DR. WHAW? – January 13, 2010

This post is going up a little late because I was a bit late getting home from work last night and had to rush how to watch my Tar Heels take on the Clemson Tigers. It did not end well, and I bitterly went to bed instead of writing about what I Didn’t Read While Hard At Work on Wednesday.

DR. WHAW? – January 13, 2010

1. If you do your job right, nobody will ask about social media ROI by Shel Holtz — I LOVE this. Shel brilliantly points out that any marketer worth their salt should integrate measurement into their programs, and there should not be a large outcry for ROI or results only at the very end. I wholeheartedly agree with this.  While I appreciate the push for ROI and measurement lately, it should be something that is worked in throughout and your work should prove it’s own worth without ROI.

2. Measurement is Sexy from The League of Kick Ass Business People — This is not an article, but an event (a first for DR. WHAW). I was so amused by the title and so thrilled with the concept that I thought I should include it. It’s in Toronto, so I know that most of us will not be able to actually attend, but it’s definitely inspiring to see that these events are sprouting up everywhere because it means that measurement has arrived.

3. Avoiding Social Media’s Own “Ad Equivalency Value” by Dave Fleet — If you know anything about measurement (or even if you don’t), you have probably heard of the AVE or ad value equivalency. This metric was once thought to be the only way to measure the value of PR but has become the ugly step-sister of measurement in recent years, and now Dave Fleet warns us of a similar metric arising in social media. What is it and how do we avoid it? Read this article if you’re at all interested in measuring social. It is a must-read.

4. Social Media Measurement: Assets Are Not Returns by Ed Lee — I think this is the best way to put it. Followers and fans are not returns, they are simply assets. You would not count an asset when determining the ROI of anything else, would you? So why include that in the measurement of social media ROI? Brilliant, Ed, simply brilliant.

5. Is anyone talking about you? How to measure social network buzz. by Ron Shulkin — This is a great resource for beginners and not-so-beginners who are looking to measure social networking buzz about a client or brand. There are some awesome Web sites and metrics included at the bottom of the post. I like that this is focused upon social networks specifically and not just social media as a whole because it’s important to make that distinction sometimes.

6. List of Social Media Measurement KPIs by Jeremiah Owyang — This is a great (and growing!) resource from Jeremiah Owyang, a partner at Altimeter Group. This is a great start for finding key performance indicators or KPIs for social media campaigns and programs. I encourage you to take a quick look at this resource and contribute where you can!

7. What Boyfriends And Girlfriends Search For On Google by Dan Ariely — I wanted to share this because it’s a lighter look at measurement and how to use search engines like Google to get a broad sense of something. This is a cute look at the difference between what boyfriends and girlfriends are searching for on Google. How else could you use Google in this way? Could you get a general sense before diving in deeper?

It really feels good to be back in the swing of this, and I’m really glad to know that I have some readers back as well. Keep leaving me comments on which posts you do like and which you don’t (and why!) so that I can keep bringing you more relevant material.