1. Measuring Online
Philip Sheldrake
www.philipsheldrake.com
@sheldrake
Author
The Business of Influence: Reframing
Marketing and PR for the Digital Age
www.influenceprofessional.com
Founding Partner, Meanwhile
www.andmeanwhile.com
Freshly Squeezed training session
25th October 2011
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2. An illustrated history
http://youtu.be/wp2eUSL4oHc
http://www.philipsheldrake.com/2011/01/content-an-illustrated-history
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3. Questions Your organization ☐
Tick those you
consider to be
unique…
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4. Questions Your organization 
Your marketplace ☐
Tick those you
consider to be
unique…
4

5. Questions Your organization 
Your marketplace 
Tick those you Your stakeholders ☐
consider to be
unique…
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6. Questions Your organization 
Your marketplace 
Tick those you Your stakeholders 
Your marketing objectives ☐
consider to be
unique…
6

7. Questions Your organization 
Your marketplace 
Tick those you Your stakeholders 
Your marketing objectives 
consider to be Your PR objectives ☐
unique…
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8. Questions Your organization 
Your marketplace 
Tick those you Your stakeholders 
Your marketing objectives 
consider to be Your PR objectives 
unique… Your marketing strategy ☐
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9. Questions Your organization 
Your marketplace 
Tick those you Your stakeholders 
Your marketing objectives 
consider to be Your PR objectives 
unique… Your marketing strategy 
See where I’m Your PR strategy ☐
going with this?
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10. Questions Your organization 
Your marketplace 
Tick those you Your stakeholders 
Your marketing objectives 
consider to be Your PR objectives 
unique… Your marketing strategy 
See where I’m Your PR strategy 
Your marketing execution ☐
going with this?
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11. Questions Your organization 
Your marketplace 
Tick those you Your stakeholders 
Your marketing objectives 
consider to be Your PR objectives 
unique… Your marketing strategy 
See where I’m Your PR strategy 
Your marketing execution 
going with this? Your PR execution ☐
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12. Questions Your organization 
Your marketplace 
Tick those you Your stakeholders 
Your marketing objectives 
consider to be Your PR objectives 
unique… Your marketing strategy 
See where I’m Your PR strategy 
Your marketing execution 
going with this? Your PR execution 
Your metrics? ☐
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13. Questions Your organization 
Your marketplace 
Tick those you Your stakeholders 
Your marketing objectives 
consider to be Your PR objectives 
unique… Your marketing strategy 
See where I’m Your PR strategy 
Your marketing execution 
going with this? Your PR execution 
Your metrics? 
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14. Five myths…
Myth 1: We can measure
everything digital precisely and
instantly.
Jim Sterne puts it like this: “The world of online
marketing has been suffering from a delusion of precision
and an expectation of exactitude.”
Social Media Measurement Guidance, CIPR, March 2011
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15. Five myths…
Myth 2: All digital metrics are
useful.
Just because you can measure it doesn’t mean you
should. Katie Delahaye Paine puts it like this: “So
what?!” 
Social Media Measurement Guidance, CIPR, March 2011
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16. Five myths…
Myth 3: The new compound score
everyone is talking about must be
useful.
Too few practitioners know what the numbers
represent, nor then do they know how to interpret
the quantities and ensure they are not misapplied.
Social Media Measurement Guidance, CIPR, March 2011
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17. Five myths…
Myth 4: One metric will do.
One metric never suffices. You will need a
balanced portfolio of metrics.
Social Media Measurement Guidance, CIPR, March 2011
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18. Five myths…
Myth 5: The more followers /
friends the better.
The number of followers and friends
indicates popularity, butpopularity isn’t
the same as influence.
Social Media Measurement Guidance, CIPR, March 2011
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19. The Maturity of Influence Approach
Maturity Characteristics
High Trace the influence (the action) back to
source. Focused on business
Influence-centric
outcomes, as we should be.
Medium It’s quality not quantity. Not how many Best practice, intelligent and
people you interact with, but how and in you could say scientific and
what context? professional marketing and
PR, and associated
activities.
Low Number of followers, friends,
Influencer-centric
subscribers, circulation. Empirically
supported network science. Akin to column inches and
AVE – measurement
Pitiful Obfuscating compound measures of because you can, not
non-contextual trivial variables. No because you should.
empirical evidence.
The Business of Influence, Philip Sheldrake, Wiley, 2011, Table 5.1, page 47
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20. Barcelona Principles (2010)
1. Importance of goal setting and measurement
2. Measuring the effect on outcomes is preferred to measuring outputs
3. The effect on business results can and should be measured where
possible
4. Media measurement requires quantity and quality
5. AVEs are not the value of public relations
6. Social media can and should be measured
7. Transparency and replicability are paramount to sound
measurement.
