Metrics for Pirates - AARRR!

This is a 5-step model for creating a metrics framework for your business & customers, and how to apply it to your product & marketing efforts. The "pirate" part comes from the 5 steps: Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, & Revenue (AARRR!) 
by Dave McClure on Aug 08, 2007

Startup Metrics for Pirates from Dave McClure

5 essential spreadsheets for social media analytics

Social media analytics and tracking can be very time-consuming and expensive. You’ll find quite a few smart social media monitoring tools, but what if you can’t afford them?

That’s why many social media marketers and power users are in constant search of free, efficient alternatives. Here, we’ll share a few ready-made spreadsheets you can copy (navigate File + Make a copy) and use for social media analytics. They are free, highly customizable and extremely easy to use.

Most of the scripts that run the spreadsheets are “public,” meaning you can access them from the Tools + Script Gallery menu (this also means they were reviewed and approved by Google Spreadsheets team).

1. Fetch Twitter Search Results

GetTweets is a simple and fast Google Spreadsheet script that lets you quickly export Twitter search results into a spreadsheet. You can play with the spreadsheets in two ways.

• Increase the number of results returned — up to 1,500. I managed to fetch about 1,300.
• Twitter search operators can help you filter out links (search “-filter:links“) and find tweeted questions (search “?“). Check out this article on advanced social media search as well as this list for more search terms.

Spreadsheet details:

• Public script? Yes.
• Copy the spreadsheet here.
• Spreadsheet credit: AutomateAnalytics.com.

2. Count Facebook Likes and Shares

FacebookLikes script evaluates Facebook user interaction for any given range of URLs. It will display:

• Facebook like count.
• Facebook share count.
• Facebook comment count.
• Overall Facebook interaction.

Additionally, the spreadsheet’s embedded chart lets you compare Facebook interaction for the number of pages provided.

Spreadsheet details:

• Public script? Yes.
• Copy the spreadsheet here.
• Spreadsheet credit: Facebook Likes Counter.

3. Compare Facebook Pages

Like the previous spreadsheet, FacebookFans is a Google macro based on Facebook API. For any Facebook page ID, it fetches the number of fans. It also visualizes the data with a pretty pie chart. Track your as well as your competitors’ Pages using the script, and the numbers will update each time you open the spreadsheet — easy!

Spreadsheet details:

• Public script? Yes.
• Copy the spreadsheet here.
• Spreadsheet credit: Facebook Fans Counter.

4. Monitor Social Media Reputation

This spreadsheet not only generates Google search results for the term you provide, but also fetches Twitter and Facebook counts for each page returned. Anyone can easily run a search for his or her brand name and see how actively it’s being discussed in social media.

Try using a few search Google operators, for example:

• ["brand name" -intitle:"brand name"] to find in-text brand mentions you are most likely to have missed.
• [inurl:"guest * post" search term] to find recent guest blogging opportunities on the topic of your interest. Note: if you are getting a “too many connections” error, try another search to refresh the scripts. Or re-save the scripts from Tools + Script Manager.

Spreadsheet details:

• Public scripts? Yes.
• Copy the spreadsheet here.
• Spreadsheet credit here.

5. Extract and Archive Your Followers

This spreadsheet is the hardest to set up, but also has the most complex functionality. It lets you extract your friends and followers to easily search and filter your Twitter contacts.

The script requires your own Twitter API key (which is pretty easy to get), and provides easy-to-follow set up instructions. Try running the scripts a couple of times to get them working. Go to Tools + Script Manager and run Test script.

If you have done everything correctly, a Twitter Auth will pop up. Then, you’ll be able to authenticate your own application. After, go to Twitter + Get Followers and you should see the tool importing your following list. However, if you have large following, you likely won’t be able to import it all (for me, that meant about 5,000 recent followers).

Spreadsheet details:

• Public scripts? No.
• Copy the spreadsheet here.
• Spreadsheet credit: Export Twitter Followers and Friends.
Are you aware of any other useful, social media-related Google spreadsheets? Please share them in the comments!
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Jirsack

article written by Ann Smarty on Mashable

2012 Social Marketing & New Media Predictions by Awareness, Inc.

"In his book Engage!, BriaN SoliS posits that “New media is a matter of digital  Darwinism affecting any and all forms of marketing and service. In the world  of democratized influence, businesses must endure a perpetual survival of the  fittest. Engage or die!” 


Given the importance of new and social media on every aspect of business,  the leadership team at Awareness Inc. connected with the influencers who are  shaping the new marketing agenda. We contacted business and marketing  experts, marketing leaders and agency visionaries to create a list of top 2012  predictions and trends. 


This white paper contains their collective intelligence  and insights for what is to come next year. We hope you find these expert  predictions informative, educational and actionable so you, the business and  marketing leaders of today, can successfully engage in the evolving ecosystem  that supports the socialization of information, and are in a position to help  businesses adapt to the new era of lasting relationships. 


