Why are some brands still not investing in social media? Well, there is no one only reason.

First of all, they may be scared of putting themselves “out there” and “make a fool of themselves”, i.e. exposing the brand to negative commentary.

Secondly, it’s mainly because agencies are not providing them with a convincing measurement model that demonstrates the value of social media. A lot of jargon but nothing makes much sense. Then, there are reports with different numbers, but what do they actually mean? How do they know this can be categorised as success?

Print has been around for so long that is hard to believe how under scrutiny by advertisers is right now, too. But they have their metrics worked out. They have a formula, even if sometimes the numbers don’t add up.

TV is the master of advertising for the masses, having had the trust of all advertisers as being the mainstream medium of excellence. They have their metrics too, despite being based on sample audiences. TV advertising experts are, however, being asked tricky questions by their clients at the moment. Advertisers want to spend their money wisely. They don’t want to throw millions at the box anymore.

The problem with social media is that their metrics are nothing like print or TV and many agencies are struggling to create and re-invent measurement models.

So what are actually the metrics by which to measure your social media activity? First of all, before even thinking about figures, look at your audience’s behaviour and what objectives you aim to achieve.

What do you want to get out of social media?

Is it brand awareness? Are you launching a new product or trying to reach a new market? Then you need to measure:
• your share of voice in social media against your competitors
• the volume of conversation around the brand before and after the campaign (i.e. number of mentions, content pieces etc)

Are you re-launching the brand? Do you want to change consumer’s perception? Then you need to measure:
• Sentiment towards the brand before and after the campaign (e.g. % increase in positive sentiment, what is the brand associated to in conversations etc)

Are you trying to increase brand loyalty? Then you need to measure:
• Engagement: are users engaging with the brand’s programmes and content? Are they sharing it with friends?
• Advocacy: Are users becoming fans of the brand? Are key influencers recommending the brand to their followers/audiences? Are users/key influencers creating content for the brand?

So I say, if you can measure a cat, you can measure social media.

Guest post by Pilar Barrio