Final Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles, July 22, 2010
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21. The AMEC Valid Metrics Matrix
Final “Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles”, July 22, 2010
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22. The AMEC Valid Metrics Matrix
Final “Barcelona Declaration of Measurement Principles”, July 22, 2010
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23. Best practice process for selecting
and defining social media metrics
1. Audit – Where are we now?
2. Setting measurable objectives – Where do we need to be?
3. Strategy and plan – How do we get there?
4. Measurement and analytics – Are we getting there?
5. Results and evaluation – How did we do?
Research, Planning and Measurement Toolkit, CIPR, October 2010
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24. Best practice process for selecting
and defining social media metrics
1. Audit – Where are we now?
2. Setting measurable objectives – Where do we need to be?
2.1 Define your measurable objective
2.2 Define your benchmark set – comparative / relative
2.3 Define the ideal metrics
2.4 Identify candidate metrics that combine to best meet your ideal definition(don't try
and make your metrics universal across the organisation, but apply different metrics for different audiences)
2.5 Tailor each one to your specific needs, recognising its shortcomings / limits
2.6 Document these steps to make the process auditable and more easily reviewed
2.7 Set a review date and owner.
1. Strategy and plan – How do we get there?
2. Measurement and analytics – Are we getting there?
3. Results and evaluation – How did we do?
Social Media Measurement Guidance, CIPR, March 2011
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25. Golden rules for metric selection
 Only employ metrics that directly and obviously guide behaviour and performance
as required by strategic objectives
 Metrics need each other – no metric can achieve what’s needed alone
 Metrics must complement not compete
 Just because something is easy to measure, or is already measured, doesnot
qualify it as a good metric
 When you have a choice of two equally appropriate metrics, select the mostreadily
understood
 Never employ fewer or more metrics than will suffice
 Metrics with unneeded side effects aren’t quite right – redesign them; or,a metric
that can be gamed demands a complementary metric to ensure that it isn’t.
The Business of Influence, Philip Sheldrake, Wiley, 2011, page 115
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26. Researching candidate metrics
Social Media Metrics, Sterne
Measure What Matters, Paine
Marketing Metrics, Farris,Bendle, Pfeifer,Reibstein
http://kpilibrary.com
http://www.smartkpis.com
http://www.kpi-portal.com
http://www.bsccommunity.com
http://www.thepalladiumgroup.com/communities/XPC
The Business of Influence, Philip Sheldrake, Wiley, 2011, page 115
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27. Bibliography
Social Media Metrics: How to Measure and Marketing Metrics: The Definitive Guide to
Optimize your Marketing Investment, Jim Sterne, Measuring Marketing Performance, W. Farris,
Wiley, 2010, 978-0470583784 Neil T. Bendle, Phillip E. Pfeifer, David J. Reibstein,
2010, Wharton School Publishing, ISBN:
Measure What Matters: Online Tools For 9780137058297
Understanding Customers, Social Media,
Engagement, and Key Relationships, Katie Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into
Delahaye Paine, Wiley, February 2011, 978- Action, Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, 1996,
0470920107 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation,
ISBN: 9780875846514
The Business of Influence: Reframing
Marketing and PR for the Digital Age, Philip Social Media Analytics: Effective Tools for
Sheldrake, Wiley, April 2011, 978-0470978627 Building, Interpreting and Using Metrics,
Marshall Sponder, McGraw-Hill, August 2011, 978-
0071768290
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28. Bibliography
Final “Barcelona Declaration of Measurement CIPR Social Media Measurement Guidance:
Principles”, July 22, 2010: http://www.cipr.co.uk/content/policy-resources/for-
http://www.amecorg.com/images/public/barcelonapri practitioners/research-planning-and-
nciplesforprmeasurementslidesfinal_22j uly2010.ppt measurement/toolkit/social-media-measurement
CIPR Research, Planning and Measurement Toolkit:
http://www.cipr.co.uk/content/pr-
AMEC’s “PR Measurement Metrics: From Concept to
resources/practitioners/research-planning-and-
Implementation Reality” proceedings, including the
measurement
“valid metrics” and social media guidelines:
http://www.londonmeasurementconference.org/downl
oads.html
Institute for PR Measurement Commission’s “social
hub” with commentary and background on the
Barcelona Principles, “valid metrics” approach and
related measurement discussion:
http://www.iprmeasure.org
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