Social Media Metrics For Dummies

Figuring Out the Metrics and Measurement Thing

You may have heard of the term social media metrics but have no idea what they actually are. The term metrics can mean several things, but generally speaking, a metric is a measurement that allows you to quantify and evaluate something. Social media metrics, then, are simply measurements that help you understand if what you’re doing in social media is working for you or for your customers — or not — in a very detailed and concrete way.

The easiest way to think of metrics is to think of them as a way to figure out if what you’re doing online is working for you, how it is (or isn’t) working for you, and as a road map that shows you how you can tweak and adjust what you’re doing online to work better. Don’t worry if the idea of using metrics seems intimidating. I’m not talking quantum physics here — just spreadsheets and reports and data crunching. If I can do it, so can you.

Because you’re reading this book, you probably already know what social media is — you just want to find out how to measure the various aspects of social media and to improve the ways you use this technology. This means you’ve graduated from a beginner’s level of social media engagement and now see the potential social media has for you. In fact, if you’ve already installed Google Analytics somewhere, even if you aren’t really using it yet, or if you’ve investigated things like Klout scores, Twitter Grader measurements, or some other type of assessment value, however ...