Earlier this month we shared our tips for how to design a social media measurement system. So, if you’re ready to take what you learned one step further, then you’ll definitely love this 3-part checklist that will help you keep track of your progress:
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Part 1: Define your measures of success, KPIs, and dashboard
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Make a list of people who influence your budget and set your priorities
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Set up a meeting with those people to define your measures of success
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Set the agenda for the meeting, including:
-Defining all key stakeholders
-Prioritizing those audiences
-Defining measurable and tangible goals
-Defining what/who you will be benchmarking your results against
-Defining the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) they will want to see
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Summarize the meeting in a document, including:
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Get sign off on those KPIs and the dashboard
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Make a list of the data you will need to report on those KPIs
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Part 2: Select your measurement tool(s)
a) Select a listening/monitoring tool
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Make a list of the search terms you will need to know about (i.e, companies, benchmarks, subjects, topics/issues, or peer institutions)
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Decide if your social media program is domestic, international, or some combination of the two
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Make a list of the social media channels you will need to monitor, for example:
-Blogs; YouTube; Instagram; Snapchat; Pinterest; Twitter; Facebook; Facebook Reactions; Emojis; LinkedIn; Reddit; Message boards; List services; Forums
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Make a list of the quantitative data you will need, for example:
-Number of Facebook likes and comments; Number of YouTube views; Number of Twitter followers; Number of retweets; Google Rank
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Make a list of the qualitative data you will need, for example:
-Tonality/sentiment (positive, neutral, balanced, or negative); Message presence; Issues/topics discussed; Subjects mentioned; Lines of business mentioned; Recommendations/reviews; Brand benefits mentioned; Accuracy of mention
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Estimate the volume of mentions using Google News
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Decide if you need an automated system, random sampling, or manual review
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Decide whether you will be doing this work in-house or if you will need a measurement vendor
-If you need a vendor, create an RFP in order to accurately compare options
-Use the Sources & Methods Transparency Template
b) Select a survey tool
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Make a list of audiences you will need to survey
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Determine if there is a list available in-house or if you will need to purchase a list
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Make a list of any perception data you will need, for example:
-Awareness; Preference; Consideration; Trust level; Commitment level; Satisfaction level; Exchange/communal relationship level; Control mutuality level
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Draft a list of questions you will need to ask
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Find an expert to help you create and test your survey tool
-Provide your list of questions to the expert for feedback
-Review the proposed survey tool
-Test the survey on a sample of your respondents -
Review the cross tabs to make sure you have the data you need
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Analyze the results and draw conclusions
c) Select a web analytics and/or CRM tool
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Create one or more unique URLS and landing pages so you will be able to directly tie activities to results
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Make a list of the engagement you will need, for example:
-Unique visitors; Repeat visitors; Length of time on site; Click-thrus; Registrations; Conversions
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Make a list of the lead/sales data you will need, for example:
-Number of registrations; Number of leads; Number of qualified leads; Number of appointments made; Number of proposals delivered; Number of sales; Market share; Value of sales; Average profit per sale; Cost of social media program
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Talk to the person who manages your organization’s website and see what, if any, web data they have collected
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Determine what data is missing
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Decide if you need any additional tools
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Decide whether you will be doing this work in-house or if you will need a measurement vendor
-If you need a vendor, create an RFP in order to accurately compare options
-Use the Sources & Methods Transparency Template
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Part 3: Analyze and report results
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Put all relevant data into a KPI table
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Look for significant failures (i.e., where did a program not deliver?)
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Look for exceptional successes
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Drill down into the data to determine cause and effect
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Create a PowerPoint presentation that includes the most relevant charts and data
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Report results, draw insights, and make actionable recommendations
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