The document discusses measuring the value and impact of social media initiatives. It emphasizes focusing on quality over quantity by defining value-focused quality measures of success. It also stresses the importance of understanding users and creating value for them in order to avoid common reasons why most social media initiatives fail. Quantifying the value of web channels and behaviors can help optimize efforts.

1. MEASURING MEANING, CREATING VALUE
from data to action in social media
Ryan Turner
Director, Social Media
ryant@zaaz.com
© 2008 ZAAZ, Inc. All rights reserved. Confidential information.

2. Me: Ryan
Social Media.
ZAAZ.
Seattle.
12 years.
Online community, social media, information architecture, usability, knowledge
management, social learning, leadership development.
Degrees in poetry writing and literature.
Telemark skiing, fly fishing, mountain biking, jazz, hip hop, modern art.
Bloomington, Oakland, Santa Clara, Volvo, Orcas, Tempe, Missoula, Seattle.
2 kids.
3 chickens.
I was abducted by social media.

3. You can find me here:
www.websocialarchitecture.com

7. WHY MOST SOCIAL MEDIA
INITIATIVES FAIL

8. 5 REASONS:
1. Failure to think strategically.
2. Failure to understand users.
3. Failure to align with brand.
4. Failure to create value.
5. Failure to plan for ongoing effort.

9. “Just because we understand tax code doesn’t mean we
can’t bust mad flow.” --Intuit

10. The Hub.

13. Agenda
•Focus on quality, not quantity.
• Case studies.
• Social media generates business intelligence.
• Cultivate human intelligence.
• Start with the basics.
• Discussion.

14. THE WEB IS A SOCIAL MEDIUM

16. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA, WHAT
WE REALLY MEAN IS PARTICIPATION.

18. Some Context: Ryan’s Ten-Cent History of the Web
Community-Focused Broadcast Participatory
User-Generated Corporation-Driven User-Generated
Bottom-Up Top-Down Bottom-Up
HTML Data-Driven Standards-Driven
High Threshold of Entry No entry Lower Threshold of Entry
Low Bandwidth Flash intros! High Bandwidth
Text-Based Text and Images Multimedia
Collaboration Transaction Interaction
1980’s-1994 1994-2005 2005-Now

19. Web 2.0 and social media are social phenomena above all.
Blogs Discussion Boards
Forums Chat IM Vlogs
Moblogs SMS Podcasts
Microblogs Photo Blogs
Prediction Markets RSS VS
Collaboration Collective
Intelligence Communities
Wikis Recommender Systems
Mashups User-Generated
Content Social media is made up of
people, relationships among
people, and things people create
and share

20. What Is Social Media

21. PEOPLE
DON’T WANT TO CONNECT WITH
EACH OTHER ONLINE.

22. But that’s not the whole story. People do want value,
and they will participate in ways they find meaningful.

23. THE LONG-TERM WINNERS ARE THE ONES WHO
CREATE THE MOST VALUE,
NOT THE ONES WHO CONVERT THE HIGHEST
PERCENTAGE OF TRAFFIC.
THE WINNERS CREATE MEANING.
THEY MAKE STUFF THAT MATTERS.

24. FOCUS ON QUALITY,
NOT QUANTITY ONLY.
Not how much stuff you have, but what kind of stuff.
Not how many people show up, but how many come back.
Not how many conversations, but their inherent intelligence.
Not how many people listen to you, but how well you listen,
how much you learn, and what you do about it.

25. From Salon.com. http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/categories/blogsBlogging/2005/01/04.html

26. You could conclude:
A blog is therefore a bad tool
for engaging customers.

28. “We’ve already got 100,000 registered users.”

29. “Our users have posted 2500 videos.”

30. How does this work in practice?

31. Quantity vs. Quality Measurements
Quantity: Quality:
• Visits • Active Members
• Members • Average Rate of
• Number of Participation
Projects • Positive Offsite
Blog Postings
• Return Visitor %

32. Quantity vs. Quality Measurements
Quantity: Quality:
• My Beacon • Active My
Activations Beacon Users
• Learn about My (5x/month)
Beacon Visits • Avg. # of
Buddies per
Active User
• % Regular User
vs. Heavy Users

35. Quantity vs. Quality Measurements
Quantity: Quality:
• Number of • % of Reviews
reviews ―Helpful‖ 75%+ of
submitted the Time
• Review Visits per
Product Visit
• % of Reviewers
―Heavily Engaged‖
• Conversion Rate
based on Review

36. Quantity vs. Quality Measurements
Quantity: Quality:
• Visits • Total MVP
• Page Views per Activity
Visit • Total Comment
Prints
• % Rating
Experience
―Helpful‖

37. Quantity vs. Quality Measurements
Quantity: Quality:
We’ve already done a lot of great work.
• Visits • Survey % -
• Page Views Expanded View
of MS Office
• Comments
capabilities
• Survey % -
helpful content
• % Visits
Downloading
Templates

38. Quantity vs. Quality Measurements
Quantity: Quality:
• Raw comment • % of Votes
counts Over/Under 100
• Visits words
• % of
―Recommend
Comments‖
selected
• Rate of Full
Page Scrolls

