When approaching the campaign lifecycle where a component of the media plan calls for social media, specifically blogs, BuzzLogic recommends using the following framework as a guideline for measurement considerations:
The first step to consider in this proposed framework is media plan creation and campaign targeting. In addition to considering traditional reach and demographic metrics in the planning process, why not also consider the topic of conversations around which audiences are congregating? By looking at the conversation first, you surface ad inventory that will resonate with enthusiastic audiences. These current and/or potential customers are already engaged in the discussion related to your campaign objectives. You can then use a traditional measurement service such as Comscore or Quantcast to overlay reach and demographic metrics that your business teams have been using since the inception of the interactive space in the early 1990s.
The second step in the framework is campaign execution. As you or your agency starts to track how campaigns are doing, measuring campaign performance by conversation can unlock new insights. Just like with traditional site or ad size optimization, move more impressions towards conversations that are performing, then revisit your conversation definition, creative and/or site selection for conversations that are under performing.
The final step in the framework, which should also be considered the first iteration of the media planning for the next campaign, is post-campaign analysis and learning. Social media is about iteration, and iteration implies multiple campaigns over time. The frequency component of the “reach and frequency” mantra, is even more paramount in social media. In addition to looking at the traditional performance metrics, e.g. impressions, clicks and CTR, at the campaign level and by conversation, marketers should then correlate those metrics to the language business stakeholders understand, e.g. business KPIs? Was this a branding campaign – what was the share of conversation impact over multiple campaigns or what was the lift in the brand affinity through statistical studies in target geographies? Was this a direct response campaign – what was the lift in catalog assortment or specific SKUs sales over the several campaigns? How were my site’s web metrics impacted as a result of these campaigns? Did I see a spike in a user registrations or requests for my company’s whitepapers as a result of the campaign?
Not every marketer’s framework will be the same but by breaking out the creative cycle out into Pre / During / Post and identifying metrics at the get-go – marketers can ensure they are continuously improving upon their campaigns and ultimately meeting the key business objectives.