Awareness contacted over 34 leading marketing strategists, such as David  Meerman Scott, Brian Solis, Erik Qualman, Paul Gillin and Steve Rubel;  strategists at leading companies such as Intel and Constant Contact; and  visionaries at marketing agencies like Mindjumpers, Holland-Mark, Voce  Communications and Raidious to collect their insights along six key areas:


Part 1 Predictions for the biggest (social) marketing developments
Part 2 The role of “big data” in (social) marketing
Part 3 Key technology to impact (social) marketing
Part 4 The role of mobile in (social)
Part 5 The top challenges for (social) marketers
Part 6 The top trusted news resources 




appendix Biography


This 2012 Social Marketing and New Media Predictions white paper follows the  six parts outlined above, with each part containing insights from three separate  groups: 


1) Leading marketing strategists
2) Brand marketers at leading companies 
3) Leading thinkers from marketing consulting firms and social  marketing agencies. "


Download here this paper.


.

Data Is Great, But You Need to Learn When to Ignore It

Who can resist the temptation of real-time marketing performance data? I can't. Whether we've posted a video on YouTube or started to promote a Facebook page, it's hard to stop clicking the refresh button throughout the day to watch the number of "views" and "likes" increase.

I love digging into the analytics on our agency website to see the most popular search engine terms, the page view trends, the top traffic referrers and the amount of time visitors are spending on the site. I'm intrigued by the new suite of metrics that Facebook has introduced, and I enjoy the process of optimizing online ads based on the sites, sizes and creative executions that perform best.

It's not surprising that most people in the marketing business feel the same way: after all, we live in a society that loves to keep score. From the time we're old enough to comprehend the merits of earning a gold star, we're conditioned to want instant, quantified validation of our success. But as marketers, it's possible that our obsession with data has become counterproductive.

Simply put, the fact that one can measure something doesn't mean that one should, and the fact that something is quantifiable doesn't necessarily make it paramount to something that isn't. Yet most marketers seem determined to measure anything and everything, regardless of the utility of the data, and some are so obsessed with KPIs that they unwittingly (or worse, wittingly) compromise the real-world impact of their marketing activities in order to move the needles on their performance dashboards.

I realize I'm not introducing a new perspective; others have voiced similar concerns about the perils of data obsession. Unfortunately, those of us who are proponents of balancing quantitative and qualitative measurement—that is, seeing the trees and the forest—have generally been unsuccessful at converting analytics enthusiasts. So while I may not be suggesting an entirely new paradigm, I hope to frame this point-of-view in a way that inspires the non-believers to reevaluate their position.

To that end, consider the following metaphor: optimizing marketing activities based entirely or even predominantly on quantitative measures is a Ponzi scheme. Expanding on that theme, metrics such as "Likes," "Views," "Shares," "CTR" and "Page views," are "paper wealth" that may or may not be backed by actual currency of tangible value such as increased awareness, affinity, purchase intent or sales. And the more paper wealth one creates, the more "schemes" one must implement to meet inflated prior-year benchmarks. While this approach may enable agencies and marketing managers to create impressive charts and graphs for a few months or even a few years, eventually the "investors" (CMOs, CEOs, and actual investors) are going to come looking for their money. And when that day comes, no Excel document or pie chart will be an acceptable proxy—nor should it be.

Admittedly, this matter isn't black and white. But while there's a broad spectrum of gray area within which "paper value" translates into tangible value at varying exchange rates, I'm making a mutually exclusive distinction between the two in an effort to streamline my argument. And my argument is this: I'd rather have 10,000 views of a branded video that increases purchase intent than a million views of a video that simply makes people laugh; I'd rather have a .02 CTR on a banner ad that drives highly qualified and motivated traffic to my site than a 2.0 CTR on a banner ad that tricks disinterested consumers to my site; I'd rather have 25 thoughtful comments on a Facebook status update that's related to my brand than 250 comments on an update about the various reasons to bemoan Mondays.

To be clear, I understand how EdgeRank and search engines work, and why, consequently, some amount of "gaming the system" may be required to ensure a brand's message is seen; we're all at the mercy of algorithms, and Google and Facebook have inspired many of the manipulations marketers have deployed in their efforts to garner impressions and promote consumer actions.

Furthermore, because I believe brands should behave like humans (not corporations) when using social media, I support efforts to connect with consumers by initiating conversations about current events, pop culture and other topics not directly related to an advertisers product or service. I'm simply suggesting that marketers have to understand the cause of the numbers they hold so dearly. After all, if people are spending less time on a website that's recently been redesigned, it may be because the new architecture has made it easier for them to find what they're looking for.