39. Quantity vs. Quality Measurements
Quantity: Quality:
• # of Ratings • Clickthroughs to
BlendTec Site
• Total Comments
• Video Views
• Active
Subscriptions
• ―Favorited‖ Based
on Views

40. FOR GREAT DESIGN, START BY DEFINING
VALUE-FOCUSED MEASURES
OF SUCCESS

42. One Agenda

43. One Agenda

44. One Agenda

45. One Agenda

46. One Agenda

48. TAKE A SOCIAL MEDIA INVENTORY AND
UNDERSTAND YOUR WEB ECOSYSTEM

50. Conceptual site map

51. Every site we build should include elements of
social media.

53. QUANTIFYING THE VALUE
OF YOUR WEB CHANNEL

54. “The purpose of a business is to create value
for its customers, and the reward for doing so is profit.”

55. MONETIZATION DESCRIPTION
Assigning dollar values to different site
behaviors to understand and quantify the
value of the overall web channel.
Monetizing site behaviors can help you:
• Understand Overall Value of Web Channel
• Where to Focus Research & Analysis Efforts
• Prioritize Potential Opportunities
• Evaluate the True Impact of Changes

56. HOW TO MONETIZE SITE BEHAVIORS
In order to monetize site
behaviors we must
understand the sales
process.
ANALYZING THE VALUE OF LEADS FROM A LEAD
GENERATION SITE
How do you translate
visitor behaviors into
financial benefits for the
company?

57. MONETIZING SITE BEHAVIORS
PURCHASE FUNNEL
Top of Funnel 120,428
Bottom of Funnel 9,177
Conversion Rate 7.62%
Value of Purchase $ 65 (adjust $ value to see impact) First month only
Monthly Impact of
Incremental Incremental Three Month
Future Conversion Rate: Orders Orders Value Delay
7.62% 9,177 - $ - $ -
8.00% 9,634 457 $ 29,721 $ (445,809)
8.25% 9,935 758 $ 49,290 $ (739,352)
8.50% 10,236 1,059 $ 68,860 $ (1,032,896)
8.75% 10,537 1,360 $ 88,429 $ (1,326,439)
9.00% 10,839 1,662 $ 107,999 $ (1,619,982)
9.25% 11,140 1,963 $ 127,568 $ (1,913,525)
9.50% 11,441 2,264 $ 147,138 $ (2,207,069)
9.75% 11,742 2,565 $ 166,707 $ (2,500,612)
10.00% 12,043 2,866 $ 186,277 $ (2,794,155)
10.25% 12,344 3,167 $ 205,847 $ (3,087,698)
10.50% 12,645 3,468 $ 225,416 $ (3,381,242)
10.75% 12,946 3,769 $ 244,986 $ (3,674,785)

58. UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT

59. SOCIAL MEDIA MONETIZATION:
SOME TRICKS

60. START WITH GOALS
AND MONETIZE BEHAVIOR
Goal Setting & Monetization are Just as Important
for Social Media Initiatives...
…But are Often Overlooked or Inaccurately Valued

61. MONETIZING SOCIAL MEDIA INITIATIVES
EXAMPLE: Understanding the Value of a Posting/Review :
Typical/Common Value Actual Value Impact:
Assessment: • Increased Loyalty from customers that post
• Increase conversion of future comments/reviews
visitors who view review or • Increase conversion of future visitors who view review or
comment
comment
• Organic Search Impact
• Leveraging comments/reviews in other marketing campaigns
• Impact greater business decisions (change to products or
services)
• The list goes on…

62. RETURN ON INFLUENCIALS
Important Things to Remember When Forecasting the Impact of Social Media:
• Snowball Effect
• Social Initiatives Build Vs. Traditional Media Initiatives Start over Each Time
• ―Action Chains‖ – Moving customers from one action to the next
• Focus on the near-term AND long-term impact of your initiatives

63. SOCIAL MEDIA GENERATES
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
Social media, unlike broadcast and transactive media, is a two-way channel.
Listen, don’t just talk.
Don’t measure your social media marketing to improve your marketing—
measure it to improve your business decisions.
And get ready for higher-level exposure.

64. Integrating Data to
Understand
the Full Landscape

67. BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE IS
HUMAN INTELLIGENCE
Measurement tools can’t generate business intelligence, only data.
People translate data into intelligence.

68. BUT MONETIZATION DOESN’T TELL THE WHOLE STORY.

72. What is the value of a converted detractor? A connected advocate?
A blog post that saves your business?

74. RYAN VIA ELECTRICITY
Blog: http://www.websocialarchitecture.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/wryanturner
Pownce: http://www.pownce.com/wryanturner
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/ryanturner
Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/wryanturner
Blip.tv: http://blip.tv/wryanturner
Del.icio.us: http://del.icio.us/wryanturner
Email: ryant@zaaz.com
MSN: wryanturner@hotmail.com
Y!: wryanturner
AIM: wryanturner63
G-Talk: wryanturner
Skype: wryanturner
Company: http://www.zaaz.com

75. Discussion