffic in one box. They say that diggers, for instance, like top ten lists and never click on ads or read comments. Other services send traffic to my sites that get average or above average time-on-site, CTR, CPM, and participation. Digg has a definite editorial voice -- if it drives you nuts that Ron Paul has 15x as many friends as Mike Huckabee, Digg isn't for you. I think the future of social media will be a proliferation of sites that appeal to different kinds of people with different characteristics. Few will get as big as Digg, but so what? As for Mixx, it's a pretty strange scene. You can get 40 or so page views for something that gets Digged once -- on Mixx you can get something voted up 20 times and still get only 5 page views. You can’t put all social traffic in one box.

They say that diggers, for instance, like top ten lists and never click on ads or read comments. Other services send traffic to my sites that get average or above average time-on-site, CTR, CPM, and participation.

Digg has a definite editorial voice — if it drives you nuts that Ron Paul has 15x as many friends as Mike Huckabee, Digg isn’t for you.

I think the future of social media will be a proliferation of sites that appeal to different kinds of people with different characteristics. Few will get as big as Digg, but so what?

As for Mixx, it’s a pretty strange scene. You can get 40 or so page views for something that gets Digged once — on Mixx you can get something voted up 20 times and still get only 5 page views.

]]> By: Embrace your potential stop hiding in SEOs shadow « The Venture Skills Blog http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-566 Embrace your potential stop hiding in SEOs shadow « The Venture Skills Blog Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:39:17 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-566 [...] Media Optimisation may have been born out of the need for links for search engine optimisation but that was a long time ago. Today SMOs are some of the most versatile and clever marketers in the [...] [...] Media Optimisation may have been born out of the need for links for search engine optimisation but that was a long time ago. Today SMOs are some of the most versatile and clever marketers in the [...]

]]> By: Ann Smarty http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-565 Ann Smarty Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:52:09 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-565 Thanks for the mention, Gab. And yes, I did write a post about that recently. SMM success can be evaluated in a number of ways: branding, visitors' engagement (subscriptions), conversions, etc, not everything can be converted into money earned (just think about the long-term value of branding). The main point is to do measuring at all - not just to look at your traffic numbers and become happy about them - but to always try to answer the question if your goal was achieved or not... Thanks for the mention, Gab.
And yes, I did write a post about that recently. SMM success can be evaluated in a number of ways: branding, visitors’ engagement (subscriptions), conversions, etc, not everything can be converted into money earned (just think about the long-term value of branding). The main point is to do measuring at all – not just to look at your traffic numbers and become happy about them – but to always try to answer the question if your goal was achieved or not…

]]> By: SEO 2.0 | Silly Marketers: SEO is for Kids http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-563 SEO 2.0 | Silly Marketers: SEO is for Kids Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:47:07 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-563 [...] the too obvious ones here comes a guy to complain about traffic from Mixx. First off we know that traffic is not the only measurement to look at in SEO. Aside that it’s direct traffic we talk about. So if you get 200 visitors directly via [...] [...] the too obvious ones here comes a guy to complain about traffic from Mixx. First off we know that traffic is not the only measurement to look at in SEO. Aside that it’s direct traffic we talk about. So if you get 200 visitors directly via [...]

]]> By: Gab "SEO ROI" Goldenberg http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-560 Gab "SEO ROI" Goldenberg Tue, 15 Jan 2008 07:18:37 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-560 It's late so I'm not digging now, but Ann at SEO Smarty wrote about this recently, suggesting some SMM metrics and asking for more ideas. I'm preparing a followup for release this week or next. Feel free to pester me if you don't see it. It’s late so I’m not digging now, but Ann at SEO Smarty wrote about this recently, suggesting some SMM metrics and asking for more ideas. I’m preparing a followup for release this week or next. Feel free to pester me if you don’t see it.

]]> By: Michael Martine http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-559 Michael Martine Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:52:50 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-559 This is great stuff. If you can bring in the traffic, that's one thing. If you can convert, that's another. So yeah, you gotta know why you want that traffic in the first place. While not as technical as your scenario, here's what I went through, recently: StumbleUpon traffic has a very low bounce rate for me compared to many other sources. I have a prominent call to action in the form of the design and in a blog post which was stumbled, linked, and spread around. As a result, I quadrupled my RSS subscribers in a week (the goal was to grow my RSS subscriber base by only half that--I underestimated!). The number is still climbing, albeit now more steadily. This is great stuff. If you can bring in the traffic, that’s one thing. If you can convert, that’s another. So yeah, you gotta know why you want that traffic in the first place.

While not as technical as your scenario, here’s what I went through, recently: StumbleUpon traffic has a very low bounce rate for me compared to many other sources. I have a prominent call to action in the form of the design and in a blog post which was stumbled, linked, and spread around. As a result, I quadrupled my RSS subscribers in a week (the goal was to grow my RSS subscriber base by only half that–I underestimated!). The number is still climbing, albeit now more steadily.

]]> By: Tim Nash http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-558 Tim Nash Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:01:09 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-558 What your goal is totally depends on the site, social medium is simply a source. I have seen some fantastic marketing campaigns which have been aimed squarely at social media with the goal to get people to subscribe to mailing lists, enter zip submits and even a few successful "Buy campaigns" Its not all about link building except to those who are blinkered into a single way of thinking ;) What your goal is totally depends on the site, social medium is simply a source.

I have seen some fantastic marketing campaigns which have been aimed squarely at social media with the goal to get people to subscribe to mailing lists, enter zip submits and even a few successful “Buy campaigns” Its not all about link building except to those who are blinkered into a single way of thinking ;)

]]> By: Brent Csutoras http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/comment-page-1/#comment-557 Brent Csutoras Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:54:04 +0000 http://collective-thoughts.com/2008/01/14/social-metrics/#comment-557 Good post. I would mention that in the post i wrote it identifies that traffic is just used as a metric of tracking since you cannot effectively track links and conversion. Traffic is not the best gauge for ROI on social media campaigns. Some people work on a UV requirement, so there are exceptions but what you look for in social media is links. Links allow you to rank better overall and be more visible to searchers that are looking for what you provide. It also normally sends you more targeted traffic from the site that linked to you where people may be more likely to convert. Conversions are also normally not any better with social media traffic as they are less likely to be in the "buy mode" than a regular user coming from search or a related site. Digg stands out to webmasters, bloggers, and journalists, probably in part to the large userbase and traffic they have. People RSS and watch Digg's front page for the tip off on good content and current news that they can then write about. So although traffic is bad overall metric for an ROI, without it... you cannot really get the exposure that results in getting the links. I agree with most of your article but think that social media should be viewed as a modern day link building and not so much a way to get converting traffic. Cheers Good post.

I would mention that in the post i wrote it identifies that traffic is just used as a metric of tracking since you cannot effectively track links and conversion.

Traffic is not the best gauge for ROI on social media campaigns. Some people work on a UV requirement, so there are exceptions but what you look for in social media is links.

Links allow you to rank better overall and be more visible to searchers that are looking for what you provide. It also normally sends you more targeted traffic from the site that linked to you where people may be more likely to convert.

Conversions are also normally not any better with social media traffic as they are less likely to be in the “buy mode” than a regular user coming from search or a related site.

Digg stands out to webmasters, bloggers, and journalists, probably in part to the large userbase and traffic they have. People RSS and watch Digg’s front page for the tip off on good content and current news that they can then write about.

So although traffic is bad overall metric for an ROI, without it… you cannot really get the exposure that results in getting the links.

I agree with most of your article but think that social media should be viewed as a modern day link building and not so much a way to get converting traffic.

Cheers

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