So you want to identify the numbers that move your business' bottom line AND the numbers that move your readers. You want to know how, in a sea of data, you can select a few reasonable metrics that really matter today and take action based upon what they tell you. We're here to help. We'll discuss what metrics matter, how they should influence your decision-making, and what metrics tools should look like in five years' time. We'll be sure to share tips and slides so you can put our practical advice to use right away.

1. Audience Engagement + Analytics | #ONA15metrics
Audience Engagement + Analytics Track
kindly sponsored by:

2. 10:00am - 11:00am | #ONA15metrics
Find the Metrics
that Matter
Anjanette Delgado, Gannett, @anjdelgado
Rob Gates, Gannett, @rjgatesontheweb

3. Out with
metric
myths

4. 1. The arbiter of all news decisions.
2. The only way to judge reporter or newsroom success.
3. The whole story of your audience.
This is not newsroom by Excel.
What metrics aren’t:

5. Remember
these
days?

6. Metrics
"A method of measuring something,
or the results obtained from this.”

7. Analytics
“The analysis of data.”

8. 1. Absolute measurable is media that exists only on the website
2. Split measureable is media that exists both on website and on
the legacy product (newspaper, television, etc.) or on another
platform that may or may not be possible to calculate.
Absolute measurable vs.
Split measureable

9. 1. How many people read my story?
2. From where did they come?
3. How much time are they spending with my story?
Questions data can answer
for reporters

10. 1. What are people reading and not reading on my homepage?
2. How deep are people reading to our stories?
3. What’s doing well on social media that I should share?
4. Are we linking high enough in the story?
Questions data can answer
for producers

11. 1. Is the beat being covered properly?
2. Do I have the right resources dedicated to the
beats and projects in which people are interested?
3. Which stories can we skip in order to invest in more important stories?
Questions data can answer
for editors and strategists

12. 3. Are we reaching our long-term goals?
4. How is our audience changing
and how should we adapt to that?
Questions data can answer
for editors and strategists

13. Step 1
What is our mission
as journalists?

14. Our mission
1. Information (breaking news)
2. Impact (enterprise, watchdog, change, commentary)
3. Entertainment (movies, TV, sports, celebrities)
4. Utility (recipes, tips)
5. Some or all of the above

15. Step 2
What moves our business?

16. 1. Are we a volume business? We sell ads on impressions and click-through rates.
2. Do we value loyalty? Our most important customers are our subscribers or our
donors.
3. Are we in acquisition mode? We need more readers, more customers.
4. Do we sell our intelligence?
5. Are advertisers asking about time yet?
6. What is your mobile business?
Business questions to ask

17. Step 3
Build your strategy
and set clear, measurable goals.

18. Count page views, unique visitors, page views per visitor, recirculation.
Write shorter updates and more of them. Feed mobile addictions.
Volume goals

19. Acquisition strategy
Value side-door traffic, new visitors. Measure shares. Segment and track
your audience by traffic source. Convert new readers into loyal readers.
Direct
46%
Social 32%
Search
14%
Other sites 8%

20. Intelligence goals
Count social shares and referrals, as well as search placement. Buzzfeed
has its Social Lift measure. Journalists and marketers/brand studio types
need to share what they know with each other and learn from each other.

21. Loyalty goals
Value time, return visits, attention to ads, the number of articles a single
person reads, subscriptions, app downloads.

22. Step 4
Establish an analytics culture
in your newsroom.

23. Democratize
your data
Give it to everyone
in the company. Put
it on the biggest
screen you have.

24. Study
Learn everything you can about your audience, your community.

25. Make coverage decisions based on what you learn
Derby traffic from search
2014
2015
What worked back then, may no longer work today. Find a new approach with metrics.

26. Make coverage decisions based on what you learn
Look at poorly performing beats as an opportunity rather than a concern. Sometimes
decades-old, traditional beats can use a strategy change.

27. Sometimes it takes
a chart to inspire
change.
Visualize
your data
We’re publishing too late in the day

28. Brag about your
success in charts
to create that “wow”
factor in the room.
Visualize
your data
Kentucky Derby traffic gains in 2015

29. Brag about your
success in charts
to create that “wow”
factor in the room.
Visualize
your data
Minor League Baseball traffic gains in 2015

30. SEED THE GROUND. Who are the stakeholders in this story? Identify them, follow
them, talk to them, get them interested in what’s coming.
Be present at all stages of a story’s life cycle.

31. WATCH IT LIVE. Are people reading? For how long?
Be present at all stages of a story’s life cycle.

33. Rewrite the first few paragraphs. Strengthen the lede,
use active verbs, get a quote up high. Fix mistakes.
Rewrite the headline. Change the art. Share it again.
Social media is a great indicator of audience.
WATCH it in real time. If it’s underperforming, diagnose it.
Be present at all stages of a story’s life cycle.
Is the headline
clear?
Is it well
written?
Does it look
right on social?
Rewrite it. In many cases, the web head is all a reader
sees. It has to sell the story. Remember good SEO.
Is it getting
good play?
Talk to your homepage editor and audience team.
Don’t hesitate to fight for better play.
YES
YES
YES
No one’s reading
my story
NO
NO
NO
NO

34. WATCH IT LIVE on social media. You may find:
1. Questions worth answering right there or in a future post.
2. New story ideas.
3. New sources.
4. Influencers worth following.
Be present at all stages of a story’s life cycle.

35. Be present at all stages of a story’s life cycle.
DO A POST-MORTEM. After the story’s life cycle has ended (or ended for now).
Break it down. Learn from it. What should we do/not do again?

36. Get comfortable saying I don’t know, so let’s try something.
Experiment. Small, big, always.

37. Experiment. Small, big, always.
Match your publication days and times to your audience’s reading habits. Results from
publishing investigations Thursday instead of Sunday at one Gannett site:
1.5x the lifespan, 2x the time spent

38. Get comfortable saying I don’t know, so let’s try something.
Experiment. Small, big, always.

39. Next
The future of analytics (or, what
we want the future to be).

40. ● All the data for every atomized piece of the story across the
web and apps, regardless of platform, in one beautiful tool
that visualizes data, calculates data, includes a chat channel
and eliminates the need for downloads!
● “Now what?” metrics. What happens after someone clicks on a story. From an
interview with Wolfgang Blau, digital strategy director for The Guardian.
● Measure of engagement by gender, so we know who we’re including but also who
we’re not including. Thanks to Marie T. Tessier for this suggestion.
What we want next

41. Know your company’s business strategy. If you’re not watching
your metrics with this in mind, you’re leaving money on the
table.
Know your newsroom’s purpose. If you’re not watching your
metrics with this in mind as well, you’re ignoring what your
readers are teaching you.
Final thoughts from #ONA15metrics

42. Thank you.
@anjdelgado
@rjgatesontheweb
#ONA15metrics