The buzz surrounding Social Media is deafening in marketing today and every marketer is under pressure to deliver smart, powerful campaigns that utilize Social in relevant and effective ways. However, a lack of benchmarks, combined with a massive amount of data possible to capture has made the actual choice of what to measure no easier for most Brands. Some experts offer suggestions in the form of lists of possible individual metrics, but I'm not sure this is as helpful as it could be for the people struggling to decide how to invest. What marketers need are strategies that help them craft objectives that can be measured in ways that make sense to the marketing organization.

Garrett Ira (guest blogging here on Kylelacy.com) has collected some great examples of key metrics to track, but the real secret is how to set up objectives for your campaigns (and I do mean campaigns, not just social actions) that include social objectives which can then be measured by actions that the user takes, like clicks, likes, shares, check-ins and tweets.

Some campaigns are about getting the word out about a product, service, activity or cause, so those should have key metrics around both impressions/reach of the campaign message, as well as the viral aspect of how much the message was shared onward from the initial share. These metrics feel a lot like media numbers, and can be better understood by stakeholders if they are presented as purely that - "Here's your awareness."

Some campaigns or actions, however, are aimed at involving the consumer in something - getting them to participate in meaningful ways - and these actions should be measured using brand and impact studies, since you want to know if the people have changed their relationship to the brand in some way. Tracking the interactions themselves without examining the underlying impact to building meaningful connections is a quick way to confuse senior management - "Are that many downloads a good thing?"

Lastly, if the campaign is about sales, then don't be shy - use a panel and find out what your campaign in social did to impact their purchase behavior. Using proxies for purchase intent is always tempting here, but keep in mind that there really is a difference between a purchase and signing up for coupons/email (or asking for more information). Be firm and decisive here, and if only a panel will deliver it, then get a panel together - "What means a 'win' for me in terms of sales?"

Naturally, some situations and organizations will pressure people to avoid picking a focus (we all want it all, right?), but asking the team to consider "What are we REALLY doing with our consumers?" can help to guide the right choice of metrics for social, and ensure that the team aligns behind a cogent, clear goal.

Photo: D Sharon Pruitt