Comments on: SM Metrics- Getting beyond followers, klout, and social butterflies!

By: Metrics Don’t “Run” Without Targets « Performance Perspectives

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:34:06 +0000

[…] I published a post on improving the value of metrics in managing the Social Media performance of individuals and businesses. The inspiration for writing that came from the recent […]

By: Bob Champagne

Bob Champagne — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:53:50 +0000

Well said Peter. That is exactly my point (or one of them at least). I am of the opinion that the metrics AND the targets should vary depending on the specific and unique objective of the user. It appears (and admittedly, I haven’t seen everything out there), it appears that they are trying to aggregate formulaic metrics into things like Klout scores inside of a black box. And while they have a few cute names for “standard objectives” (butterflies, thought leaders, etc…), these are far from the universe of objectives out there. One way they can do this, and still maintain proprietary algorithms is to let you “dial in an objective (from maybe a list of 10 attributes, or some combination of those 10 (like say, “thought leader” type, “technology/ social media bias”, interested in driving grown in EU clients) and “, and then it suggests 5 metrics and appropriate targets for your journey..

By: Bob Champagne

Bob Champagne — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:46:42 +0000

Thanks Reg. I like the “signal to noise” notion. Attracting the right “high propensity to purchase” buyers would be much more important to someone with that goal -b

By: Peter Chisambara

Peter Chisambara — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 06:21:08 +0000

Great post Bob. I think at the moment we are seeing the “Show me the numbers” syndrome at play in the SM arena. From my experience as a performance measurement professional, I have come to the realization that numbers alone do not make out the whole. As Redge has mentioned, SM should be about engagement. It is this engagement with people that is critical to building sustainable long-term relationships capable of being turned into positive cash flow and profits in the future. There are some influential people I follow but do have a Klout score below 50. Does this mean the opposite? I personally don’t think so. I still learn a lot from them. I do not engage with them because they have many followers or other great scores. For me it’s the influence and impact they exert on me.

By: Redge

Redge — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:06:06 +0000

I think you addressed a number of concerns here that are at the top of mind for many Social Media users. I too am concerned when I see metrics that offer data with no relevance to managing to your goals.

I am very fond of what I call the signal to noise ratio. Of the current metrics, how many actually affect or change behaviors? Of the tweets in your Twitter stream, how many do you actually read? Of those, how many are actually relevant to you?

Similarly, getting traffic to your site is meaningless unless the people are actually interested in your product or service. How many are truly interested in your product or service compared to those who are simply passing by?

We quickly learn that the signal to noise ratio is likely quite low. To that end, I contend that Social Media is about people first. We learn early on to find out who and what matters and determine our own rules of engagement.

Excellent article.