Today in my social media class, Joe Thornley made the trip to Hamilton and offered his ‘measured’ approach to social media… measurement, that is. He began by talking about strategies to consider and how to set goals and then provided demos of some of the tools, both free and paid, that individuals and organizations can use.

Here are my Twitter notes for the lecture. (I normally can’t tweet much when I’m teaching, so this was a welcome break.)

@thornley: (#mcsmpr):

• Social media measurement is not about the pretty pictures & graphs… it’s the analysis; look for insights.
• 1st step in social med measurement: clear set of objectives. Actions are digital and therefore we can capture & measure them.
• Before you start measuring, establish a baseline. Also brings you face to face w/what you want to measure.
• Soc media measurement is a constant process-measure, analyse, refine (repeat).
• Basic measurement tool 1: search.
• @Klout is a forward-looking tool. It measures offsite interactions that can map your social network.
• Recommends backtype.com as a good tracking tool.
• @postrank measures engagement; the kind of relationship where you promise something and deliver and people interact.
• In a @sysomos buzz graph of ‘social media’, twitter & FB are at the centre.

Joe also showcased @Radian6 and its ‘river of news’.  And throughout he underscored the importance of true engagement versus counting eyeballs.

I’d like to thank Joe for sharing his insights and expertise – and for taking the time to be there bright and early on a Saturday morning! I know the class appreciated it and got a lot out of the session.

Do you have any other measurement suggestions/experiences? If so, I’d be interested to hear about them.

About Martin Waxman

Martin Waxman, MCM, is a digital communications strategist. He conducts AI research, leads digital and social media training workshops and speaks at events across North America. He's co-founder of two PR agencies, president of a consultancy and has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years. Martin is a LinkedIn Learning instructor, teaches digital strategy and social media at McMaster University, the Schulich School of Business, University of Toronto SCS and Seneca College. He's a member of the Institute for Public Relations Digital Media Research Center and a past-chair of PRSA Counselors Academy. He has a Master of Communications Management (MCM) from McMaster-Syracuse Universities.

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