Well, ok, counting alone is not what I’d call effective measurement.
Counting something gives you a singular, rather meaningless number. Like your waist size. If you’re a 34 waist, that’s a single piece of information that tells you absolutely nothing without additional context. Same goes if you have 400 coins in a jar. Or 9,000 subscribers to your blog.
Context is everything.
If you’re that 34 waist and an average male, that’s probably pretty standard and unexciting information. But if you’re that 34 waist after two years of changing your lifestyle after having been a 52 waist and losing a life-altering amount of weight, that’s a bit different piece of information, and it carries drastically different relevance, both to you and to the others observing that number.
If you have 400 coins in a jar, you could have about $4.00 in pennies, or a mint in rare antiquities (though perhaps you’d pick a different vessel in which to store them).
If you have 9,000 subscribers to your blog and nary a one has been back more than once, that original click on the little orange box isn’t nearly as sexy as if that person revisits your site, refers people to your stuff, and buys other things you have to offer.
Your Measurement Deserves More
Please stop shorting your “measurement” practices by assembling some quantitative data point, throwing it on paper, formatting it in a pie chart, and calling it accountability. And no, I don’t particularly care if that number is more or less than the other guy according to your observations. Unless you understand enough about the context for their number, you’re simply speculating about its importance to you both.
If you’re investing money and time in something – including the collection of that information itself – you owe it to your business and your efforts to work a little harder at finding meaning behind the numbers.
Rarely if ever is a single point of data useful in itself. You need to know what it impacts, or what in turn impacts it. You need to understand what changes or stays the same when the number moves. And most of those bits of information are going to come from different places in your business or the universe, and through the processing and knowledge of one or more human brains. You’re not likely to strike gold in a single graph culled from The Great Information Pumpkin.
If you’re just counting things, you’re shortchanging your own understanding, and you’re demonstrating surface indicators at best and meaningless aggregation at worst. Which means the decisions you’ll make based on that information aren’t nearly as good as they could be.
When you’ve collected a number, start by asking yourself the most important question of all: “Why?”
Why does it matter? Why did it get there? Why isn’t it smaller, or larger, and what might impact either direction? Why is this important for us to know? Why is it going to drive a decision we might make (or why isn’t it)? Why this number over another one? Why does this number have a bearing on the results we want to be able to see?
Then see how you crave more points of information. You start digging for context or relevance. You become eager for a way to make that number mean something. Then and only then can that counting become the very first step in a much more exciting and interesting journey.
Amber,
You’ve put words to something that has been needling me for a while. Numbers doesn’t equal accountability and context IS the magic ingredient. I hope to see more around this topic. This is the type of tough analysis needed to turn Social Media into more than a fancy tactic.
Amber,
You’ve put words to something that has been needling me for a while. Numbers doesn’t equal accountability and context IS the magic ingredient. I hope to see more around this topic. This is the type of tough analysis needed to turn Social Media into more than a fancy tactic.
Amber,
You’ve put words to something that has been needling me for a while. Numbers doesn’t equal accountability and context IS the magic ingredient. I hope to see more around this topic. This is the type of tough analysis needed to turn Social Media into more than a fancy tactic.
Hi Stanford –
More to come. I’m working on a post that takes a simple concept – a Venn diagram – and shows how it can drastically change how you view data.
Until we’re willing to invest more critical thought and effort into what we measure and how we analyze it, we’ll grapple with why or how social (or anything else) is a valuable use of time and resources.
Amber, it puts me in mind of the quote:
Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that’s counted, counts. ~ Einstein
Thanks for a reality-check on the significance of numbers and measurements…they’re significant only when taken in context. Kaarina
I don’t know which I like more – the content or the photo!
I’m with you Rebecca!
I’m with you Rebecca!
Amber,
This a concise, excellent piece on analytics. Thanks for continuing to rally on behalf of sanity in regards to online measurement.
I will say that time is the greatest obstacle to me personally producing ironclad analysis and reports of metrics. Analytics is one of about eight hats I wear on any given day, and it can be a challenge to produce consistent reports that are more than just reporting visits, etc. It’s on my list for 2011 and I appreciate the kick-in-the-butt this post gives me. 🙂
Funny anecdote: a colleague of mine once referred to hits, which are a rather meaningless metric out of context (or compared to other sites a la “apples to oranges”) as “How Idiots Track Success.”
Cheers,
Mike
‘When you’ve collected a number, start by asking yourself the most important question of all: “Why?”’
Seriously, what’s the point of numbers if you don’t know what they mean?