Of course, there are many reasons and ways to tip the digital scales in a brand's favor. But marketers who get caught up in "gaming the system" end up competing for first prize in a contest that only rewards them with "paper value." In much the same way that Bernie Madoff borrowed money from one investor to pay dividends to another, they end up borrowing equity from one place to represent it in another. And like borrowed money, "borrowed interest" is not a brand's to keep

written by Mike Wolfsohn on AdAge

Why Facebook's New Metrics are A Big Plus for Brands

With more and more changes being announced by Facebook with what seems like every passing week at the moment, it's easy to get lost trying to keep track of what this all means for your brand's page. In the past, we have seen changes to Facebook Pages come and go - profile layouts, image use, application tab changes - however, never have there been so many significant changes announced in such a short space of time before. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the latest updates announced during and since the f8 conference represent the biggest evolution of Facebook to date. As a result, many page admins, social media agencies and brands are all currently running around trying to find out not only what this all means, but what is coming next. I would suspect there are a large number of brands out there that have spent countless hours and resource creating, tweaking and optimising their brand pages, content and online PR campaigns, only to now be wondering whether the latest changes will see them right back where they started all over again. But then hype has always been a wonderful thing.

The latest changes announced earlier this week come as part of a new update to Facebook's Insight tools for pages and include more than a hint at a shift in emphasis now much more weighted towards content sharing and engagement, as opposed to fan numbers and page 'Likes' - something that we saw a brief insight into with the recent 'view share' function. Surprisingly, up until now there hasn't really been a clear way for brands to see just how far reaching their pages and content are in the way that the latest features allow. If anything, the latest updates actually present brands with a much better measurement of true engagement, something that many page admins have been requesting for a long time. In light of this, below is a quick overview of the latest Facebook Insights changes and the ways in which they represent a step in the right direction for brands and PR agencies alike. 

 

People Talking About - The new 'People Talking About' feature has been put into place as an additional metric for admins and users to be able to see not just how many people are fans of a brand page, but how much engagement and conversation the page has. By looking at user-initiated activities for a page such as 'Likes', posts, comments, shares, polls, photo-tagging, mentions and check-ins, the 'People Talking About' function creates an overall snapshot for how much interaction and engagement a particular page has. Interestingly, the new feature will not just sit inside Facebook Insights but will be publicly displayed as a number on every brand page, sitting below the total number of fans for all to see. This truly is a fantastic addition for brands to take advantage of and yet another hint towards the importance of creating consistent levels of engagement. Essentially, it leans more towards favouring those pages that strive to create rich and interactive content on their pages that people want to talk about and share, as opposed to those that simply rely on high fan numbers and marketing-esque product posts. It makes it more about conversation and dialogue between fans and brands. In many ways, it is a mark of just how 'social' a brand's page is. As a result, brands will be able to use this metric to not only better measure the engagement of their content, but to use high levels of engagement as a means to attract more fans and increase engagement. For example, if a user lands on a page with a high level of engagement, they would assume that there is a high level of engagement because the content is appealing, because there is conversation and buzz happening around the page. And that is something that previously wasn't nearly as visible.

 

Friends of Fans - Like its name suggests, 'Friends of Fans' represents the number of friends the fans of your page have. So in essence this creates a 'potential audience' figure for brands as to the total reach that any posts shared by fans could have. This is very similar to tracking @replies and retweets on Twitter, in that brands are able to get a snapshot of just how much word-of-mouth can be achieved via their current fans and followers. In many ways, a six degrees of separation-type measurement of how many people your content could 'socialise-with' through your current audience. Where the 'People Talking About' function represents how 'social' a brand's content is with regards to how many people have engaged and interacted with the content, 'Friends of Fans' is more an indicator of the potential reach of how much a page's content could travel to socialise with an extended audience. Again, another incredibly useful insight for brands to be able to see, enabling page admins to look beyond their fans to examine just how far spread their content and brand messages can go. 

 

Weekly Total Reach - With 'Friends of Fans' looking at the potential audience, the new 'Weekly Total Reach' metric highlights actual audience, reflecting how many people have posted about your page, mentioned or referenced your page and how much viral activity your posts and pages have had. Where previously locating this level of tracking was not so easy, 'Weekly Total Reach' really does provide brands with a additional optimisation to see what types of posts are working and which have been far reaching - be it videos, photos, polls, competitions or new product posts. Again metrics that lean more towards bringing content, engagement and conversation to the forefront, as opposed to simply targeting fan acquisition and page 'Likes'. And whilst fan acquisition is indeed important - it will always be the content, interactions and dialogue that will keep fans on your page. 

 

With the latest updates all hinting at easier content management, deeper insights into the performance and reach of content, and engagement-foucused metrics, it's hard to think that the recent changes to Facebook Insights are anything but a good thing. Ultimately, changes that will influence brands to put further emphasis on creating rich and engaging content as well as provide them with a better means to monitor, track and tweak the overall effectiveness of their content week-by-week.

 

Good news all round then for page admins and brands - that is until the next Google+ updates change the way we use social media forever... but then hype is a wonderful thing.

(via socialmediatoday)