Thank you for writing this post and putting the question of “Why?” out there. As a community manager who’s neck deep in Twitter and Facebook conversations all day, I know why a certain mention or increase in the numbers matter, but what’s the point of that information if I don’t write it down?
I’m testing a new way to measure our impact and conversations around social at my company (Jolkona, http://www.jolkona.org) to lead with the numbers and then spend more time translating the community manager’s sentiments of how the week went. We don’t have as crazy numbers as some other nonprofits, but we do know what makes a win.
Thanks, Amber.
Hi Amber,
Thanks for your post. I’ve come to really appreciate your perspective. This idea of measurement and accountability is crucial to the continued growth and success of our industry. The purists say numbers don’t matter, while the corporate brands (who spend the money) say that ONLY numbers matter. You’ve hit the nail on the head here – it’s context, context, context. It forces each of us to examine why we do what we do and find ways to measure and hold ourselves accountable in our OWN context. Thanks for leading the way – I’m looking forward to your Venn diagram ideas:) Best to you-
Hi Amber, many thanks for a fantastic post; if it’s OK with you I’d like to use it to start a conversation on my blog. This may seem odd as I’m not really your intended audience. I’m not in social media or web analysis; I’m just a blogging golf geek who discovered your blog after Stan at Pushingsocial.com pointed me towards your “Laugh at yourself – but take it easy” post. I enjoyed it so much I drop by from time to time.
But this post is relevant to anyone who collects statistics and thinks this equates to measuring. It’s ideal for my audience as golfers track stats with similar enthusiasm…and often little efficacy. A (mercifully brief) example – I had 32 putts in my last round…the same as the 3rd round leader at the Masters. Does this mean I putted as well as him? Not even close – the greens are steeper and faster, and he’s hitting one shot fewer to get to the green (so often lands further from the hole). It’s not even apples to oranges. It’s kumquats to bicycles.
Your post gives those who collect *any* statistic pause for thought.
Many thanks!
Al
I always start a client with base line data and advance. I rarely have anything to say at the first measurement other than start posting…
Great point! I’ve always mentally divided my “actual followers” from “true followers”. My “true followers” mean so much more to me than just someone who visits once and never comes back!
Excellent post! So appreciate your mentioning Context & Why. For me, this is very important in managing a client’s expectations/perceptions and explaining to them what the numbers really mean.
Great article, Amber. I agree that context is everything and that simply counting likes and followers isn’t sufficient. I’m trying to focus on actionable data and forget about the rest. What data can we actually make business decisions on? However, like Mike Z, time is a huge constraint for me. I understand how to, and the importance of putting context around data to make it meaningful, but I seriously lack the time to do so adequately.
@chrisjknutson
Thanks for this Amber. It’s a point I talk with my clients all the time. The number isn’t important unless you can see it in context. When you know why numbers are changing, and what they mean, you can make adjustments. I’ll be sharing your post often.
Thanks Amber. Good insight. I look at how many people look at particular blog entry. This is more important than actual subscribers. I’m with hubspot so I can tell where they come from and where else they look on my site.
Don’t think I actually use the information other than to say interesting,,,hmmm
Thanks, Amber, for the clear-eyed support on this issue. We are constantly being asked to give results that are empty numbers, with no real strategy guidelines. Statistics can easily be manipulated to shore up the story we want to tell. It’s no accident that Benjamin Disraeli said something like: “There are 3 kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” When we know why we make decisions, we can not only make sense of the numbers we get, we can measure intangibles in the quality of responses we get.
Amber, this is the most clear-eyed and compelling argument for disregarding numbers that I’ve ever read. I’d love to see a spreadsheet that places number next to context. I often only record context (e.g. % increase in fans vs. number of Facebook people who Like…), but to place it side by side in context would make your argument in plain numbers (pun intended!)
Looking forward to the Venn diagram!
@askdebra
Very true. In Social Media Marketing, marketers often rely on some numbers like no. of followers and fans or click rates to describe the effectiveness of their Social Media efforts. But engagement is the essence of Social Media. Our influence on people can’t be measured with some units. The thing is that we shouldn’t be just result oriented. We need to be more active and participative. The effectiveness part will take care of themselves.
http://www.facebook.com/vizzmedia
Hi Amber:
Great reminder of why content truly counts when it involves measuring something inherently nebulous with social media – engagement.
I think another important factor in context is experimentation. I ask clients to experiement with different engagement techniques and we see what it does to the numbers. This helps bring what we are doing, along with measurement, into a clear context of cause and effect.
I love your writing style!